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The Economist included SCCEI Co-Director Hongbin Li's new book in their lineup of the best books of 2025. Here's what they had to say:

"The Highest Exam: How the Gaokao Shapes China. By Ruixue Jia and Hongbin Li with Claire Cousineau. 

The gaokao—China’s university entrance exam—shapes much of the country’s society, from pay to politics. Read this thoughtful book to learn how the test is the first of many tournaments in which the Chinese have to compete over the course of their lives."

See the full list: https://www.economist.com/culture/2025/11/20/the-best-books-of-2025 

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A girl in China sits at a classroom desk taking a test.
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Hongbin Li Contributes to the WSJ and Previews New Book "The Highest Exam"

Co-authors Hongbin Li and Ruixue Jia write for the WSJ, "The Test That Rules Chinese Society: The gaokao is China’s college entrance exam, but it shapes the country and its people far beyond the classroom."
Hongbin Li Contributes to the WSJ and Previews New Book "The Highest Exam"
Yiqing Xu and Hongbin Li sit on a stage during a SCCEI event.
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China's Test-based Education System is a Mirror of Society

Hongbin Li and Ruixue Jia joined Yiqing Xu for a fireside chat on their newly published book, "The Highest Exam: How the Gaokao Shapes China." Watch the recording and see event highlights.
China's Test-based Education System is a Mirror of Society
Hundreds of students sit at desks in rows taking an exam.
Q&As

Understanding China’s Gaokao Exam

Authors Hongbin Li and Ruixue Jia break down their new book, "The Highest Exam: How the Gaokao Shapes China", in an interview with Harvard University Press.
Understanding China’s Gaokao Exam
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On November 20, 2025 The Economist published their list of the best books of 2025 and included Hongbin Li's new book, "The Highest Exam: How the Gaokao Shapes China" in the line-up.

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Background
The quality of parenting can affect the developmental outcomes of young children. This study aims to investigate the associations between parenting quality and the early childhood development of children under age 3 across four major rural subpopulations in China.

Methods
Using a stratified cluster sampling method, 760 children aged 6–36 months and their primary caregivers in four rural subpopulations from four provinces and a metropolis in China were surveyed. Child development was assessed by the Third Edition of the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development. Parenting quality was measured using the Family Care Indicators. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-tests, multivariable regression analysis, and linear regression analysis.

Results
Across the four subpopulations, prevalences of delays of the sample children in four domains — cognition, language, social-emotional, and motor development are 52%, 45%, 52%, and 19%, respectively. The proportion of children with any type of delay is 82%, while over half (53%) have delays in at least two areas, and 27% have delays in three or more areas. Child’s mother as the primary caregiver, maternal education levels, and family asset values are all positively associated with the quality of parenting. Notably, low levels of parenting quality in rural China are linked to high rates of developmental delays.

Conclusions
This study demonstrates that the level of parenting quality is significantly associated with early childhood developmental outcomes. Results highlight the need for raising investments in family care to improve early childhood development in different rural subpopulations in China.

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BMC Psychology
Authors
Scott Rozelle
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After several years of rapid growth, the 2024–25 academic year has marked a new chapter for the Stanford Center on China’s Economy and Institutions (SCCEI) as we emerge as one of the world’s leading empirically grounded research centers on contemporary China. Today, SCCEI encompasses four vibrant research programs—China Labor, Income, and Population; Political Economy and Governance; the Rural Education Action Program; and Sustainability and Energy Transition.

But SCCEI has grown to be much more than a home for rigorous research. It has become a community of learning, teaching, sharing, and support—among Stanford students and faculty, our visiting scholars, and a global audience that engages with our work far beyond campus.

Read our annual report for the 2024-25 academic year to learn about the research, programming, and impact we've made this year. 

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The SCCEI 2024-25 Annual Report is now available. Learn about the research, programming, and impact we've made this year. 

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SCCEI Seminar Series (Winter 2026)


Friday, March 6, 2026 | 12:00 pm -1:20 pm Pacific Time
Goldman Room E409, Encina Hall, 616 Jane Stanford Way


Enlightenment Under Autocracy: The Origins of Liberalism in China


This paper studies how ideas emphasizing individual moral agency diffuse and shape political behavior under autocracy by tracing the spread of Wang Yangming’s School of Mind in late imperial China. Using a new dataset of over 24,000 historical texts from 1000 to 1900, we measure regional exposure with two indicators: the frequency of core concepts and the count of associated authors. We also introduce a semantic-similarity measure that compares local texts to Yangming’s writings. A difference-in-differences design shows a sharp post-1500 rise in exposure, concentrated in places with stronger lecture influence. Prefectures with higher exposure were more likely to produce reformist leaders in the Donglin Movement (1604–1627). Using contemporary survey data from 2010 and a matched-sample approach, we further document long-run persistence. Residents in historically exposed prefectures express stronger support for the right to discuss public affairs and for limiting government involvement in private affairs. Together, the results link the diffusion of Yangming learning to reformist mobilization among elites and to durable attitudes toward political voice and the appropriate scope of government.



