About
I am an Assistant Professor of Economic History at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and a Research Affiliate at the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR). My research interests include political economy, gender, culture and narrative, and early modern and modern China.
My work examines the rise of women and the self-perpetuation of authoritarian regimes, and the long-term effects of affirmative action policies. By tracing the impact of historical events over time and in various institutional settings, my work centers on the role of values, beliefs, and norms in shaping economic and political disparities.
In my research on historical narratives, I have found that folklore is a crucial source of cultural values. In a more recent project, I explore cultural change following the Industrial Revolution through the study of proverbs. Another ongoing line of inquiry concerns cultural values in China across space and time, within and between ethnic groups.
I am currently accepting PhD students, particularly those interested in:
a) Chinese economic history
b) Gender in Historical Perspective
c) national and regional folklore from various parts of the world
Publications
Book Project
"Values of China: The Cultural Foundations of Economic Transformation" (Under contract)
Articles
"Folklore" with S. Michalopoulos
Quarterly Journal of Economics, Volume 136, Issue 4, November 2021, pp. 1993–2046
Editor's Choice
"Friends from Afar: The Taiping Rebellion, Cultural Proximity and Primary Schooling in the Lower Yangzi, 1850-1949" with Y. Hao
Explorations in Economic History, 63 January 2017, pp 44-69.
Short articles
“Crowd-Sourced Chinese Genealogies as Data for Demographic and Economic History”
Explorations in Economic History, Volume 99, January 2026.
Working Papers
"High-Value Work and the Rise of Women: The Cotton Revolution and Gender Equality in China," 2024.
"Autocratic Rule and Social Capital: Evidence from Imperial China," 2021
"The Short- and Long-Run Effects of Affirmative Action: Evidence from Imperial China," 2025, with Boxiao Zhang.
"Values of China: Toward a Cultural Map," 2024
"Enlightenment Under Autocracy: The Origins of Liberalism in China," 2025, with Xizi Luo
Book reviews
Book Review for "D. Ma and R. Von Glahn, The Cambridge Economic History of China. Volume II," Economic History Review, 76 (2023): 989-990.
Book Review for "M. Tanimoto and R. B. Wong, Public Goods Provision in the Early Modern Economy: Comparative Perspectives from Japan, China, and Europe"Economic History Review, 73 (2020): 335-336.
Other publications
"Predecessors to Qing Fiscal Conservatism: From Wang Yangming to Huang Zongxi and Gu Yanwu" Yale Journal of Law & the Humanities, Vol. 36, No. 4, 2026 (Symposium on the Ideological Foundations of Qing Taxation).
"Folklore" Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace, and Conflict, 3rd Edition, Academic Press, 2022. (Invited Reference)
Expertise
political economy; gender, culture and narrative; early modern and modern China