Governance

FSI's research on the origins, character and consequences of government institutions spans continents and academic disciplines. The institute’s senior fellows and their colleagues across Stanford examine the principles of public administration and implementation. Their work focuses on how maternal health care is delivered in rural China, how public action can create wealth and eliminate poverty, and why U.S. immigration reform keeps stalling. 

FSI’s work includes comparative studies of how institutions help resolve policy and societal issues. Scholars aim to clearly define and make sense of the rule of law, examining how it is invoked and applied around the world. 

FSI researchers also investigate government services – trying to understand and measure how they work, whom they serve and how good they are. They assess energy services aimed at helping the poorest people around the world and explore public opinion on torture policies. The Children in Crisis project addresses how child health interventions interact with political reform. Specific research on governance, organizations and security capitalizes on FSI's longstanding interests and looks at how governance and organizational issues affect a nation’s ability to address security and international cooperation.

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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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Heather Rahimi
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Imagine one test deciding your future. For millions of students in China every year, that test is the gaokao—the national university entrance exam and one of the most competitive educational systems in the world. Published by Harvard University Press in Fall 2025, The Highest Exam: How the Gaokao Shapes China, takes readers inside this high-stakes exam and uncovers how it has shaped families, careers, and even the nation itself.

Written by leading scholars Ruixue Jia and Hongbin Li, with writer and researcher Claire Cousineau, the book 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.

The gaokao has long been considered one of the world’s most consequential educational exams. Each year, tens of millions of students sit for this high-stakes test that determines access to universities, career opportunities, and pathways of social mobility. The Highest Exam traces the gaokao’s historical origins and evolution, showing how it became deeply intertwined with China’s governance, social strata, and economy. 

Through empirical analysis and personal narrative, the book illustrates how the exam system reflects broader themes in Chinese society: the pursuit of meritocracy, the tension between equality and advantage, and the state’s reliance on education to reinforce legitimacy. The authors aptly identify China’s education system as a centralized hierarchical tournament, returning to this framework in each section of the book: familystate, and society

The Highest Exam also brings a comparative lens, contrasting China’s exam-driven system with education practices in the United States and beyond. It raises urgent questions about fairness, access, and the role of education in shaping societies—questions that resonate far beyond China’s borders.

Engaging and deeply researched, The Highest Exam is essential reading for anyone interested in education, global society, or the forces shaping the next generation.



About the Authors
 

Ruixue Jia is Professor of Economics at the School of Global Policy and Strategy, University of California, San Diego.

Hongbin Li is Co-director of Stanford Center on China's Economy and Institutions, and a Senior Fellow of Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR) and the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI) at Stanford University.

Claire Cousineau is a writer and former researcher at the Stanford Center on China’s Economy and Institutions, she is currently pursuing her MBA at Duke University.



Availability


The Highest Exam: How the Gaokao Shapes China is available now for purchase from Amazon and elsewhere.  



Upcoming Book Event


Join us on Tuesday, October 21 at 4 PM (Pacific) for a fireside chat with co-authors Ruixue Jia and Hongbin Li. The fireside chat will be held in-person in the Bechtel Conference Center and livestreamed for virtual attendees. Learn More & Register
 


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Hongbin Li Contributes to the WSJ and Previews New Book "The Highest Exam"
Book cover: Institutional Genes: Origins of China's Institutions and Totalitarianism by Chenggang Xu
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New Book by Chenggang Xu Unpacks the Deep Roots of China’s Totalitarian Regime

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Scott Rozelle, Xiaonian Xu, Loren Brandt, and Mary Lovely converse as the panelists during a SCCEI event.
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"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.

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Join us for a fireside chat with co-authors Ruixue Jia and Hongbin Li who will discuss their most recent book, The Highest Exam: How the Gaokao Shapes China. The fireside chat will be held in-person in the Bechtel Conference Center and livestreamed for virtual attendees. After the fireside chat, we invite in-person attendees to join us for a light reception and book signing with Hongbin Li. Order your copy of the book here.

Join the webinar to watch the event live:

Webinar ID: 985 1962 7327
Passcode: 361163
 


The Highest Exam book cover.

