Work in Progress:

2024.05-Now Exam and AI

2021.12-Now Beyond the Scores: Understanding the Gender Gap in Access to Elite Universities in China? 

Yi Chen (ShanghaiTech University), Sikun Dou(Singapore Management University), Hongbin Li(Stanford University) and Roujing Wu

Presented at: the 8th China Center for Economic Research Summer Institute(2024), EEA-ESEM Rotterdam (2024), and the International SITES-GLO Conference 2024, AIEL – DSE Workshop(2025)(Poster Session).

Abstract & Brief

We observe a longstanding phenomenon in China over the past two decades: the declining representation of women as they advance through the university hierarchy. Our analysis, based on administrative data from China’s college entrance exams spanning from 1999 to 2003, reveals compelling evidence that even when Chinese girls achieve the same scores as their male counterparts, they are less likely to attend elite universities (Project 985). The tradeoff is that they are less likely to fail their target universities. We identify two key explanations for this phenomenon. First, elite universities in China disproportionally focus on science and technology, resulting in a smaller share of female students. Second, when confronted with high-stakes and high-risk decisions, such as choosing a university, girls tend to make conservative choices. This is particularly important because, during the early 2000s, most Chinese provinces adopted a sequential admission mechanism. Choosing the first-choice school became a critical and risky decision. If a student’s exam score barely misses the admission cutoff for their first-choice school, they could end up in a considerably less desirable institution. Supporting our findings, we exploit a reform that shifted the timing of school submissions from before the exam to after the exam. This change reduced uncertainties and subsequently helped narrow the gender

Future Research:

Field Experiment and Pro-Environemntal Behaviour 

Science Dissemination

              All disseminations are supported by International PhD College, Collegio Superiore, University of Bologna