About the Speaker 
 

Melanie Meng Xue profile.

Professor Melanie Meng Xue is Assistant Professor of Economic History at the London School of Economics and Political Science and a Research Affiliate at the Centre for Economic Policy Research. Her research lies at the intersection of political economy, gender, culture, and economic history, with a regional focus on early modern and modern China. Her work explores the rise of women, the persistence of authoritarian regimes, and the long-term impact of affirmative action and cultural values on economic and political inequality.

Her articles examine topics such as folklore and proverbs as sources of cultural transmission, and she is currently working on a book project analyzing cultural values across ethnic groups and regions in China. Professor Xue has published widely, and her research has influenced both academic and public discourse on the role of historical narratives and norms in shaping institutional development. She received her Ph.D. in Economics and has mentored research assistants who have gone on to top Ph.D. and pre-doctoral programs. During the 2025–26 academic year, she will be on sabbatical, spending the fall semester at Yale University.



Questions? Contact Xinmin Zhao at xinminzhao@stanford.edu
 


Goldman Room E409, Encina Hall

Melanie Meng Xue, Assistant Professor of Economic History, London School of Economics
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This event has been cancelled.

We hope to see you at another SCCEI event soon!



SCCEI Seminar Series (Winter 2026)


Friday, February 20, 2026 | 12:00 pm -1:20 pm Pacific Time
Goldman Room E409, Encina Hall, 616 Jane Stanford Way


Competitive Human Capital Investment: Evidence from Housing Prices and Educational Expenditures


The hypothesis of competitive human capital investment posits that one important motivation for parents to invest in their children’s education is to help them to develop an advantage in their future dating and marriage market. If ownership of certain housing conveys a right to access to high-quality educational resources, a “good-school” premium is embedded in the prices of such home ownership. The size of the premium may reflect the degree of local marriage market competition. We investigate such an effect using housing prices and the location of top schools in 33 Chinese cities. We find robust evidence that the local sex ratio of the youth cohort is a strong predictor for the size of the local “good school” premium. We also find that the households from cities with a higher sex ratio are more willing to spend on children’s education, especially for sons.

Please register for the event to receive email reminders and add it to your calendar. Lunch will be provided.



About the Speaker 
 

Shang-Jin Wei headshot

Professor Shang-Jin Wei is the N.T. Wang Professor of Chinese Business and Economy at Columbia University, with joint appointments in the Graduate School of Business and the School of International and Public Affairs. A leading expert on international finance, trade, and macroeconomics, his research focuses on globalization and the Chinese economy. His work has been published in top journals, including the American Economic Review, the Journal of Political Economy, and the Journal of Finance.

From 2014 to 2016, Professor Wei served as Chief Economist of the Asian Development Bank, where he led economic research and policy support for regional cooperation initiatives. He previously held positions at the International Monetary Fund, Harvard University, the Brookings Institution, and the World Bank. He is the recipient of several prestigious awards, including the Sun Yefang Prize, the Zhang Peifang Prize, and the Gregory Chow Award. He received his Ph.D. in Economics and M.S. in Finance from the University of California, Berkeley.
 



Questions? Contact Xinmin Zhao at xinminzhao@stanford.edu
 


Goldman Room E409, Encina Hall

Shang-Jin Wei, Professor of Chinese Business and Economy, Columbia University
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SCCEI Seminar Series (Winter 2026)


Friday, January 30, 2026 | 12:00 pm -1:20 pm Pacific Time
Goldman Room E409, Encina Hall, 616 Jane Stanford Way


Energy Management and Systems Change in Factories and Supply Chains in China


In China, manufacturing energy use and industrial processes are economically important but are also responsible for approximately 60% of the country's greenhouse gas emissions and cause local environmental harm. This paper develops a framework for studying the multifaceted impacts of production systems and possible interventions to reduce them, then examines the empirical evidence of effectiveness. We apply this framework to iron and steel production, downstream metal components manufacturing, and automotive assembly, relying whenever possible on observations of decision-making in factories. The talk will conclude by discussing how existing incentives interact to influence the pace and direction of progress in addressing sustainability impacts across the supply chain. 

Please register for the event to receive email reminders and add it to your calendar. Lunch will be provided.



About the Speaker 
 

Valerie Karplus headshot

Valerie Karplus is a professor in the Department of Engineering and Public Policy and associate director at the Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation at Carnegie Mellon University.

