Carl Lin is the Director (incoming) of the China Institute at Bucknell University—a liberal arts university in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania—and a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Economics. He is also a Research Fellow at the Center for Research in Econometric Theory and Applications of National Taiwan University and a Research Fellow at China Institute for Income Distribution in Beijing, China. Before joining Bucknell, he taught at Beijing Normal University. His research focuses on labor and development economics, with particular emphasis on minimum wages, inequality, and rural–urban migration in China.

A native of Taiwan, he holds a B.A. in Economics from National Taiwan University and a master's degree from Georgetown University. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from Rutgers University-New Brunswick.

He joined IZA as a Research Affiliate in September 2011 and became a Research Fellow in October 2011.