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 that serves the needs of the Chinese Communist Party and drives much of the country’s economic growth. The book examines the gaokao’s far-reaching effects on China’s society and beyond. 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.



About the Authors
 

Hongbin Li

Hongbin Li is the Co-director of Stanford Center on China's Economy and Institutions, and a Senior Fellow of Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research and the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. Li obtained his Ph.D. in economics from Stanford University in 2001 before joining the economics department at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). He was also one of the two founding directors of the Institute of Economics and Finance at the CUHK. He taught at Tsinghua University from 2007 to 2016 in the School of Economics and Management and was the founder and Executive Associate Director of the China Social and Economic Data Center. 

Li’s research has been focused on the transition and development of the Chinese economy, and the evidence-based research results have been both widely covered by media outlets and well read by policy makers around the world. He is currently the co-editor of the Journal of Comparative Economics and co-author of the book, The Highest Exam: How the Gaokao Shapes China, published by Harvard University Press.
 

Ruixue Jia headshot.

Ruixue Jia is a professor of economics at the School of Global Policy and Strategy at UC San Diego. She also serves as Co-director of the China Data Lab, executive secretary of the Association of Comparative Economic Studies (ACES) and co-chair of the China Economic Summer Institute (CESI). 

Jia’s research lies at the intersections of economics, history and politics, with a focus on how power structures evolve and shape economic development. Her recent work examines the political economy of idea formation and diffusion, including the interplay between the state, education, science and technology. She is the co-author of The Highest Exam, a book that explores how China’s education system both mirrors and molds its society.
 

Headshot of Claire Cousineau.

Claire Cousineau  is a writer and former researcher at the Stanford Center on China’s Economy and Institutions, she is currently pursuing her MBA at Duke University.

Since studying and working in Beijing and Kunming, Claire is passionate about fostering a deeper public understanding of China’s role on the global stage and creating cross-cultural relationships. Claire is the co-author of the book, The Highest Exam: How the Gaokao Shapes China, along with Hongbin Li and Ruixue Jia, published by Harvard University Press in 2025. 
 



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

or via Livestream

Ruixue Jia

John A. and Cynthia Fry Gunn Building, 366 Galvez Street
Stanford, CA 94305-6015

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Faculty Co-director of the Stanford Center on China's Economy and Institutions
Professor, by courtesy, of Economics
Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies
Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research
Faculty Affiliate at the King Center of Global Development
Faculty Affiliate at Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence
5268-hongbinli.png PhD

Hongbin Li is the Co-director of Stanford Center on China's Economy and Institutions, and a Senior Fellow of Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR) and the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI).

Hongbin obtained Ph.D. in economics from Stanford University in 2001 and joined the economics department of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), where he became full professor in 2007. He was also one of the two founding directors of the Institute of Economics and Finance at the CUHK. He taught at Tsinghua University in Beijing 2007-2016 and was C.V. Starr Chair Professor of Economics in the School of Economics and Management. He also founded and served as the Executive Associate Director of the China Social and Economic Data Center at Tsinghua University. He founded the Chinese College Student Survey (CCSS) in 2009 and the China Employer-Employee Survey (CEES) in 2014.

Hongbin’s research has been focused on the transition and development of the Chinese economy, and the evidence-based research results have been both widely covered by media outlets and well read by policy makers around the world. He is currently the co-editor of the Journal of Comparative Economics and co-author of the forthcoming book, “The Highest Exam: How the Gaokao Shapes China” published by Harvard University Press.

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Heather Rahimi
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SCCEI Senior Research Scholar Chenggang Xu’s latest book, Institutional Genes: Origins of China's Institutions and Totalitarianism, offers a reinterpretation of China’s political and institutional development. Drawing from decades of research, Xu introduces the concept of "institutional genes"—the enduring foundational structures that shape and constrain how institutions evolve. Through this lens, he examines the emergence and evolution of China’s current communist totalitarian institution, contending that substantial parts of its "institutional genes" were implanted by Soviet Russia, building upon a longstanding tradition of authoritarian rule dating back to imperial China.

