Nancy Qian
James J. O'Connor Professor of Managerial Economics & Decision Sciences
What Trump Wants From Tariffs … and What the U.S. Might Get Instead
The administration hopes to bring back manufacturing and reduce trade deficits. But renegotiating trade may damage global trust in the U.S.
Researchers: Nancy Qian
April 23, 2025
Trump’s Trade War Is about More Than Trade
Winning its trade war with China would help the U.S. negotiate better trade terms, but American consumers and businesses could pay a heavy price.
Researchers: Nancy Qian
February 17, 2025
The Cold, Cold History of Political Conflict
Sustained temperature shifts during the “Little Ice Age” led to wars, mass migration, and instability. What does this mean for our current moment?
Researchers: Murat Iyigun, Joris Mueller and Nancy Qian
January 13, 2025
China’s Economy Has Not Peaked
Chinese policymakers should allow for a more market-driven allocation of land, money, and labor.
Researchers: Nancy Qian
January 7, 2025
Perspective: America Needs Political Age Limits
If there is a mandatory retirement age for the top officers in the U.S. military, why isn’t there one for the commander in chief?
Researchers: Nancy Qian
September 23, 2024
Would Trump Escalate the U.S.–China Trade War?
If former U.S. President Donald Trump returns to the White House, he would likely impose sweeping tariffs against China. His policy agenda would harm lower-income households the most.
Researchers: Nancy Qian
August 12, 2024
Humanizing the U.S.–China Relationship
Escalating tensions between U.S. and Chinese governments make preserving in-person interactions between ordinary Chinese and Americans even more important.
Researchers: Nancy Qian
April 12, 2024
The Truth about U.S. Immigration
It is possible both to maximize the benefits of immigration and still maintain border security and support workers in sectors that immigrants may enter.
Researchers: Nancy Qian
March 26, 2024
Why Are So Many Young Chinese Depressed?
It’s not just the economic slowdown. The country’s education system and social policies have created a disillusioned generation.
Researchers: Nancy Qian
January 4, 2024
The Long Tail of China’s Zero-Covid Policy
As the costs of China’s pandemic experience are tallied, younger generations are confronting a disconcerting new reality.
Researchers: Nancy Qian
November 28, 2023
Is Chinese Youth Unemployment as Bad as It Looks?
China’s exceptional growth in recent decades has influenced the education and career choices of young people and their families. But now that high-skilled jobs are drying up and recent graduates are struggling to find work, there is a growing mismatch between expectations and new realities.
Researchers: Nancy Qian
October 2, 2023
Youth Unemployment and China’s Economic Future
For decades, China’s growth has followed the pattern of advanced economies, with rising incomes and educational attainment, shrinking family size, and growing female labor-force participation. But across these and other dimensions, the economy now appears to be going backward.
Researchers: Nancy Qian
July 27, 2023
China’s Youth Unemployment Problem
If the record-breaking joblessness persists, as seems likely, China will have an even harder time supporting its rapidly aging population.
Researchers: Nancy Qian
June 2, 2023
Banning China from Owning U.S. Farmland Will Achieve Nothing
A new bipartisan bill would prohibit anyone associated with “foreign adversaries” like China from purchasing U.S. farmland. While protecting the U.S. food system and making farmland more affordable to domestic producers by limiting foreign ownership may seem plausible on paper, the reality is more complicated.
Researchers: Nancy Qian
April 21, 2023
Podcast: China’s Economy Is in Flux. Here’s What American Businesses Need to Know.
On this episode of The Insightful Leader: the end of “Zero Covid,” escalating geopolitical tensions, and China’s potentially irreplaceable role in the global supply chain.
Researchers: Nancy Qian, Benjamin F. Jones and David Dollar
December 23, 2022
What Do American Businesses Need to Understand about China Right Now?
As China’s zero-Covid policy ends, it’s time to take stock of where the world’s second largest economy may be headed.
