Stanford University

Environment

Exposure to Untrustworthy Websites in the 2020 US Election

-

image of jeff hancock on blue background with ryan moore and ross dahlke

Join us on Tuesday, May 17th from 12 PM - 1 PM PT for “Exposure to Untrustworthy Websites in the 2020 US Election” featuring Jeff Hancock, Ross Dahlke & Ryan Moore of the Social Media Lab. This weekly seminar series is jointly organized by the Cyber Policy Center’s Program on Democracy and the Internet and the Hewlett Foundation’s Cyber Initiative.

About The Seminar: 

Prior research has documented exposure to fake news and online misinformation using large-scale data on individuals’ media use, which has provided important information about the scope and nature of people’s exposure to misinformation online. However, most of this work has made use of data collected during the 2016 US election, and far fewer studies have examined how exposure to misinformation online has changed since 2016. In this paper, we examine exposure to untrustworthy websites in the lead up to the 2020 US election using a dataset of over 7.5 million passively tracked website visits from a nationally representative sample of American adults (N = 1,151). We find that a significantly smaller percentage of Americans were exposed to untrustworthy websites in 2020 compared to in 2016 (as calculated by Guess et al. [2020]). While exposure was concentrated among similar groups of people as it was in 2016, levels of exposure appear to be lower across the board. There were also differences in the role online platforms played in directing people to untrustworthy websites in 2020 compared to 2016. Our findings have implications for future research and practice around online misinformation.

About The Speakers:

Jeff Hancock is the founding director of the Stanford Social Media Lab and is Harry and Norman Chandler Professor of Communication at Stanford University. Professor Hancock and his group work on understanding psychological and interpersonal processes in social media. The team specializes in using computational linguistics and experiments to understand how the words we use can reveal psychological and social dynamics, such as deception and trust, emotional dynamics, intimacy and relationships, and social support. Recently Professor Hancock has begun work on understanding the mental models people have about algorithms in social media, as well as working on the ethical issues associated with computational social science.

Ross Dahlke, from Westfield, Wisconsin, is pursuing a PhD in theory and research in the Stanford Social Media Lab at the Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with bachelor’s degrees in journalism and political science. Ross’s research focuses on applying AI and computational techniques to understand how people interact with complex systems. Before graduate school, he was a data scientist at a marketing technology firm where he developed machine learning platforms that helped Fortune 500 companies optimize their digital marketing spend in order to drive sales. He has also consulted on dozens of state-wide and local political campaigns. In high school, Ross started a cheese distribution business which has sold more than $3 million in cheese.

Ryan Moore studies how features of new media platforms and technologies affect the consumption, processing, and sharing of information, especially information about politics and news. In addition, he is interested in the role that age plays in internet and technology use, particularly as it relates to encountering deceptive or misleading content.

Seminars

Geopolitics of Technology in East Asia

-
two logos displayed on blue abstract background, Korea Foundation and Stanford's GTG program

Geopolitics of Technology in East Asia

 

WHEN: May 17 & May 18 
WHERE: Frances C. Arrillaga Alumni Center (IN PERSON) or Live Webcast


AGENDA: 

Day 1 of the workshop will focus on the strategic dimensions of industrial policy relating to digital goods and services. Key topics include national security reviews of inbound and outbound investments, export controls, and supply chain risks, with a view towards identifying areas that are ripe for multilateral alignment as well as points of friction and options for managing those points of friction. Elaborating the respective roles and responsibilities of government and private sector actors will be an important theme.

Day 2 of the workshop will focus on regulatory policy and workforce challenges and opportunities, especially AI and its ecosystem of supporting technologies. 
 

FULL AGENDA

Andrew Grotto

Frances C. Arrillaga Alumni Center or Live Webcast

Seminars

Big Speech

-

headshots of Kate Klonick and Nate Persily on a blue background with text that reads Big Speech, May 10ths 12-1 pacific

Join us on Tuesday, May 10 from 12 PM - 1 PM PT for “Big Speech” featuring Kate Klonick of St. John’s University Law School, in conversation with Nate Persily of the Cyber Policy Center. This weekly seminar series is jointly organized by the Cyber Policy Center’s Program on Democracy and the Internet and the Hewlett Foundation’s Cyber Initiative.