Karplus studies resource and environmental management in organizations operating in diverse national and industry contexts, with a focus on the role of institutions and management practices in explaining performance. Areas of expertise include innovation in global corporate and industrial supply chains, regional approaches to workforce and economic revitalization, and the integrated design and evaluation of public policies. Karplus has taught courses on public policy analysis, global business strategy and organization, entrepreneurship, and the political economy of energy transitions. At CMU, she runs the Laboratory for Energy and OrganizationsOpens in new window. Karplus is also a faculty affiliate of the MIT Energy InitiativeOpens in new window, the MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy ResearchOpens in new window, and the MIT Center for Sustainability Science and Strategy.

She has previously worked in the development policy section of the German Federal Foreign Office in Berlin, Germany, as a Robert Bosch Foundation Fellow, and in the biotechnology industry in Beijing, China, as a Luce Scholar. From 2011 to 2016, she co-founded and directed the MIT-Tsinghua China Energy and Climate Project a five-year research effort focused on analyzing the design of energy and climate change policy in China, and its domestic and global impacts. Karplus previously served on the faculty at the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Karplus holds a BS in biochemistry and political science from Yale University and a Ph.D. in engineering systems from MIT.



Questions? Contact Xinmin Zhao at xinminzhao@stanford.edu
 


Goldman Room E409, Encina Hall

Valerie Karplus, Professor, Carnegie Mellon University
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Encina Hall East, 5th Floor

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Visiting Student Researcher, Rural Education Action Program
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Qin Wang is a Visiting Student Researcher at the Stanford Center on China’s Economy and Institutions (2025–26). He is pursuing his Ph.D. at the Northeast Normal University. His research focuses on rural teachers’ professional development and rural education policy. In his recent work, he has paid particular attention to the optimization of teacher resource allocation in regions experiencing a decline in school-age populations. By integrating demographic forecasting, institutional design, and technological support, his studies aim to address the challenges of uneven teacher distribution caused by demographic shifts.
 

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Book cover "The Hghest Exam"

Each year, more than ten million students across China pin their hopes on the gaokao, the nationwide college entrance exam. Unlike in the United States, where standardized tests are just one factor, in China college admission is determined entirely by gaokao performance. It is no wonder the test has become a national obsession.

Drawing on extensive surveys, historical research, and economic analysis, and informed by Ruixue Jia and Hongbin Li’s own experiences of the gaokao gauntlet, The Highest Exam reveals how China’s education system functions as a centralized tournament. It explains why preparation for the gaokao begins even before first grade—and why, given its importance for upward mobility, Chinese families are behaving rationally when they devote immense quantities of money and effort to acing the test. It shows how the exam system serves the needs of the Chinese Communist Party and drives much of the country’s economic growth. And it examines the gaokao’s far-reaching effects on China’s society, as the exam’s promise of meritocracy encourages citizens to focus on individual ability at the expense of considering socioeconomic inequalities.

What’s more, as the book makes clear, the gaokao is now also shaping debates around education in the United States. As Chinese-American families bring the expectations of the highest exam with them, their calls for objective, transparent metrics in the education system increasingly clash with the more holistic measures of achievement used by American schools and universities.

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Combining personal narratives with decades of research, a vivid account of how the gaokao—China’s high-stakes college admissions test—shapes that society and influences education debates in the United States.

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Hongbin Li
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Harvard University Press
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2026 SCCEI China Conference will be held on May 7, 2026 and focus on Understanding “DeepSeek Moments” and China’s Innovation Ecosystem.

 

Governments, markets, and analysts in the United States and around the world frequently find themselves surprised by China’s capabilities in industries central to economic and national security—from artificial intelligence and robotics to pharmaceuticals, advanced manufacturing, and strategic supply chains. Episodes widely described as “DeepSeek moments” reflect more than isolated breakthroughs; they reveal a systematic failure to understand how China builds technological capacity and scales it with speed. Yet these cutting-edge advances are emerging against the backdrop of a sustained economic slowdown, raising new questions about whether China’s push for technological supremacy is occurring at the expense of broader economic health. 

The Stanford Center on China's Economy and Institution's (SCCEI) annual China Conference convenes leading experts to examine why prevailing frameworks consistently underestimate China’s industrial performance and assess how its technology ecosystem, industrial policies, and trade strategies function and interact to push many critical sectors to the frontier.



We are finalizing an outstanding lineup of speakers from academia, industry, and policy communities. Updates will be posted here as confirmed. 

*Schedule is subject to change  

Location: 
Bechtel Conference Center
Encina Hall
616 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford University

*Topics, speakers, and timing will be confirmed soon. 



10:30 AM - 11:00 AM  Registration & Light Breakfast

11:00 AM - 11:15 AM  Welcome & Opening Remarks


Scott Rozelle 
Faculty Co-Director of the Stanford Center on China's Economy and Institutions;
Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research
Stanford University


11:15 AM - 12:15 PM  Session 1 | What Distinguishes China's Innovation Ecosystem?


