Education

2005-2011 (Expected)    Northwestern University, Ph.D. Candidate in Political Science

1999-2002                     Peking University, Ph.D. in Economics

1996-1999                     Renmin University of China, M.A. in Economic

1992-1996                     Zhongnan University of Finance & Economics, B.A. in  Economics

 

Employment

2002-2005                    The Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy 

              of Social Sciences, Research Fellow

 

Honors, Grants and Scholarships

2008-2009                    Northwestern Graduate School Graduate Research Grant

2007-2008                    MacArthur Foundation Research Grant

Research Fields

Comparative Politics, Political Economy, Political Behavior, and China Studies

Job Market Paper (Dissertation)

  “Communist Revolution and the Political Origin of Private Economy in China: Evidence from Zhejiang Province”

   Abstract:   In this research I  establish the causal  relationship between Zhejiang's communist revolutionary legacy before 1949 and the geographical heterogeneity in terms of the private economic development  after 1949. I argue that the pre-1949 revolutionary legacy led to the power struggle between two elite groups, the local (guerrilla) cadre group VS. the southbound cadre group, in the province after 1949. As the weak side, the local (guerrilla) cadres were willing to protect local economic interests in exchange of local popular support to guarantee their political survival. In other words, if prior to 1949 the guerrilla forces were strong in a particular county, then after 1949 the local elites had greater incentives and capabilities than their counterparts in other counties to protect and promote private economy. As a result, in contrast with counties where local guerrillas were historically week, in counties with strong guerrillas before 1949 the private economy was better developed in the long run after 1949. This research shows under authoritarian regime, protection of property rights and entrepreneurial capitalism were likely if local autocrats can not rest their political safety on the patronage-client networks entrenched in the existing regime but on the popular support of a large set of local people.

Download available: Paper

          

Referred Publication

“Local Political Elite, Partial Reform Symptoms, and the Business and Market Environment in Rural China” (First author, with Mingxing Liu), Business and Politics, 2010, Vol 12 (1): 1-36.

“Financial Intermediate and Urban-Rural Income Disparity in China” (with Vincent Yiupor Chen and Mingxing Liu), Regional Studies, 2010, Forthcoming.

"Economic Growth, the Nature of Growth and Poverty Reduction in Rural China" (with Jikun Huang and Scott Rozelle), China Economic Journal, 2008 (02), pp. 107-122.

"Comparing the performance of Chinese banks: A principal component approach"  (with Victor Shih and Mingxing Liu), China Economic Review, 2007 (18), pp. 15-34,.

 "Rural Taxation and Government Regulation in China" (with Ran Tao, Justin Yifu Lin, and Mingxing Liu), Agricultural Economics, 2004 (31), pp. 161-168.

 

Contributed Book Chapters

  "Reducing Inequality And Poverty During Liberalization In China: Rural And Agricultural Experiences And Policy Options" (with Michael Lipton), in Surjit Singh & V. Ratna Reddy (Eds), Changing Contours of Asian Agriculture: Policies, Performance and Challenges, New Delhi: Academic Foundation, 2009, p. 531-593.

   "Who Receives Subsidies? A Look at the County Level in Two Time Periods" (with Victor Shih), in Vivienne Shue and Christine Wong (Eds), Paying for progress in China : public finance, human welfare and changing patterns of inequality, London ; New York: Routledge, 2007.

 "Government Regulations, Legal-Soft-Constraint And Rural Grassroots Democracy In China" (with Mingxing Liu and Wei Shan), in Shunfeng Song and Aimin Chen (Eds), China's Rural Economy after WTO. Ashgate Publishing Company, 2006, p. 336-357. 

 "Financial Development and Urban-Rural Income Disparity in China" (with Yiuipor Chen, Mingxing Liu, and Ran Tao), in Shuming Bao, Shuanglin Lin, and Changwen Zhao (Eds), The Chinese Economy after WTO Accession. Ashgate Publishing Company, 2006, p. 181-205. 

 

 

Work in Progress

"Varieties of Local Capitalism: How Local Governments Intervene in Economy and Interplay with Private Entrepreneurs in China"

“When the Autocrat Gives: Determinates of Fiscal Transfers in China” (with Victor Shih and Mingxing Liu)

“Technical Choice in Political Perspective: Rethinking How Elites Selected Economic Strategy After WW II” (First author, with Shiyuan Pan and Mingxing Liu)  

"Willingness to Vote in Totalitarian China: Evidence from Rural Grassroots Elections" (First Author, with Mingxing Liu)

"Response to the Will of the Public in Totalitarian China: Does Public Opinion Matter for the Formation of Electoral Institutions? Evidences from Rural Grassroots Elections"  (First Author, with Mingxing Liu)

   

 "Information Disclosure, Corruption, and the Collective Protesting of the Mass: An Experimental Method" (First Author, with Dennis Chong and Mingxing Liu)

  

 Seminar and Conference Presentations

 Fall 2009           Economics and Politics Seminar Series, Kansas State University

 Summer 2009    Economics Seminar Series, Zhejiang University, China

 Spring 2009       Presentation at the 2009 MPSA Annual Meeting, Chicago

 Spring 2006       Presentation at the 2006 MPSA Annual Meeting, Chicago 

 Fall 2003           Presentation at the 2003 Chinese Economists Association Annual Meeting, 

 University of Michigan

 

Teaching Experience

  Spring 2011 (Instructor)           East Asian Politics, Kansas State University

  Fall 2010 (Instructor)               Contemporary Chinese Politics, Kansas State University

  Fall 2006 (TA)                        Analytical Methods in Social Sciences

  Spring 2006 (TA)                     Introduction to Comparative Politics

  Winter 2006 (TA)                    International Political Economy

  Fall 2005 (TA)                        Introduction to Comparative Politics

  Summer 2004 (Instructor)        Legal and Economic Structures in China, for 

                                               Summer Study Abroad, Program of Northwestern 

                                               University, Beijing, China

Spring 2000 (Instructor)            Macroeconomics, CCER, Peking University

 

Consulting

 2006-2008   "Financial Intermediates and Inequality in China," the World Institute for  

                    Development Economics Research, United Nations University 

                   (UNU-WIDER), Consultant.

 2004-2005    “China, Globalization, and the World Economy,” the Joint Program of the 

                     World Bank and the State Council of China. The project head: Edwin Lim.

                     Consultant.

 2004-2005    “Poverty Alleviation Project in Mentougou Village,” the Rural Development

                     Committee of Beijing Municipal Government, Consultant.

 2003-2004    "China's Rural Financial System: Current Situation and Prospects," the Asian 

                    Development Bank (ADB), Consultant. 

 2003-2005    China Center for Agricultural Policy, Chinese Academy of Sciences,

                     Consultant.

 

Thesis Committee and References:

Professor James Mahoney                                   Professor Will Reno

Department of Political Science                           Department of Political Science

Northwestern University                                     Northwestern University       

james-mahoney@northwestern.edu                     reno@northwestern.edu

Professor Victor Shih (Chair)

Department of Political Science

Northwestern University                               

vshih@northwestern.edu