CV
Education
- Ph.D. in Political Science (Comparative Politics and Methods), Northwestern University, 2019-2026 (expected)
- Committee: James Mahoney and Iza Ding (co-chair); Jordan Gans-Morse; Jay Seawright; Yuhua Wang (Harvard)
- M.S. in Applied Statistics, Northwestern University
- M.A. in Politics, Northwestern University
- M.Sc. in Sociology, Oxford University, 2015-2019
- M.Sc. in Contemporary Chinese Studies, Oxford University
- M.Phil. in Political Theory, Oxford University
- B.A. in Business Administration (Minor in Law), Tsinghua University, 2011-2015
Dissertation
Patchwork Capitalism: Institutional Change and Economic Development in Subnational China
My dissertation examines the divergent economic trajectories of China’s regions over four decades of Reform and Opening. Utilizing machine-learning analysis, I identify four distinct types of regional economies—quasi-liberal, dual-market, state-retreating, and state-dominating—each shaped by varying degrees of market development and state influence. Through extensive fieldwork in 14 provinces, I find that policy choices made by provincial leaders in the 1980s were decisive, setting in motion these four path-dependent economic trajectories that have persisted and been reinforced over time. The study highlights the importance of the early autonomy granted by Deng Xiaoping, which enabled local officials to pursue tailored development strategies—the effects of which continue to shape regional economies today.
Publications
- “Towards Machine-Learning Enhanced QCA: Optimizing Coverage and Empirical Significance”, Quality and Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Forthcoming.
- “Pathways to Digital Governance: Fiscal Resources, Political Pressure, and Provincial Disparities” (with Xiang Wang, in Chinese), Chinese Public Administration, 2023.
- Received the “Merit Paper Award” from the Chinese Public Administration Society
Working Papers
- “Patchwork Capitalism: State, Market, and Regional Economies in China” (Job Market Paper)
- “Radical Political Transformation in World History: Concepts, Cases, and Patterns” (with James Mahoney), Under Review
- “Identifying Gender Inequalities in Pathways to Political Participation: A Large-N QCA Framework”, Humanities and Social Sciences Communications
- “Legacies of Liberalism: Political Agency and the Making of Regional Economies in China”
- “Clustering, Conceptualization, and Typology: A Multi-Methods Approach”
- “From Rewards to Punishments: Accountability, Discipline, and Supervision in Chinese Bureaucracy”
- “Pathways to Transparent Government across Chinese Cities” (with Xiang Wang, in Chinese)
Works in Progress
- “Disaggregating Digital Authoritarianism in China: A Configurational Analysis of Regional Disparities in Digital Policing” (with Yuchen Liu)
- “Missing Values and Limited Diversity in Large-N QCA: A Machine-Learning Solution”
Teaching Experience
Northwestern University
- Social Movements, Social Protest, and Change, Spring 2022
- Teaching Assistant (Anonymous Student Evaluation: 6/6), with Prof. Wendy Pearlman
- Political Economy of Development, Fall 2021
- Teaching Assistant (Anonymous Student Evaluation: 5.5/6), with Prof. Jordan Gans-Morse
- Introduction to Comparative Politics, Spring 2021
- Teaching Assistant (Anonymous Student Evaluation: 5.5/6), with Dr. David Peyton
- American Government and Politics, Fall 2022, Winter 2021 & Fall 2020
- Teaching Assistant (Anonymous Student Evaluation: 5.9/6), with Prof. Chloe Thurston
Online Education Platform
- Chinese Politics and International Relations (in Chinese), 2023
- Instructor: Teaching Chinese Government, Political Economy, and Sino-US Relations
- Quantitative Methods in Social Sciences (in Chinese), 2023
- Instructor: Teaching Statistical Models and Machine Learning Algorithms
- Qualitative Methods in Social Sciences (in Chinese), 2023
- Instructor: Teaching Field Research, QCA, and Comparative Historical Analysis
Tsinghua University
- Critical Thinking and Moral Reasoning, Fall 2014
- Co-Instructor, with Prof. Bin Yang
Awards and Grants
- Buffett International Dissertation Research Travel Award, Northwestern University, 2025
- First Generation Scholars Travel Grant, American Political Science Association, 2024
- Humane Studies Fellowship, George Mason University, 2024
- Emerging Methodologists Workshop Travel Grant, National Science Foundation, 2024
- Buffett Graduate Student Research Travel Award, Northwestern University, 2024
- Graduate Research Grant, Northwestern University, 2023
- Northwestern Buffet Global Impacts Fellowship (full tuition and stipend), 2023-2024
- Travel Grant for PolMeth, National Science Foundation, 2023
- Minar Memorial Summer Award, Northwestern University, 2023
- Society and Politics in Asia Grant, Northwestern University, 2020
- Warden’s Discretion Grant, Rhodes House (Oxford), 2019
- Fieldwork Grant, St Antony’s College and Merton College (Oxford), 2017 & 2018
- Rhodes Scholarship (full tuition and stipend), 2017-2019
- China Scholarship Council Graduate Student Fellowship (full tuition and stipend), 2015-2017
- Academic Excellence Scholarship, Tsinghua University, 2014 & 2015
- Overseas Research Scholarship, Tsinghua University, 2014
- National Encouragement Scholarship, Ministry of Education, 2012-2014
- China Scholarship Council Exchange Student Fellowship (full tuition and stipend), 2013
- College Entrance Scholarship, Tsinghua University, 2011-2015
Talks and Conferences
Conferences
- Comparative-Historical Sociology Mini-Conference at ASA, 2025
- Entrepreneurship Graduate Papers Workshop at George Mason University, 2025
- Chinese Politics Mini-Conference at APSA, 2024
- Young Scholars Conference, UCSD 21st Century China Center, 2024
- Chinese Politics Research in Progress Workshop, 2024
- Political Development Conference, Zhejiang University, 2023
- Comparative Politics Forum, Beijing Foreign Studies University, 2022
- Annual Meeting of the Society for Political Methodology, 2023
- Southwest Workshop on Mixed Methods Research, 2022 & 2024
- QCA Conference of the Americas, 2022, 2023 & 2024
- American Political Science Association Annual Meeting, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 & 2025
- Midwest Political Science Association Annual Meeting, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 & 2025
Invited Talks
- “Patchwork Capitalism and Regional Economies in China”, Davidson College, 2025
- “Qualitative Comparative Analysis: Theory and Practices”, Peking University, 2023
- “Contemporary Political Theory and Realism”, Tsinghua University, 2017
Research and Data
Original Data and Fieldwork
- China Provincial and Municipal Political Economy Dataset
- China Accountability, Discipline, and Supervision Dataset (In Progress)
- Political Revolutions in the World History Dataset (In Progress)
- Fieldwork 2023-2024: Guizhou, Guangxi, Guangdong, Anhui, Shannxi, Beijing, and Tianjin
- Fieldwork 2024-2025: Zhejiang, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Shangdong, Liaoning, Fujian, and Hainan
R Package
- mlQCA: Machine-Learning Enhanced QCA
Service
Manuscript Referee
- Sociological Methods and Research
- Quality and Quantity: International Journal of Methodology
- Humanities and Social Sciences Communications