Researchers: Nancy Qian, Benjamin F. Jones and David Dollar
December 22, 2022
Post-War Reconstruction Is a Good Investment
Ukraine’s European neighbors will need to make a major financial commitment to help rebuild its economy after the war. Fortunately, as the legacy of the post–World War II Marshall Plan shows, investing in Ukraine’s future will also serve Europe’s own long-term interests.
Researchers: Nancy Qian
November 28, 2022
Why Did So Many Ukrainians Die in the Soviet Great Famine?
They perished at a much higher rate than ethnic Russians during what’s known as Holodomor. A new study suggests this was a deliberate policy decision.
Researchers: Andrei Markevich, Natalya Naumenko and Nancy Qian
October 1, 2022
China’s Future Will Reflect Russia’s
China learned from Russia’s post-1991 experience and pursued its economic liberalization with more care. But it ultimately could not avoid the political implications of pro-market policies and is now following Russia down the road to autocracy—continuing a century-long pattern of mirroring its neighbor’s historical trajectory.
Researchers: Nancy Qian
September 28, 2022
The Food Crisis Is Bigger Than Ukraine
While Russia’s war has undoubtedly caused real problems in global food markets, they are different and more complex than what most news coverage suggests.
Researchers: Nancy Qian
August 26, 2022
Take 5: Democracies and How They Thrive
A look at this form of government at a time when democracy is under stress around the world.
Researchers: Georgy Egorov, Ameet Morjaria, Sandeep Baliga, Nancy Qian and and coauthors
June 8, 2022
China Is Caught in a COVID-19 Trap of Its Own Making
Why moderating its “zero-COVID” strategy is proving difficult.
Researchers: Nancy Qian
April 26, 2022
Will Putin's War Slow China's Growth?
The additional spike in food and energy prices caused by the Russia–Ukraine conflict could be devastating for China. But the country’s neutral political stance toward the war may also yield economic gains.
Researchers: Nancy Qian
March 17, 2022
To Escape Jim Crow–Era Discrimination and Violence, Some Black Men Passed as White. But How Many?
Hundreds of thousands, according to a new study of Census data. Doing so provided some economic benefits but came at a great personal cost.
Researchers: Ricardo Dahis, Emily Nix and Nancy Qian
April 1, 2021
How Racism Discouraged Volunteer Enlistment Immediately after Pearl Harbor
New research examines what happened when Black and Japanese men, who were battling discrimination at home, were asked to fight injustice abroad.
Researchers: Nancy Qian and Marco Tabellini
December 1, 2020
Why Well-Meaning NGOs Sometimes Do More Harm than Good
Studies of aid groups in Ghana and Uganda show why it’s so important to coordinate with local governments and institutions.
Researchers: Erika Deserranno, Aisha Nansamba, Nancy Qian, Katharine Baldwin, Dean Karlan, Christopher Udry and Ernest Appiah
August 7, 2020
Take 5: The Psychology of Healthy Eating
Opting for a salad instead of a steak can be hard. Research from Kellogg can help.
Researchers: Alexander Chernev, Rima Touré-Tillery, Michal Maimaran, Yuval Salant, David A. Matsa and Nancy Qian
June 4, 2019
A Nation’s Wealth May Depend on How Much Its Workers Can Learn on the Job
New research suggests that formal schooling is not the panacea to global inequality that many have long believed it to be.
Researchers: David Lagakos, Benjamin Moll, Tommaso Porzio, Nancy Qian and Todd Schoellman
June 3, 2019
Why Economic Crises Trigger Political Turnover in Some Countries but Not Others
The fallout can hinge on how much a country’s people trust each other.
Researchers: Nancy Qian, Nathan Nunn and Jaya Wen
September 4, 2018
How the Potato Ushered in an Era of Peace
Its arrival in Europe had consequences that went far beyond diet.
Researchers: Murat Iyigun, Nathan Nunn and Nancy Qian
May 2, 2018
Does Immigration Help or Hurt Local Economies?
Historically, where immigrants cluster in the U.S., prosperity follows.
Researchers: Nathan Nunn, Nancy Qian and Sandra Sequeira
June 6, 2017
