1/6 SSRN: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.… I ran a rare randomized field experiment on law and politics in the most populous province in rural China 🇨🇳⚖️ For 20 weeks, across 70 villages and 60,000 adults, I studied what happens when ordinary people get easier access to legal service. Does that make them more compliant with the system—or more able to use it? What are the social and political implications of accessing law in autocracy? 👇 comments are welcome :)

**Personal Finance Notes for New Faculty** I intentionally chose a red day to post this, to avoid giving the impression that I am encouraging people to buy stocks. yiqingxu.org/guide/personal-… In 2020, I wrote a short note on personal finance for a Chinese-speaking young faculty audience and have updated the numbers since then. Ye said this is my most-read piece of writing. 🤣 This is the English version. Over the years, I have also given many of our international students a 30-minute tutorial on this topic when they start academic jobs in the US. They are excellent at what they do, but knowledge about US financial markets is often lacking. I hope this helps.

Today I successfully defended my dissertation and officially became Dr. Zu. I cannot thank my advisors @vshih2, @mollyeroberts, @rxjia, Stephan Haggard, and Sebastian Saiegh enough for their guidance, support, and generosity throughout this journey.

Illiberal Law and Development by Susan H. Whiting Explains how China achieved transformative economic development without secure property rights and regime durability despite conflict. 📚 cup.org/4vKSRqu

If the current wave of military purges has you asking “why now?”, read @vshih2 Coalitions of the Weak an insightful causal map of how coalitions form, fracture, and get policed in contemporary China.

Some personal news: I am thrilled to share that I will be joining the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (@UTKnoxville ) as an Assistant Professor of Political Science this August! 🍊 🧡 🏔️ I look forward to continuing my research on Chinese politics, authoritarian rule, and information management at UTK. Huge thanks to my mentors and the wonderful community at @UCSD @GPS_UCSD for their support.

🚨 New Working Paper Alert! 🚨 How China Responded to the Trade War Using firm-level data on subsidies procurement, we examine how China cushioned the shock from U.S. tariffs: 1️⃣ Tariff-exposed firms received more subsidies 2️⃣ Support flowed mainly to politically connected—not productive—firms 3️⃣ Local governments also stepped in: tariff-hit local firms received much larger procurement contracts Takeaway: China did provide support, but in highly political and very local ways. 🔗 How China Responded to the Trade War: Evidence from Subsidies and Public Procurement papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.…