About the Seminar:

Technology companies seem omnipotent, omnipresent, and without accountability for their harms to society. Nowhere is this truer than in the realm of Big Speech—the firms who control and profit from large scale user-generated content platforms. With reform through direct regulation likely foreclosed by the First Amendment, recent intervention has focused instead on breaking up these platforms under antitrust law. These proposals tap into both the pragmatic and emotional frustration around the power of private firms over freedom of expression and the public sphere. But while break up might be valuable in other areas of big tech, its effect on Big Speech is less certain.

Will breaking up Big Speech make individual user experience and the digital public sphere better or worse? Join us for insight on the nature of Big Speech and the challenges of reform.

About the Speakers:

Kate Klonick is an Associate Professor at St. John's University Law School, a fellow at the Brookings Institution and Yale Law School’s Information Society Project. Her writing on online speech, freedom of expression, and private governance has appeared in the Harvard Law Review, Yale Law Journal, The New Yorker, the New York Times, The Atlantic, theWashington Post and numerous other publications.

Nathaniel Persily is the James B. McClatchy Professor of Law at Stanford Law School, with appointments in the departments of Political Science, Communication, and FSI.  Prior to joining Stanford, Professor Persily taught at Columbia and the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and as a visiting professor at Harvard, NYU, Princeton, the University of Amsterdam, and the University of Melbourne. Professor Persily’s scholarship and legal practice focus on American election law or what is sometimes called the “law of democracy,” which addresses issues such as voting rights, political parties, campaign finance, redistricting, and election administration. He has served as a special master or court-appointed expert to craft congressional or legislative districting plans for Georgia, Maryland, Connecticut, New York, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.  He also served as the Senior Research Director for the Presidential Commission on Election Administration. His current work, for which he has been honored as a Guggenheim Fellow, Andrew Carnegie Fellow, and a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, examines the impact of changing technology on political communication, campaigns, and election administration.  He is codirector of the Stanford Cyber Policy Center, Stanford Program on Democracy and the Internet, and the Stanford-MIT Healthy Elections Project, which supported local election officials in taking the necessary steps during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide safe voting options for the 2020 election. He is also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a commissioner on the Kofi Annan Commission on Elections and Democracy in the Digital Age.

 

Nathaniel Persily
Kate Klonick
Seminars
News Feed Image
bigspeech.png

Bridging the Cybersecurity Data Gap with Privacy Protected Data Sharing

-
Text on blue background showing speaker headshots for bridging the gap event

Join us on Tuesday, May 24 from 12 PM - 1 PM PT for “Bridging the Cybersecurity Data Gap with Privacy Protected Data Sharing” featuring Taylor Reynolds of MIT’s Internet Policy Research Initiative, Megan Stifel of the Institute for Security and Technology, and Klara Jordan, Chief Public Policy Officer of the Cyber Peace Institute, in conversation with Kelly Born of the Hewlett Foundation. This weekly seminar series is jointly organized by the Cyber Policy Center’s Program on Democracy and the Internet and the Hewlett Foundation’s Cyber Initiative.

About the Seminar:

Cyber attacks are increasing over time and useful insights into the causes and impact of successful attacks could help all organizations better understand the harm caused by such incidents, and improve their defenses. However, organizations currently have little incentive to report attempted or successful attacks if sharing such sensitive information could invite regulatory scrutiny, create reputational harm for the company, or provide an advantage to their competitors. The result is an environment where attacks happen on a regular basis, but collectively we learn very little from them. Today, neither the public nor policy makers fully understand the impact and risks of cyber-attacks - a gap that needs to be addressed to inform policy making, resiliency measures, and individual empowerment to seek redress.  Join Taylor Reynolds of MIT, Klara Jordan of the Cyber Peace Institute, and Megan Stifel of the Institute for Security and Technology, in conversation with Kelly Born of the Hewlett Foundation, to explore the problems posed by underreporting, the promise of new “privacy enhancing technologies” and the real-world challenges of deploying these technologies at scale. 