Book cover: Institutional Genes: Origins of China's Institutions and Totalitarianism by Chenggang Xu

With insights spanning political economy, institutional economics, and history, Institutional Genes presents a compelling account of why China’s institutions have taken their particular form—why they have resisted democratization—and why its economic reforms have risen and fallen. Xu’s work will appeal to scholars, policymakers, and general readers seeking a deeper understanding of how China’s past continues to shape its political trajectory today. 

Institutional Genes: Origins of China's Institutions and Totalitarianism, previously published in Chinese, is currently available for pre-order and will be published and available to the public on August 21, 2025. For more from Xu, read his recent essay, The Origins of China’s Institutions and Totalitarianism, based on his forthcoming book.


    

Headshot of Dr. Chenggang Xu.

Chenggang Xu

Senior Research Scholar, Stanford Center on China's Economy and Institutions
About the Author

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SCCEI Senior Research Scholar Chenggang Xu’s latest book, "Institutional Genes: Origins of China's Institutions and Totalitarianism", explores the origins and evolution of China's institutions and communist totalitarianism.

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Matthew Boswell
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The second annual SCCEI China Conference, held at Stanford University on May 14, brought together leading scholars and policy experts to engage in a lively discussion on the evolving contours of China’s strategic posture in an ever-changing global economy. Amid a shifting geopolitical and economic landscape, panelists examined how structural shocks—ranging from trade fragmentation to military realignments—are forcing a reassessment of long-standing assumptions. The conference offered a candid, multifaceted view of China's global economic position, exploring its technological prowess, industrial diplomacy, and the increasingly complex global responses to its expanding influence.

Groping Towards a New Great Power Equilibrium
The era of a unipolar security order led by the U.S. and a laissez-faire economic regime anchored in globalization is over. Its demise was hastened by three structural shocks: U.S. backlash to trade liberalization, China’s sweeping industrial policies, and its growing military assertiveness. In the U.S., political support for trade collapsed while China’s Made in China 2025 industrial policies brought about “a large shift in the global production map.” China’s security alignment with Russia, and militarization of regional waters, recast its rise as a national security threat. As one panelist put it, “the dominant role China plays in supply chains now has a national security valence.”

Compounding the matter for one panelist is the weakening of U.S. allies. The U.S comprises just 5% of the global population but accounts for 25% of global GDP and 50% of global military spending. Meanwhile Europe’s share of GDP has dropped from 30% to 17%, even as it shoulders nearly 50% of global social spending—much of it underwritten by U.S. security guarantees. U.S. domestic spending has risen unsustainably from $3.7 trillion under George W. Bush to over $7 trillion, requiring a necessary rebalancing, even if it is messy and unpopular.

U.S. expectations that economic integration would liberalize China have proven wrong and misguided assumptions continue to mar relations. One panelist noted that in Beijing “political concerns are more important than economic interests.” In the latest trade war with the Trump administration, China resisted concessions, prioritizing regime legitimacy and national pride. Conceding on trade isn’t just an economic loss—it would be an unacceptable “political surrender to Western capitalism.”

As the U.S. and China grope for a new equilibrium, one panelist concluded, “if we can get to cold war, we’re good. Cold wars are not hot, and they allow for cooperation.” 

In Beijing, political concerns are more important than economic interests.

Slowing Growth, Thriving Tech
Despite slowing economic growth, China’s industrial and tech strength remains formidable. Its economy is ~75% the size of the U.S. in dollar terms, but China accounts for 33% of global manufacturing value-added, projected to rise to 49% by 2050. “China is very strong in all sorts of advanced manufacturing... in many cases it is almost entirely a Chinese concern.”

The gap is vast, according to another panelist: in 2023, China had 1,500 commercial ships under construction; the U.S. had three. Non-state firms drive export growth, crowding out for shrinking shares of foreign-led exports (60% to 30%). “There is plenty of profitable activity going on, especially in the non-state sector.”

Meanwhile, Made in China 2025 has paid dividends. “At a first approximation, it looks like a pretty good success,” said one panelist, citing EVs, clean tech, and automation, but admitted that weaknesses persist in sectors like semiconductors and aerospace. Nevertheless, China’s highly competent manufacturers, tech companies, and deep reservoir of human capital ensure that despite costly and inefficient industrial policies, China still has “a good amount of fuel left in the tank.”

