Stanford University

International Development

FSI researchers consider international development from a variety of angles. They analyze ideas such as how public action and good governance are cornerstones of economic prosperity in Mexico and how investments in high school education will improve China’s economy.

They are looking at novel technological interventions to improve rural livelihoods, like the development implications of solar power-generated crop growing in Northern Benin.

FSI academics also assess which political processes yield better access to public services, particularly in developing countries. With a focus on health care, researchers have studied the political incentives to embrace UNICEF’s child survival efforts and how a well-run anti-alcohol policy in Russia affected mortality rates.

FSI’s work on international development also includes training the next generation of leaders through pre- and post-doctoral fellowships as well as the Draper Hills Summer Fellows Program.

Young Researcher Workshop

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The Digital Dictator's Dilemma 

Speaker: Eddie Yang, Visiting Graduate Student Researcher, Political Science

An emerging literature suggests that Artificial Intelligence is well suited for autocrats to automate authoritarian control. This paper argues that AI's ability to do so may be hampered by the very repressive institutions that produced it. Drawing on the classic theory of the dictator's dilemma, I argue that AI can suffer from a similar repression-information trade-off - as the regime becomes more repressive, there is less (politically relevant) information in the data for AI to learn. I illustrate this argument using a unique dataset on censorship in China. I show that AI's ability to censor decreases with higher pre-existing censorship. The drop in AI's performance is larger during times of crisis, when people reveal their true preferences. I further show that this problem cannot be easily fixed with more data. Ironically, however, the existence of the free world can help boost AI's ability to censor.


About the Workshops


The SCCEI Young Researcher Workshops are a bi-weekly series of presentations from scholars around campus who are working on issues related to China’s economy and institutions. The aim of the series is to bring together young scholars by providing a platform to present new research, get feedback, exchange ideas, and make connections. Each session features a single presenter who may present a new research plan, share results from preliminary data analyses, or do a trial run of a job talk or conference presentation. The Workshop Series is an opportunity to give and receive feedback on existing research, get to know other researchers around campus who are working on or in China, and be a testing ground for new ideas, data, and presentations.

Workshops are held every other Tuesday from 2 - 3 pm. Afternoon refreshments will be provided! 

Visit the Young Researcher Workshops webpage for more information on the content and format of the series and to learn how to sign up to present. 

Learn More About the Workshops

Goldman Room, Encina Hall, E409

Eddie Yang
Workshops

Young Researcher Workshop

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Adaptive Versus Non-adaptive EdTech: Evidence from a Large-Scale RCT in Rural China

Speaker: Yue Ma, Social Science Research Scholar, Stanford Center on China's Economy and Institutions

EdTech, which includes online education, computer assisted learning (CAL), and remote instruction, has expanded rapidly in the last decade. With the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies, the role of adaptive programs that can tailor learning experiences to individual users have received more attention than ever. Despite the popularity of these programs, however, rigorous, large-scale studies of their effectiveness do not exist. In this study, we examine whether the adaptive learning features of a CAL program are effective in improving student achievement in a developing setting. We analyze data from a field experiment of 8,647 students from 105 primary schools in rural China. Our empirical results show that neither adaptive nor non-adaptive CAL has an effect on student math scores. When we isolate the adaptive learning feature impact of CAL (versus non-adaptive CAL), we find null effects overall. Moreover, while non-adaptive CAL does have a small impact on the scores of mid-tercile students, adaptive CAL has no impact on the scores of students in any tercile. Interview findings suggest that outdated hardware, heavy teacher workloads, low student interest, and curriculum outpacing effects, among other factors, may explain the null effects of both adaptive and non-adaptive CAL. These results suggest that, in under-resourced contexts where these obstacles exist, both non-adaptive and adaptive Edtech may be ineffective learning tools, which has important implications for the continued, rapid expansion of EdTech throughout the world.

About the Workshops


The SCCEI Young Researcher Workshops are a bi-weekly series of presentations from scholars around campus who are working on issues related to China’s economy and institutions. The aim of the series is to bring together young scholars by providing a platform to present new research, get feedback, exchange ideas, and make connections. Each session features a single presenter who may present a new research plan, share results from preliminary data analyses, or do a trial run of a job talk or conference presentation. The Workshop Series is an opportunity to give and receive feedback on existing research, get to know other researchers around campus who are working on or in China, and be a testing ground for new ideas, data, and presentations.

Workshops are held every other Tuesday from 2 - 3 pm. Afternoon refreshments will be provided! 

Visit the Young Researcher Workshops webpage for more information on the content and format of the series and to learn how to sign up to present. 

Learn More About the Workshops

Goldman Room, Encina Hall, E409

Yue Ma
Workshops

A Big Data China Event: “How Private Are Chinese Companies?”