About the Speakers:

Taylor Reynolds is the research director of MIT's Internet Policy Research Initiative (IPRI) which collaborates with policymakers and technologists to improve the trustworthiness and effectiveness of interconnected digital systems like the Internet. Taylor's current research focuses on three areas: cyber security, cyber risk and the future of data. Taylor was previously a senior economist at the OECD and led the organization’s Information Economy Unit covering policy issues such as the role of information and communication technologies in the economy, digital content, the economic impacts of the Internet and green ICTs. His previous work at the OECD concentrated on telecommunication and broadcast markets with a particular focus on broadband.Before joining the OECD, Taylor worked at the International Telecommunication Union, the World Bank and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (United States). Taylor has an MBA from MIT and a Ph.D. in Economics from American University in Washington, DC.

Megan Stifel is the Chief Strategy Officer at the Institute for Security and Technology, where she also leads the organization’s cyber-related work. Megan previously served as Global Policy Officer at the Global Cyber Alliance and as the Cybersecurity Policy Director at Public Knowledge. She is a Visiting Fellow at the National Security Institute. Megan previously served as a Director for International Cyber Policy at the National Security Council. Prior to the NSC, Ms. Stifel served in the U.S. Department of Justice as Director for Cyber Policy in the National Security Division and as counsel in the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section. Before law school, Ms. Stifel worked for the U.S. House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. She received a Juris Doctorate from Indiana University and a Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, from the University of Notre Dame.

Klara Jordan is Chief Public Policy Officer of the Cyber Peace Institute. Prior to that, Klara was the Director for Government Affairs and Public Policy for the UK at BlackBerry and the Executive Director for the EU and Africa at the Global Cyber Alliance. She also served as the director of the Cyber Statecraft Initiative at the Atlantic Council think tank, and worked in the policy and privacy division of FireEye. Her background also includes work on international law issues at the American Society of International Law and at NATO’s Allied Command Transformation.

Kelly Born (moderator) is the Director of the Cyber Initiative at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. She leads a ten-year, $130 million grantmaking effort that aims to build a more robust cybersecurity field and improve policymaking. Previously, Kelly was executive director of the Stanford Cyber Policy Center. Prior to that, she was a Program Officer for the Madison Initiative at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, an 8-year, $150 million portfolio focused on improving U.S. democracy. Kelly oversaw Madison’s grantmaking on campaigns and elections, and digital disinformation.

Seminars

What Does China Have to Do to Achieve Carbon Neutrality by 2060?

-

Fu Jun May11 CP Banner


With a population of 1.4 billion people in the midst of industrialization and urbanization, the role of China in tackling climate change will be critical to the success of human species in facing up to the world's greatest existential challenge. Based on the newly published book -- Climate Mitigation and Adaptation in China: Policy, Technology and Market, FU Jun will discuss the parameters, policies and prospects of China's role in meeting the global crisis. In particular, in light of the country's regional heterogeneity and aided by simulation modeling, he will discern the philosophical nuances between particular justice and general justice in Chinese strategic thinking toward equitable, inclusive and sustainable growth, and focus on how different sets of technologies -- low carbon, zero carbon, negative carbon, as well as institutional technology -- will likely configure in an adaptive and dynamic fashion in China's pathways toward carbon peak prior to 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060, and with implications for green financing and international cooperation.

FU Jun is Professor of Political Economy and Public Policy at Peking University. He has authored, co-authored, and edited five books, including Institutions and Investments (Studies in International Economics, The University of Michigan Press), Pathways to Prosperity: A China Narrative in Metaheuristic Growth Theory (in Chinese, Peking University Press), and Climate Mitigation and Adaptation in China: Policy, Technology, and Market (Springer Nature). Graduated with Ph.D. from Harvard University, he is the first Chinese national to have been elected as Foreign Academician in 2020, together with Anthony Giddens and Jurgen Harbermas, by the Bologna Academy of Sciences in its time-honored history.  Inter alia, he has been an invited reviewer for PNAS, served on the 11-Member Visiting Committee for Area Studies and International Programs across Harvard University, and on the Advisory Board of Economia Politica. Outside academia, he has served as Member of the Listing Committee of Shenzhen Stock Exchange, Executive Board Member of SOS Village (China), Vice Chair with A. Michael Spence as Chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on New Growth Models, Board Member of Peking University Educational Foundation, and Advisor to the Chairman of the Executive Council of UNESCO.