Rather than stagnating like Japan in the 1990s, panelists agreed China would more closely resemble a “Leninist Germany”—an authoritarian state with a globally competitive, export-driven, tech-intensive economy.

China is very strong in all sorts of advanced manufacturing. In many cases it is almost entirely a Chinese concern.

An Enduring Value Proposition for the World, but Pushback is Growing 
Around the world China is embedding itself in local production ecosystems. Several panelists described how Chinese firms have established smartphone assembly plants in Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, and Indonesia. EV assembly and battery processing plants have followed, particularly in Zimbabwe and the DRC. In practice, countries receiving China’s investment often express more concern about being left behind by the West than overwhelmed by China.

China’s outbound investment is not just commercial; it is also strategic. As one panelist put it, this “industrial diplomacy” steers capital toward geopolitically friendly or economically useful countries—especially those with preferential trade access to the U.S. or E.U., like Mexico and Morocco—and away from places perceived as hostile, such as India.

This strategy has helped China rebuild global supply chains with itself at the center, creating new production ecosystems around batteries, robotics, AI, and advanced manufacturing. As one expert noted, firms like BYD, Xiaomi, and Huawei are at the core of “interlocking industrial ecosystems” that tie together multiple cutting-edge sectors across borders.

Yet pushback is growing. In 2023, 117 of 198 World Trade Organization complaints against China came from low- and middle-income countries. These nations aren’t rejecting Chinese investment, panelists pointed out—they’re renegotiating harder, hedging more, and believing less.

The conference underscored a world in flux—one where China’s industrial and technological dynamism continues to reshape global supply chains even as its assertive statecraft provokes growing resistance. While some panelists warned of the breakdown of integrationist hopes, others saw opportunity in a more defined and stable strategic rivalry, even if it takes the form of a new cold war. A key takeaway was the paradox of China’s global role: it remains an important source of growth and innovation, yet inspires distrust that is prompting nations to pursue more reciprocal, conditional partnerships. In navigating this uncertain era, both China and the West appear to be groping toward a new equilibrium—messy, complex, and decidedly post-unipolar.



Discover more from the 2025 SCCEI China Conference. 
 


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2024 SCCEI China Conference Tackles Trends in China’s Economy, Tech, and Politics

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Panelists speak during a session at the 2025 SCCEI China Conference. Rod Searcey
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The second annual SCCEI China Conference, held at Stanford University on May 14, brought together leading scholars and policy experts. Panelists offered a candid, multifaceted view of China's global economic position, exploring its technological prowess, industrial diplomacy, and the increasingly complex global responses to its expanding influence.

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Join us for a compelling discussion on the evolving challenges and strategies shaping China’s economy and its impact on global industrial policy. During this panel discussion, Skyline Scholars Loren Brandt from the University of Toronto and Xiaonian Xu from the China Europe International Business School, as well as Senior Fellow Mary Lovely from the Peterson Institute for International Economics will explore the slowdown of China’s economy and the structural reforms needed to address its debt and growth challenges. Scott Rozelle, Co-Director of the Stanford Center on China's Economy and Institutions, will moderate the discussion. Panelists will examine the shifting role of industrial policy in China, its strategic and economic motivations, and its broader effects on China’s long-term trajectory, as well as how China’s policies influence U.S. policy decisions, including the role of industrial policy in an era of increasing global competition.

The discussion will begin with opening remarks at 3:15 pm on Wednesday, February 26th. We invite you to join us before the event for light refreshments.

This event is off the record. 


About the Speakers
 

Loren Brandt headshot

Loren Brandt is the Noranda Chair Professor of Economics at the University of Toronto specializing in the Chinese economy. He is also a research fellow at the IZA (The Institute for the Study of Labor) in Bonn, Germany. He has published widely on the Chinese economy in leading economic journals and been involved in extensive household and enterprise survey work in both China and Vietnam. With Thomas Rawski, he completed Policy, Regulation, and Innovation in China’s Electricity and Telecom Industries (Cambridge University Press, 2019), an interdisciplinary effort analyzing the effect of government policy on the power and telecom sectors in China. He was also co-editor and major contributor to China’s Great Economic Transformation (Cambridge University Press, 2008), which provides an integrated analysis of China’s unexpected economic boom of the past three decades. Brandt was also one of the area editors for Oxford University Press’ five-volume Encyclopedia of Economic History (2003). His current research focuses on issues of entrepreneurship and firm dynamics, industrial policy and innovation and  economic growth and structural change.