Session Panelists:
Barry Naughton
So Kwan Lok Chair of Chinese International Affairs
University of California, San Diego 

Philip Wong
Willard R. and Inez Kerr Bell Professor of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University
Chief Scientist Advisor, TSMC

Chenjian Li
Research Fellow, Hoover Institution
Stanford University

Moderator:
Joshua Rosenzweig
Senior Associate Director, Stanford Center on China's Economy and Institutions, Stanford University
 

12:15 PM - 1:30 PM  Lunch
 
1:30 PM - 2:30 PM  Session 2 | Industrial Policy at the Tech Frontier

 

Session Panelists:
Heiwai Tang
Victor and William Fung Professor in Economics; Associate Vice President (Global); 
Associate Dean for External Relations, Business School
University of Hong Kong 

Scott Kennedy
Senior Adviser and Trustee Chair in Chinese Business and Economics 
Center for Strategic and International Studies

Ruixue Jia
Professor of Economics, School of Global Policy and Strategy
University of California, San Diego

Moderator:
Shanjun Li
Professor of Environmental Social Sciences, Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability; 
Senior Fellow, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies
Stanford University 
 

2:30 PM - 3:00 PM  Break
 
3:00 PM - 4:00 PM  Session 3 | Trade War Meets Tech War: Trade Technology in a Fragmented World


Session Panelists:
Jiajun Wu
Assistant Professor of Computer Science
Stanford University

Graham Webster
Research Scholar, Program on Geopolitics, Technology, and Governance;
Editor-in-Chief, DigiChina Project, Stanford University

Hong Ma
Professor and Chair, Department of Economics
Tsinghua University

Moderator:
Jennifer Pan
Professor of Communication
Stanford University

 

4:00 PM - 4:15 PM  Break

4:15 PM - 5:30 PM  Keynote Address


Rush Doshi
C.V. Starr Senior Fellow for Asia Studies and Director of the China Strategy Initiative, Council on Foreign Relations
Assistant Professor of Security Studies, Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University 

Moderator:
Scott Rozelle 
Faculty Co-Director of the Stanford Center on China's Economy and Institutions;
Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research
Stanford University



Questions? Contact scceichinaconference@stanford.edu 

 


Bechtel Conference Center
Encina Hall
616 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford University

This event is by invitation only.

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The Highest Exam books are lined up and displayed on a table.

The Stanford Center on China's Economy and Institutions (SCCEI) hosted a fireside chat featuring authors Hongbin Li and Ruixue Jia, moderated by Yiqing Xu, to discuss their newly published book The Highest Exam: How the Gaokao Shapes China.

The discussion explored China's gaokao—the nationwide college entrance exam taken annually by over ten million students—which uniquely determines college admission entirely through test performance and a regional quota system. The authors presented research drawing from extensive surveys, historical analysis, economic data, and personal narrative to reveal how this centralized testing system functions as a centralize, hierarchical tournament serving the Chinese Communist Party's needs while driving economic growth. The conversation also addressed the gaokao's broader societal impacts, including how Chinese-American families' expectations shaped by this test-based system increasingly conflict with the holistic admissions approaches used by U.S. educational institutions.
 



Watch the Recorded Event

Read More

Hundreds of students sit at desks in rows taking an exam.
Q&As

Understanding China’s Gaokao Exam

Authors Hongbin Li and Ruixue Jia break down their new book, "The Highest Exam: How the Gaokao Shapes China", in an interview with Harvard University Press.
Understanding China’s Gaokao Exam
The Highest Exam book cover.
News

New Book Explores China’s Gaokao and Its Profound Impact on Society

"The Highest Exam: How the Gaokao Shapes China", written by Ruixue Jia, Hongbin Li, and Claire Cousineau, combines rigorous research with compelling personal narratives to reveal how the gaokao has become much more than a test: it is a tool to shape China’s society and economy.
New Book Explores China’s Gaokao and Its Profound Impact on Society
Group photo of students, staff, and faculty in China during the 2025 SCCEI China Study Program.
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Stanford Students Gain Firsthand Insights into China’s Economy, Culture, and Global Role

Led by Stanford faculty members, 20 Stanford students traveled across China engaging in academic exchanges, site visits to leading companies and institutions, and rich cultural experiences to gain a deeper understanding of the country’s economy, culture, and international relations.
Stanford Students Gain Firsthand Insights into China’s Economy, Culture, and Global Role
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Hongbin Li and Ruixue Jia joined Yiqing Xu for a fireside chat on their newly published book, "The Highest Exam: How the Gaokao Shapes China." Watch the recording and see event highlights.

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