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On February 7, 2023, the Stanford Center on China’s Economy and Institutions (SCCEI) collaborated with the CSIS Trustee Chair in Chinese Business and Economics to host the Big Data China event, “How Private are Chinese Companies?” SCCEI’s co-director, Scott Rozelle, introduced the event while Scott Kennedy, the Trustee Chair Director, hosted. Professors Curtis Milhaupt of Stanford Law School and Lauren Yu-Hsin Lin of the City University of Hong Kong School of Law discussed their research (see two SCCEI China Briefs highlighting their work: China’s Corporate Social Credit System and Its Implications and CCP Influence Over China’s Corporate Governance). Their presentation was followed by a discussion of the implications for U.S.-China relations and U.S. policy with experts Barry Naughton of UC San Diego, Martin Chorzempa of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, and Trustee Chair Senior Fellow Ilaria Mazzocco. 

Curtis Milhaupt and Lauren Yu-Hsin Lin’s research explored two separate channels of potential CCP influence over China’s corporations: i) a set of initiatives called the “party-building” or dangjian policy that China’s central government launched in 2015 intending to strengthen and formalize the role of the CCP in China’s SOEs; and ii) China’s corporate social credit system (CSCS), a data-driven scoring system to rate the “trustworthiness” of all business entities registered in China. Panelists offered some initial reactions, agreeing that Milhaupt and Lin’s findings suggest that there is indeed separation between the public sector and private sector, as the data show substantial variation in the ability of the party to exercise control of firms across the state-owned and private sectors. Nonetheless, the scope for a truly private sector is becoming increasingly narrower as the lines blur between the two sectors.  

The subsequent discussion included a range of implications for U.S.-China relations and suggestions for policy action. While panelists agreed that Lin and Milhaupt’s findings underscore important distinctions in the party’s role in state-owned and private firms, some suggested that because the lines are increasingly blurry, policymakers should essentially treat the two sectors the same way. However, others suggested that Lin and Milhaupt’s research could be used as a sort of “how-to guide” for policymakers in understanding the varying degrees of party influence in the private sector. Meanwhile, panelists collectively underscored the need for regulations on the U.S. side mandating transparency by China’s corporations in an effort to avoid ad hoc regulation created after problems emerge, as in the case of TikTok.

Watch the entire event below for more.

Read More

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Experts Convene Roundtable to Discuss China’s Industrial Policy

The Stanford Center on China’s Economy and Institutions and Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis co-organized a closed-door roundtable on the scope, impact, and implications of China’s industrial policy and produced a summary report of the discussion.
Experts Convene Roundtable to Discuss China’s Industrial Policy
A child lying amid condemned migrant dwellings on the outskirts of Beijing, August 2017
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China’s Marginalized Millions: How Beijing’s Failure to Invest in Rural Workers Hurts Economic Growth

Scott Rozelle and Matthew Boswell comment on China's invisible rural workforce in their piece published in Foreign Affairs.
China’s Marginalized Millions: How Beijing’s Failure to Invest in Rural Workers Hurts Economic Growth
Marc Tessier-Lavigne gives opening remarks at the 2023 Stanford Asia Economic Forum in Singapore.
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Stanford Asia Economic Forum Convenes to Explore “Our Shared Future”

Stanford alumni, faculty, and industry leaders met in Singapore to promote the exchange of ideas and mutual understanding between the U.S. and Asia
Stanford Asia Economic Forum Convenes to Explore “Our Shared Future”
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Hosted in collaboration with the CSIS Trustee Chair in Chinese Business and Economics, this Big Data China event provided an overview of the latest data-driven research evaluating the influence of China’s party-state on China’s companies and their ability to maintain autonomy.

2023 Stanford Asia Economic Forum

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Marc Tessier-Lavigne gives remarks at the 2023 Stanford Asia Economic Forum in Singapore.

Stanford Asia Economic Forum

Saturday, January 14, 2023 | Capella Hotel, Singapore

In a world characterized by significant challenges, unprecedented opportunities, and dynamic business and political environments, the Stanford Asia Economic Forum is dedicated to fostering meaningful dialogue and collaboration between change-makers in the United States and across Asia.

The inaugural Stanford Asia Economic Forum brings together scholars, business leaders, and other change-makers to explore timely questions and issues affecting regional and global economies. Participants explore the role the United States and Asian countries can play in fostering the creation of new ideas, promoting sustainable practices, and pursuing sound economic policies that spur growth and economic development around the world.