 

Mary Lovely headshot

Mary E. Lovely is the Anthony M. Solomon Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute. She served as the 2022 Carnegie Chair in US-China Relations with the Kluge Center at the Library of Congress. Lovely is professor emeritus of economics at Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, where she was Melvin A. Eggers Economics Faculty Scholar from 2010 to April 2022. She was coeditor of the China Economic Review during 2011–15.

Her current research projects investigate the effect of China's foreign direct investment policies on trade flows and entry mode, strategic reform of US tariffs on China, and recent movements in global supply chains. Lovely earned her PhD in economics at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and a master's degree in city and regional planning from Harvard University.

 

Headshot of Scott Rozelle

Scott Rozelle is the Helen F. Farnsworth Senior Fellow and the co-director of Stanford Center on China's Economy and Institutions in the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research at Stanford University. He received his BS from the University of California, Berkeley, and his MS and PhD from Cornell University. His research focuses almost exclusively on China and is concerned with: agricultural policy, including the supply, demand, and trade in agricultural projects; the emergence and evolution of markets and other economic institutions in the transition process and their implications for equity and efficiency; and the economics of poverty and inequality, with an emphasis on rural education, health and nutrition.

In recognition of his outstanding achievements, Rozelle has received numerous honors and awards, including the Friendship Award in 2008, the highest award given to a non-Chinese by the Premier; and the National Science and Technology Collaboration Award in 2009 for scientific achievement in collaborative research.

 

Xiaonian Xu headshot

Dr. Xiaonian Xu is Professor Emeritus at CEIBS, where he held the position of Professor of Economics and Finance from 2004 to 2018. In recognition of his contributions, he was named an Honorary Professor in Economics from September 2018 to August 2023.

Dr. Xu earned his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California, Davis, in 1991, and an MA in Industrial Economics from the People's University of China in 1981. In 1996, he was awarded the distinguished Sun Yefang Economics Prize, the highest honor in the field in China, for his research on China’s capital markets. His research interests include Macroeconomics, Financial Institutions and Financial Markets, Transitional Economies, China’s Economic Reform, Corporate Strategy and Digital Transformation. His publications include: Freedom and Market Economy, There has Never been A Savior, China: Market Economy or Planned Economy, the Nature of the Business and the Internet, and the Nature of the Business and the Internet, 2nd Edition.

A dedicated educator, he has been recognized with the CEIBS Teaching Excellence Award in 2005 and 2006, as well as the esteemed CEIBS Medal for Teaching Excellence in 2010.

Scott Rozelle
Scott Rozelle


Encina Hall, William J. Perry Room C231
616 Jane Stanford Way

This event will be held in-person only, registration is required.

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Skyline Scholar (2025), Stanford Center on China's Economy and Institutions
Professor of Economics, Noranda Chair in Economics and International Trade, University of Toronto
Research Fellow, IZA
loren_brandt_-_bg_remove.png PhD

Loren Brandt is the Noranda Chair Professor of Economics at the University of Toronto specializing in the Chinese economy. He is also a research fellow at the IZA (The Institute for the Study of Labor) in Bonn, Germany. He has published widely on the Chinese economy in leading economic journals and been involved in extensive household and enterprise survey work in both China and Vietnam. With Thomas Rawski, he completed Policy, Regulation, and Innovation in China’s Electricity and Telecom Industries (Cambridge University Press, 2019), an interdisciplinary effort analyzing the effect of government policy on the power and telecom sectors in China. He was also co-editor and major contributor to China’s Great Economic Transformation (Cambridge University Press, 2008), which provides an integrated analysis of China’s unexpected economic boom of the past three decades. Brandt was also one of the area editors for Oxford University Press’ five-volume Encyclopedia of Economic History (2003). His current research focuses on issues of entrepreneurship and firm dynamics, industrial policy and innovation and  economic growth and structural change.