This event is co-sponsored by Stanford Center at Peking University

Jean C. Oi
Fu Jun
Seminars

A Seminar on "AI-tocracy" and "Exporting the Surveillance State via Trade in AI" with Professor David Yang

-

Prof. Yang discusses two current research projects:


AI-tocracy 
Can frontier innovation be sustained under autocracy? We argue that innovation and autocracy can be mutually reinforcing when: (i) the new technology bolsters the autocrat’s power; and (ii) the autocrat’s demand for the technology stimulates further innovation in applications beyond those benefiting it directly. We test for such a mutually reinforcing relationship in the context of facial recognition AI in China. To do so, we gather comprehensive data on AI firms and government procurement contracts, as well as on social unrest across China during the last decade. We first show that autocrats benefit from AI: local unrest leads to greater government procurement of facial recognition AI, and increased AI procurement suppresses subsequent unrest. We then show that AI innovation benefits from autocrats’ suppression of unrest: the contracted AI firms innovate more both for the government and commercial markets. Taken together, these results suggest the possibility of sustained AI innovation under the Chinese regime: AI innovation entrenches the regime, and the regime’s investment in AI for political control stimulates further frontier innovation.

Exporting the Surveillance State via Trade in AI 
What are the international ramifications of China’s emergent leadership in facial recog- nition AI? We collect global data on facial recognition AI trade deals and document two facts. First, we show that China has a comparative advantage in this technology. It exports substantially more facial recognition AI than other countries, and particularly so as compared to other frontier technologies. This comparative advantage may stem in part from the Chinese government’s larger demand for the technology for do- mestic surveillance and political control — a form of “home-market” effect — as well as Chinese firms’ access to large government datasets. Second, we find that there is a political bias in China’s facial recognition AI exports. It is more likely to export this technology to autocracies and weak democracies relative to other frontier technologies, in particular to those lacking domestic AI innovation or experiencing political unrest. No such bias is observed for the United States. To the extent that China may be exporting its surveillance state via trade in AI, this can enhance and beget more autocracies abroad. Policymakers should thus frame AI trade regulations around regulations on products with global externalities.

Watch the Recording:

About the Speaker

David Yang

David Y. Yang is an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at Harvard University, a Faculty Research Fellow at NBER and a Global Scholar at CIFAR. David’s research focuses on political economy, behavioral and experimental economics, economic history, and cultural economics. In particular, David studies the forces of stability and forces of changes in authoritarian regimes, drawing lessons from historical and contemporary China. David received a B.A. in Statistics and B.S. in Business Administration from University of California at Berkeley, and PhD in Economics from Stanford.

This event will be held in-person at Stanford University, however, the lecture will be recorded. If you are interested in viewing the recording, please contact Debbie Aube.

Questions? Contact Debbie Aube at debbie.aube@stanford.edu

 

Encina Hall, Stanford University

David Y. Yang
Seminars

Master's Program Alumni Continue to Shape Energy Policy in the Yucatan Peninsula

Authors
Melissa Morgan
News Type
Q&As
Date
Paragraphs

Every year, students in our Ford Dorsey Master’s in International Policy are given assignments in the Policy Change Studio. This unique aspect of the coursework partners students with government programs, NGOs and foundations across the globe to give them opportunities to solve problems and gain experience working on policy issues in a hands on, on-the-ground way.

In 2021, Serage Amatory, Hallie Lucas, Samantha Lee and Angela Ortega Pastor were partnered with a project at the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) focused on finding ways to help micro, small and medium sized businesses in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico access affordable, clean energy.

After a year of hard work, we checked in with Hallie and Angela to see how the project they started as students has grown and what has come of their efforts. As alumni of FSI, Hallie is now a formal employee at NREL, and Angela continues to support the partnerships their student group formed with the NREL team and local community members in Mexico in a personal capacity.

How did you initially get involved with the NREL group and their work on the Yucatan project?

Hallie Lucas: Our MIP practicum team was initially introduced to this effort in January 2021, through a challenge from NREL to “advance clean, affordable, and reliable energy for micro, small, and medium-sized businesses (MiPyMEs) in the Yucatan region of Mexico as part of our master’s capstone project.

Angela Pastor: We set out to scope the problem and connected with stakeholders on the ground. Throughout our project, it was very important for us to connect with local partners and to listen to the needs of the businesses we were trying to help.

Lucas: Through focused and intentional stakeholder discussions, it became apparent that access to affordable finance and technical knowledge gaps were the greatest barriers to energy efficiency and DPV adoption within the region. We also identified that behind-the-meter technologies like distributed photovoltaics (DPV) could be used as an energy and cost-savings mechanism to reduce grid-scale power emissions and empower consumer agency in addition to the enhancing consumer reliability.

