Short Bio

I am a sixth-year PhD candidate in Political Science at the University of Chicago. My research lies in comparative and historical political economy, with a primary focus on China. My dissertation centers on the Great Divergence between China and Europe. I develop a new theoretical framework to explain the origins and consequences of China’s distinctive centralized political system. This framework provides a basis for comparing the evolution of state organization, state-society relations, and economic development in China and Europe under different institutional arrangements. I primarily use game-theoretic models, complemented by historical narratives and empirical evidence. My dissertation committee includes Scott Gehlbach (chair), Wioletta Dziuda, Joel Mokyr, Monika Nalepa, Kenneth Pomeranz, and James Robinson.

Research Interests

• Comparative Politics
• Chinese Politics
• Historical Political Economy
• Formal Theory

Education

• PhD Candidate in Political Science, 2021 - present, University of Chicago
• MA in Social Sciences, 2019 - 2021, University of Chicago

Presentations

• [2026.10], Institutions in HPE Conference, UChicago, IL.
• [2026.09], APSA Annual Conference, Boston, MA.
• [2026.06], Yale-UB HPE Workshop, Barcelona, Spain.
• [2026.05], Asian Political History Conference, UMich Ann Arbor, MI.
• [2026.04], MPSA Annual Conference, Chicago, IL.
• [2026.03], Virtual Workshop in HPE, Online.
• [2025.06], LSE Hayek Conference, London, UK.
• [2025.09], APSA Annual Conference, Vancouver, Canada.
• [2025.08], EITM Summer Institute, Ann Arbor, MI.
• [2025.06], Faculty Research Workshop, CEIBS, Shanghai, China.
• [2025.04], Formal Theory Conference, Washington University in St. Louis, MO.
• [2025.02], Econ History Lunch, Northwestern University, IL.
• [2025.02], Political Economy Lunch, University of Chicago, IL.
• [2024.06], SIOE Annual Conference, Chicago, IL.
• [2024.09], APSA Annual Conference, Philadelphia, PA.
• [2024.04], MPSA Annual Conference, Chicago, IL.
• [2024.02], Econ History Lunch, Northwestern University, IL.
• [2024.02], Political Economy Lunch, UChicago, IL.
• [2023.04], MPSA Annual Conference, Chicago, IL.

Awards

• Best APSA Paper Award (2026)
  For "A Relational Theory of Power Alternation" (with Zanhui Liu, Zhaotian Luo, and Yucheng Qiu), presented at the 2025 APSA Annual Meeting.

CV

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