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Loren Brandt
Mary Lovely

Encina Hall, East Wing, Room 014

Office Hours:
Select Mondays | 3:00-5:00 PM 
Please schedule a meeting in advance

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Skyline Scholar (2024), Stanford Center on China's Economy and Institutions
Professor of Economics and Finance, China Europe International Business School
prof._xu_xiaonian.jpg Ph.D.

Dr. Xiaonian Xu is Professor Emeritus at CEIBS, where he held the position of Professor of Economics and Finance from 2004 to 2018. In recognition of his contributions, he was named an Honorary Professor in Economics from September 2018 to August 2023.

Between 1999 and 2004, Dr. Xu served as Managing Director and Head of Research at China International Capital Corporation Limited (CICC). Before joining CICC, he was a Senior Economist at Merrill Lynch Asia Pacific, based in Hong Kong from 1997 to 1998, and worked as a World Bank consultant in Washington DC in 1996. Dr. Xu was appointed Assistant Professor of Amherst College, Massachusetts, where he taught Economics and Financial Markets from 1991 to 1995. Earlier in his career, he was a research fellow at the State Development Research Centre of China from 1981 to 1985.

Dr. Xu earned his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California, Davis, in 1991, and an MA in Industrial Economics from the People's University of China in 1981. In 1996, he was awarded the distinguished Sun Yefang Economics Prize, the highest honor in the field in China, for his research on China’s capital markets. His research interests include Macroeconomics, Financial Institutions and Financial Markets, Transitional Economies, China’s Economic Reform, Corporate Strategy and Digital Transformation. His publications include: Freedom and Market Economy (《自由与市场经济》), There has Never been A Savior (《从来就没有救世主》), The Pendulum Swinging Back (《回荡的钟摆》), The Nature of the Business and the Internet (《商业的本质和互联网》), and The Nature of the Business and the Internet, 2nd Edition (《商业的本质和互联网》第二版).

A dedicated educator, he has been recognized with the CEIBS Teaching Excellence Award in 2005 and 2006, as well as the esteemed CEIBS Medal for Teaching Excellence in 2010.

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Xiaonian Xu
Panel Discussions
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Big Data China 3rd Annual Conference (Virtual)


The Turning Point? U.S.-China Relations, Economic Growth, and the Race for Technology Leadership


The event will be broadcast live from this webpage and YouTube.

Big Data China logo

Join the third annual conference of Big Data China, a collaborative project by CSIS Trustee Chair in Chinese Business and Economics and Stanford Center on China's Economy and Institutions (SCCEI). China experts in the policy and academic communities will discuss the key challenges in U.S.-China relations, recent shifts in China's economic governance, and the global implications of technology competition with China.

 


AGENDA
 

8:00 - 8:30 am: Keynote Speech: Craig Allen, President, U.S.-China Business Council
 

8:45 - 9:45 am: Panel 1: Charting U.S.-China Relations: Key Challenges and Choices for the Incoming Administration


Moderator: Scott Kennedy, CSIS

Panelists:
Wendy Cutler, Asia Society Policy Institute
Bonnie S. Glaser, German Marshall Fund Indo-Pacific
Dennis Wilder, Georgetown University

10:00 - 11:00 am: Panel 2: China’s Economic Stimulus: A Short-Term Fix or Path to Sustainable Recovery?


Moderator: Scott Rozelle, Stanford Center on China’s Economy and Institutions

Panelists:
Ling Chen, Johns Hopkins SAIS
Andrew Polk, Trivium China
Margit Molnar, OECD
Logan Wright, CSIS

11:15 - 12:15 pm: Panel 3: Decoupling vs. De-risking: The Competitive Dilemma in Tech Innovation


Moderator: Ilaria Mazzocco, CSIS

Panelists:
Greg Allen, CSIS
Rebecca Arcesati, MERICS
Samm Sacks, Yale Law School Paul Tsai China Center
Kevin Xu, Interconnected
 


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Encina Hall East, 4th floor 
616 Jane Stanford Way 
Stanford, CA 94305-6055