Pastor: Since we graduated from MIP, we have continued to work with NREL and our local partners at the Instituto Yucateco del Emprendedor (IYEM) and the Instituto Tecnologico Superior Progreso (ITSP) to build what we are calling the MIPyMEs Futuros Verdes program. Currently the program has launched with a pilot in Merida, Yucatan supported by the Government of the State and IYEM, which really is a testament to the commitment and perseverance of our partners in Yucatan who have relentlessly believed in our vision and helped us push it through to this pilot phase.

What were some of the challenges of this particular project, and what excited you about this work?

Lucas: The challenge with this work was to demonstrate two critical components of our theory of change: 1) that the energy DPV and energy efficiency investments were sufficient to offset the initial cost of the loan within a reasonable time period for MiPyMEs and 2) that we could successfully de-risk lending to applicants with minimal or no credit history through this alternative credit mechanism.

Pastor: It definitely took a while for us to land on the root cause of the energy access issue in the Peninsula, and we did a lot of technical scoping work early in the process, and those co-creation workshops where we got input and feedback from partners on the ground was critical for us to finally read that, “ah, ha” moment.

We eventually realized that the key issue was not a lack of technical options, but rather a lack of access to affordable finance to invest in these interventions. We also realized that most businesses are connected to the grid and as such, while some will benefit from distributed solar generation systems, this will not be the case in general. Instead, focusing on bringing awareness and introducing energy efficiency and conservation measures is key to helping more businesses lower their electricity bill burden. The cheapest megawatt, after all, the one you don’t use.

In the year you’ve been working with NREL, how has this project grown and changed? What’s are some of the victories? What areas are you still working to make better?

Pastor: When we started this project, we had no idea what it would turn out to be. It was a class project, a challenge that we had to come up with a solution for. I don’t think any of us thought we would get to actually implement our idea. But today MIPyMEs in the Yucatan are able to get a free energy audit and apply to MicroYuc Verde for an affordable line of credit that enables them to both reduce their energy consumption and grow their business.

Lucas: I also see the multi-stakeholder coalition we’ve built as a major team victory – working with local government leaders, researchers, and changemakers in this space is really encouraging.

Pastor: We are also working to scale up the program and develop energy audit training modules that other local institutions across Mexico will be able to use to offer free energy audits to businesses. Receiving the endorsement of the Governor of Yucatan was a great win for the program. And as Hallie mentions, the multi-stakeholder coalition we have built is a true victory, and something that makes me confident that the program will continue.

Participants on the stage at the launch event for the MIPyMEs Futuros Verdes program. The MIPyMEs Futuros Verdes program, which MIP alumni Angela Pastor and Hallie Lucas helped build, was launched in February 2022. Angela Pastor

How do you hope to see this project continue to develop in the coming years?

Lucas: In the next phase of this project, NREL, IYEM, and ITSP are working to develop a robust technical training curriculum for university students to conduct energy efficiency audits for local businesses seeking to reduce their energy consumption. Student and university-led technoeconomic analysis will support data-driven decisions on investment and lending and will equip students with the advanced skill set they need to succeed in a clean energy futures workforce. These targeted training materials and analytical tools will be made publicly available when complete.

Pastor: I would love to see this project grow in its pilot phase to offer more audits and microloans to MIPyMEs in the Yucatan, and even go beyond Yucatan to other Peninsula states, as I truly think it can make a different.

And at a higher-level, I am really looking forward to seeing whether our theory of change is legitimate – if we can prove that SMEs can leverage affordable financing to access clean energy that would be consequential for broader energy transition efforts around the globe.

How did having the chance to work on a project like this as a Ford Dorsey Master’s in International Policy student impact your studies and how you think about your role and future in the world of policy and international development?

Pastor: Getting the chance to work on a project like this has definitely shaped the type of work and impact I want to have. I am currently working in the sustainable finance space, as I really believe that part of the key to achieving our climate goals lies with closing the mitigation and adaptation finance gap, and especially focusing on bringing financing solutions to those who are often left behind by the system.

