I am an associate professor at the Department of Government, the University of Texas at Austin. My research centers on distributive politics of fiscal policies in authoritarian regimes, with a focus on China. I am currently working on several paper projects that focus on the relationship between fiscal extraction and state-society relations. I am also working on a book project on party building in authoritarian regimes. I received Ph.D. in Political Science from Yale University in 2011.
Along with Yuhua Wang (Harvard), we co-organize the Chinese Politics Research in Progress (CPRP). This is a virtual workshop that promotes scholarly research on Chinese politics in comparative politics and international relations. The CPRP virtual workshop is open to the public, and will be held between *12:00-1:00PM* (Central Standard Time) on Fridays every two or three weeks during the regular academic year. Please visit our website for more information.
(512) 232-7257
Department of Government
University of Texas at Austin
Campus Mail Stop: A1800
Austin, TX 78712-1704
WORK IN PROGRESS
The Origins of Strong Authoritarian Parties (Book manuscript in preparation)
Mobilized Compliance: How Political Parties Facilitate Fiscal Extraction during Wartime.
A Mirage of Harmonious Society? Reassessing the Impact of China’s Expansion of Public Service on Trust in Local Officials (with Ding Li, Shuang Ma, Wenhui Yang)
The Fiscal Impact of Land Resources on Social Contention: Evidence from China (with Lynette Ong and Wenhui Yang)
Do “Responsive Officials” or “Sanctioning Officials” Enhance Tax Compliance? Experimental Evidence from China (with Lily Tsai, Minh Trinh, and Ping Zhang)
PUBLICATIONS
Refereed Journals
(Forthcoming) Disgruntled Cadres: How Tax Reduction Undermines Rural Governance (with Mingxing Liu and Linke Hou) Governance.
(Forthcoming) “Do Gains in Political Representation Sweeten Tax Reform in China? It Depends on Who You Ask” (with Jay Kao and Didac Queralt) Political Science Research and Methods.
Paper | Online Appendix | Replication Data
(2020) "Policy Coalition Building in an Authoritarian Legislature: Evidence from China’s National Assemblies (1983–2007)" (with Mingxing Liu and Feiyue Li) Comparative Political Studies, 53(9): 1380-1416
(2019) “The Sources of De Facto Power and Education Provision: Understanding Local Government Incentive in China” (with Mingxing Liu) Publius: The Journal of Federalism, 49 (2): 325-51.
(2018) “Does Performance Matter? Evaluating the Institution of Political Selection along the Chinese Administrative Ladder” (with Pierre Landry and Haiyan Duan) Comparative Political Studies, 51(8): 1074 – 1105.
Paper | Online Appendix | Replication Data
(2016) “Self-Centered Inequity Aversion and the Mass Politics of Taxation” (with Kenneth Scheve) Comparative Political Studies, 49 (14): 1965-97.
Paper | Online Appendix | Replication Data
(2015) “Intergovernmental Transfers and Local Education Provision – Evaluating China’s 8-7 National Plan for Poverty Reduction” China Economics Review, 33: 200-211.
(2014) “Show Me the Money: Interjurisdiction Political Competition and Fiscal Extraction in China” (with Pierre Landry) American Political Science Review, 108(3): 706-722.
(2014) “Social Policy and Regime Legitimacy: The Effects of Education Reform in China” American Political Science Review, 108(2): 423-437.
(2014) “Does Changing Economic Well-being Shape Opinion about Inequality in China?” Studies in Comparative International Development, 49(3): 300-320.
(2013) “Equality of Educational Opportunity and Attitudes toward Income Inequality: Evidence from China” Quarterly Journal of Political Science, 8(3): 271-303.
Paper | Online Appendix | Replication Data
(2012) “Inequity Aversion and the International Distribution of Trade Protection” (with Kenneth Scheve and Matthew J. Slaughter). American Journal of Political Science, 56(3): 638-654.
Paper | Online Appendix | Replication Data
Refereed Book Chapter
(2015) “China: Ethical Challenges in Comparative Politics Experiments.” In Ethics and Experiments: Problems and Solutions for Social Scientists and Policy Professionals, ed. Scott Desposato. London: Routledge.
Book Review
(2019) Book Review, Daniel Koss. Where the Party Rules: The Rank and File of China’s Communist State. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018), The China Journal, 82 (July): 151-153.
(2017) Book review, Rory Truex. Making autocracy work: representation and responsiveness in modern China. (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2016), The China Quarterly, 232 (December): 1118-1119.
(2012) Book review, Andrew B. Kipnis. Governing Educational Desire: Culture, Politics, and Schooling in China (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2011), Comparative Political Studies, 45(5): 667-670.
TEACHING
University of Texas at Austin
Graduate-Level
Comparative Political Economy
Undergraduate-Level
Politics in Contemporary China
State Building in China and Taiwan
Chinese Politics & Society in Films & Documentaries
Politics of Development Policies
Institutions and Comparative Political & Economic Development