Watch the Recording

Questions? Contact Tina Shi at shiying@stanford.edu

Capella Hotel, Singapore

Conferences

Young Researcher Workshop

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About the Workshops


The SCCEI Young Researcher Workshops are a bi-weekly series of presentations from scholars around campus who are working on issues related to China’s economy and institutions. The aim of the series is to bring together young scholars by providing a platform to present new research, get feedback, exchange ideas, and make connections. Each session features a single presenter who may present a new research plan, share results from preliminary data analyses, or do a trial run of a job talk or conference presentation. The Workshop Series is an opportunity to give and receive feedback on existing research, get to know other researchers around campus who are working on or in China, and be a testing ground for new ideas, data, and presentations.

Workshops are held every other Tuesday from 2 - 3 pm. Afternoon refreshments will be provided! 

Visit the Young Researcher Workshops webpage for more information on the content and format of the series and to learn how to sign up to present. 

Learn More About the Workshops

Goldman Room, Encina Hall, E409

Xueping Sun
Workshops

Young Researcher Workshop

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About the Workshops


The SCCEI Young Researcher Workshops are a bi-weekly series of presentations from scholars around campus who are working on issues related to China’s economy and institutions. The aim of the series is to bring together young scholars by providing a platform to present new research, get feedback, exchange ideas, and make connections. Each session features a single presenter who may present a new research plan, share results from preliminary data analyses, or do a trial run of a job talk or conference presentation. The Workshop Series is an opportunity to give and receive feedback on existing research, get to know other researchers around campus who are working on or in China, and be a testing ground for new ideas, data, and presentations.

Workshops are held every other Tuesday from 2 - 3 pm. Afternoon refreshments will be provided! 

Visit the Young Researcher Workshops webpage for more information on the content and format of the series and to learn how to sign up to present. 

Learn More About the Workshops

Goldman Room, Encina Hall, E409

Shiqi Ma
Workshops

Young Researcher Workshop

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About the Workshops


The SCCEI Young Researcher Workshops are a bi-weekly series of presentations from scholars around campus who are working on issues related to China’s economy and institutions. The aim of the series is to bring together young scholars by providing a platform to present new research, get feedback, exchange ideas, and make connections. Each session features a single presenter who may present a new research plan, share results from preliminary data analyses, or do a trial run of a job talk or conference presentation. The Workshop Series is an opportunity to give and receive feedback on existing research, get to know other researchers around campus who are working on or in China, and be a testing ground for new ideas, data, and presentations.

Workshops are held every other Tuesday from 2 - 3 pm. Afternoon refreshments will be provided! 

Visit the Young Researcher Workshops webpage for more information on the content and format of the series and to learn how to sign up to present. 

Learn More About the Workshops

Goldman Room, Encina Hall, E409

Minghao Qiu
Workshops

Young Researcher Workshop

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About the Workshops


The SCCEI Young Researcher Workshops are a bi-weekly series of presentations from scholars around campus who are working on issues related to China’s economy and institutions. The aim of the series is to bring together young scholars by providing a platform to present new research, get feedback, exchange ideas, and make connections. Each session features a single presenter who may present a new research plan, share results from preliminary data analyses, or do a trial run of a job talk or conference presentation. The Workshop Series is an opportunity to give and receive feedback on existing research, get to know other researchers around campus who are working on or in China, and be a testing ground for new ideas, data, and presentations.

Workshops are held every other Tuesday from 2 - 3 pm. Afternoon refreshments will be provided! 

Visit the Young Researcher Workshops webpage for more information on the content and format of the series and to learn how to sign up to present. 

Learn More About the Workshops

Okimoto Conference Room, Encina Hall, E307

Huan Wang

Encina Hall East, 5th Floor
Stanford, CA 94305-6055

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Senior Research Scholar, Stanford Center on China's Economy and Institutions
huan_wang-vert.jpg PhD

Huan Wang is a Senior Research Scholar at Stanford University. Her research focuses on assessing educational quality and identifying effective educational programs and policies to improve student outcomes in rural China. By conducting large-scale randomized controlled trials, she evaluates the impact of social emotional learning on reducing dropouts in rural junior high schools, the impact of independent reading on student performance, and the effect of vision care programs on learning and schooling path.

She also currently runs a social enterprise that works with local communities to establish sustainable, high quality vision care services for children in rural China.

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Huan Wang
Workshops

Young Researcher Workshop

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About the Workshops


The SCCEI Young Researcher Workshops are a weekly series of presentations from scholars working on issues related to China’s economy and institutions. The series brings together young scholars by providing a platform to present new research, get feedback, exchange ideas, and make connections. Each session features a single presenter who may present a new research plan, results from preliminary data analyses, or even do a trial run of a job talk or conference presentation.

Workshops are held every other Tuesday from 2 - 3 pm. Afternoon refreshments will be provided! 

Visit the Young Researcher Workshops webpage for more information on the content and format of the series and to learn how to sign up to present. 

Learn More About the Workshops

Goldman Room, Encina Hall, E409

Nathan Congdon
Workshops
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