Lucas: I’ve been prompted to reflect more about institutionalized and systemic barriers to energy equity, as well, and to think more critically about what inclusive clean energy transitions look like in practice. The next several decades are humanity’s most critical – as the entire world mobilizes to combat the climate crisis, global energy and economic structures will be fundamentally transformed. In this, we have an unparallel opportunity to choose – and create – a better, more inclusive, more sustainable, future.

What are each of you hoping to do next in your careers?

Pastor: I hope to keep growing my knowledge of climate finance and to keep working to make an impact and accelerate climate transition efforts around the world. It’s been so moving to see the passion and commitment everyone we have worked with has shown. The fact that some of the Yucatan participants would take two days out of their busy schedules to come together to discuss what could be done to solve this problem is very inspiring. And even since our initial investigations have ended, they have continued to show up for the project, and are very much driving it forward at this point. It is truly great to see them believe in our vision for a clean energy future

Lucas: I agree. I want to keep doing what I am doing now!

 

The Ford Dorsey Master's in International Policy

Want to learn more? MIP holds admission events throughout the year, including graduate fairs and webinars, where you can meet our staff and ask questions about the program.

Read More

Students on the NREL policy team
News

Stanford Students on Track to Bring Clean, Affordable Energy to Businesses in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

As part of FSI's Policy Change Studio, four master's students have partnered with the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory to connect businesses in the Yucatan Peninsula with reliable, inexpensive, and clean energy.
Stanford Students on Track to Bring Clean, Affordable Energy to Businesses in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico
Students from the 2022 cohort of the Ford Dorsey Master's in International Policy participate in the Policy Change Studio.
News

Where Our Master's Students are Making Policy Impacts in 2022

From women's health and reproductive rights in India to cybersecurity issues in Washington D.C., students from the 2022 cohort of the Ford Dorsey Master's in International Policy are tackling big policy projects in the Policy Change Studio.
Where Our Master's Students are Making Policy Impacts in 2022
Hero Image
All News button
1
Subtitle

As alumni of the Ford Dorsey Master's in International Policy at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Angela Ortega Pastor and Hallie Lucas continue their efforts to bring clean, affordable energy to businesses in Mexico.

Economic Inequality and Social and Demographic Outcomes in China with Professor Yu Xie

-

SCCEI Spring Seminar Series 

Wednesday, May 25, 2022      11:00 am -12:15 pm Pacific Time

Philippines Room, C330, 3rd Floor, Encina Hall Central, 616 Jane Stanford Way | Zoom Meeting 

Economic Inequality and Social and Demographic Outcomes in China

In this talk, Professor Yu Xie will first document a sharp rise in economic inequality in contemporary China. He then will present results from his research program on the impact of rising economic inequality on a variety of social and demographic outcomes in China: intergenerational mobility, marriage age, marriage partner choice, fertility, and mortality. 

About the Speaker

Yu Xie photo

Yu Xie is Bert G. Kerstetter ’66 University Professor of Sociology and has a faculty appointment at the Princeton Institute of International and Regional Studies, Princeton University. He is also a Visiting Chair Professor of the Center for Social Research, Peking University. His main areas of interest are social stratification, demography, statistical methods, Chinese studies, and sociology of science.

Xie's recently published works include: Marriage and Cohabitation (University of Chicago Press 2007) with Arland Thornton and William Axinn, Statistical Methods for Categorical Data Analysis with Daniel Powers (Emerald 2008, second edition), and Is American Science in Decline? (Harvard University Press, 2012) with Alexandra Killewald. Xie joined Princeton University in 2015, after 26 years at the University of Michigan, most recently as the Otis Dudley Duncan Distinguished University Professor of Sociology, Statistics and Public Policy and a research professor in the Population Studies Center at Michigan's Institute for Social Research. He is also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Academia Sinica and the National Academy of Sciences.

