I am a political economist researching the political economy of development in China. My work examines the mechanisms through which political conflicts, financial crises, and distributional concerns influence economic policy. Currently, my research centers on a book project titled How China Really Succeeded (and Could Fail): Inside the Party's Engine of Transformation. My research has been published in journals such as Small Business Economics, Business and Politics, and the Journal of Contemporary China.
Beyond my scholarly work, I consult on economic policy for international organizations, including the G-24, and maintain active affiliations with the International Economic Association, the European Economic Association, and the Econometric Society. I received my Ph.D. in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and my B.A. from the University of Virginia.
Regularized National Congresses and Political Business Cycle: Institutionalized Economic Volatility in China (with Yulong Liu). Under Review.
Presentation History: CES Meeting at Zhejiang University, 2024/7; XJTLU, 2025/4.
Privatization, State-owned Enterprises Reform, and State Strategy: Evidence from post-Crisis Stimulus (with Luke Yasheng Zhang). Under Revision.
Presentation History: Sun Yat-sen University, 2024/4; YES Meeting at Northwest University, Xi'an, China, 2024/5; CCER Summer Institute, 2024/6; CES Meeting at Zhejiang University, 2024/7.
Does Internationalizing the Stock Market Stimulate ESG Performance? Evidence from Connect Programs (with Shupeng Lin). Under Review.
Presentation History: YES Meeting at Jinan University, 2024/11; China Society of World Economics, 2024/11, Tsinghua University, 2025/4.
Presentation History: Sun Yat-sen University, 2022/12; Nanjing University, 2023/5; South China Normal University, 2023/6; Fudan University, 2023/10; Xiamen University, 2023/11; International Economic Association World Congress in Colombia, 2023/12.
From Revolutionaries to Technocrats: How Four Modernizations of Cadres Drove China’s Market Transition. Submitted.
Defying the Washington Consensus: the Socialist Big Push and the Making of China's Developmental State. Submitted.
Xiao, Kezhou. "Becoming global billionaires from mainland China: 2004–2018." Small Business Economics 62.2 (2024): 753-773.
Xiao, Kezhou. "Serving the People or the People's Note: On the Political Economy of Talent Allocation." Business and Politics 25.3 (2023): 330-351.
Ahmad, Ehtisham, Meili Niu, and Kezhou Xiao, eds. Fiscal Underpinnings for Sustainable Development in China: Rebalancing in Guangdong. Singapore: Springer, 2018.
Xiao, Kezhou, and Brantly Womack. "Distortion and Credibility within China's Internal Information System." Journal of Contemporary China 23.88 (2014): 680-697.