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Spencer Smith is the Administrative Associate at the Rural Education Action Program (REAP) at Stanford Center on China’s Economy and Institutions (SCCEI). He graduated magna cum laude from the University of Oregon in 2023 and holds a B.S. with honors in Political Science and Ethnic Studies. Prior to joining SCCEI, Spencer held several positions at the University of Oregon where he worked to enhance administrative processes, research operations, and academic programs at both the School of Law and the Lyllye Reynolds-Parker Black Cultural Center. His academic and professional experiences instilled in him a deep interest in participatory action research, cross-cultural collaboration, and project management, which led him to join REAP in the fall of 2024. While at SCCEI, Spencer will be working on a variety of projects that facilitate the administration of REAP’s research and programs.

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Why do authoritarian regimes charge political opponents with non-political crimes when they can levy charges directly related to opponents' political activism?

On October 3, 2024, Stanford Professor of Communication, Jennifer Pan, presented her recent research answering this question. Professor Pan and her research collaborators used experimental and observational data from China and found that, “disguising repression by charging opponents with non-political crimes undermines the moral authority of opponents, minimizing backlash and mobilization while increasing public support for repression.”

During the lecture, Pan detailed the survey she and her collaborators conducted in China and shared a case study using data from Weibo to illustrate how China uses select charges to manipulate the public's view of influential dissidents and induce self-censorship among other dissidents in an act of disguised repression.


 

SCCEI China Briefs: Translating academic research in evidence-based insights

SCCEI produced a China Brief based off of Professor Pan’s paper on disguised repression in China. Read the brief here for a synthesized recap of the paper. 
 



Watch the recorded lecture to learn more about the research and her findings. 
 

 

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Why do authoritarian regimes charge political opponents with non-political crimes when they can levy charges directly related to opponents' political activism? Professor Pan presents her newest research during a Fall 2024 SCCEI event.

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Disguised Repression:  Targeting Opponents with Non-Political Crimes to Undermine Dissent lecture on 10.3.24 with Jennifer Pan.

Why do authoritarian regimes charge political opponents with non-political crimes when they can levy charges directly related to opponents' political activism? Using experimental and observational data from China, we find that disguising repression by charging opponents with non-political crimes undermines the moral authority of opponents, minimizing backlash and mobilization while increasing public support for repression.

Stanford Center on China’s Economy and Institutions (SCCEI) is pleased to present a lecture by Jennifer Pan, Sir Robert Ho Tung Professor of Chinese Studies, Professor of Communication and (by courtesy) Political Science, and a Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute, who will be speaking on Disguised Repression: Targeting Opponents with Non-Political Crimes to Undermine Dissent. The event opens with a welcome reception at 4:00 pm, followed by the lecture and discussion with Jennifer Pan and Hongbin Li, SCCEI Co-director and James Liang Endowed Chair, beginning at 4:45 pm.



Watch the Recorded Lecture

About the Speaker

 

Jennifer Pan

Jennifer Pan is a political scientist whose research focuses on political communication, digital media, and authoritarian politics. She is the Sir Robert Ho Tung Professor of Chinese Studies, Professor of Communication and (by courtesy) Political Science, and a Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute. Pan's research uses experimental and computational methods with large-scale datasets on political activity to answer questions about the role of digital media in authoritarian and democratic politics, including how political censorship, propaganda, and information manipulation work in the digital age and how preferences and behaviors are shaped as a result. Her papers have appeared in peer reviewed publications such as the American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, Political Communication, and Science. She graduated from Princeton University, summa cum laude, and received her Ph.D. from Harvard University’s Department of Government.


Parking & Directions


Parking meters are enforced Monday - Friday 8 AM to 4 PM, unless otherwise posted.

The event will take place in the Koret-Taube Conference Center located within the John A. and Cynthia Fry Gunn Building. The closest visitor parking to the Gunn-SIEPR building is:


Please visit this website for more detailed parking options and directions to the venue.



Questions? Contact Ragina Johnson at raginaj@stanford.edu

Koret-Taube Conference Center
366 Galvez Street, Stanford, CA

Jennifer Pan, Professor of Communication, Stanford University
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