Seminar Series Moderators

Headshot of Dr. Scott Rozelle

Scott Rozelle is the Helen F. Farnsworth Senior Fellow and the co-director of Stanford Center on China's Economy and Institutions in the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research at Stanford University.  For the past 30 years, he has worked on the economics of poverty reduction. Currently, his work on poverty has its full focus on human capital, including issues of rural health, nutrition and education. For the past 20 year, Rozelle has been the chair of the International Advisory Board of the Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). Most recently, Rozelle's research focuses on the economics of poverty and inequality, with an emphasis on rural education, health and nutrition in China. In recognition of this work, Dr. Rozelle has received numerous honors and awards. Among them, he became a Yangtse Scholar (Changjiang Xuezhe) in Renmin University of China in 2008. In 2008 he also was awarded the Friendship Award by Premiere Wen Jiabao, the highest honor that can be bestowed on a foreigner.  
 

hongbin li headshot

Hongbin Li is the Co-director of Stanford Center on China's Economy and Institutions, and a Senior Fellow of Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR) and the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI). Hongbin obtained his Ph.D. in economics from Stanford University in 2001 and joined the economics department of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), where he became full professor in 2007. He was also one of the two founding directors of the Institute of Economics and Finance at the CUHK. He taught at Tsinghua University in Beijing 2007-2016 and was C.V. Starr Chair Professor of Economics in the School of Economics and Management. He founded the Chinese College Student Survey (CCSS) in 2009 and the China Employer-Employee Survey (CEES) in 2014.

Hongbin’s research has been focused on the transition and development of the Chinese economy, and the evidence-based research results have been both widely covered by media outlets and well read by policy makers around the world. He is currently the co-editor of the Journal of Comparative Economics.

A NOTE ON LOCATION

This seminar is a hybrid event. Please join us in person in the Philippines Room, C330, located within Encina Hall Central on the 3rd floor, or join remotely via Zoom.

Register once to receive the Zoom meeting link that will be used for all lectures in this series.

Questions? Contact Debbie Aube at debbie.aube@stanford.edu

 

Scott Rozelle
Hongbin Li

Hybrid Event: Philippines Room, C330, 3rd Floor of Encina Hall Central | Zoom Meeting

Yu Xie
Seminars

Understanding the Resurgence of the SOEs in China: Evidence from the Real Estate Sector with Professor Hanming Fang

-

SCCEI Spring Seminar Series 

Wednesday, May 18, 2022      11:00 am -12:15 pm Pacific Time

Goldman Room E401, Encina Hall, 616 Jane Stanford Way | Zoom Meeting 

Understanding the Resurgence of the SOEs in China: Evidence from the Real Estate Sector 

We advance a novel hypothesis that China’s recent anti-corruption campaign may have contributed to the resurgence of the state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in China as an unintended consequence. We explore the nexus between the anti-corruption campaign and the SOE resurgence by presenting supporting evidence from the Chinese real estate sector, which is notorious for pervasive rent-seeking and corruption. We use a unique data set of land parcel transactions merged with firm-level registration information and a difference-in-differences empirical design to show that, relative to the industrial land parcels which serve as the control, the fraction of residential land parcels purchased by SOEs increased significantly relative to that purchased by private developers after the anti-corruption campaign. 

About the Speaker 
 

Hanming Fang

Hanming Fang is an applied microeconomist with broad theoretical and empirical interests focusing on public economics. His research integrates rigorous modeling with careful data analysis and has focused on the economic analysis of discrimination; insurance markets, particularly life insurance and health insurance; and health care, including Medicare. In 2008, Professor Fang was awarded the 17th Kenneth Arrow Prize by the International Health Economics Association (iHEA) for his research on the sources of advantageous selection in the Medigap insurance market. 

Professor Fang received his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania in 2000. Before joining the Penn faculty, he held positions at Yale University and Duke University.  He is a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, where he served as the acting director of the Chinese economy working group from 2014 to 2016. He is also a research associate of the Population Studies Center and Population Aging Research Center, and a senior fellow at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics at the University of Pennsylvania.

Seminar Series Moderators

Headshot of Dr. Scott Rozelle

Scott Rozelle is the Helen F. Farnsworth Senior Fellow and the co-director of Stanford Center on China's Economy and Institutions in the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research at Stanford University.  For the past 30 years, he has worked on the economics of poverty reduction. Currently, his work on poverty has its full focus on human capital, including issues of rural health, nutrition and education. For the past 20 year, Rozelle has been the chair of the International Advisory Board of the Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). Most recently, Rozelle's research focuses on the economics of poverty and inequality, with an emphasis on rural education, health and nutrition in China. In recognition of this work, Dr. Rozelle has received numerous honors and awards. Among them, he became a Yangtse Scholar (Changjiang Xuezhe) in Renmin University of China in 2008. In 2008 he also was awarded the Friendship Award by Premiere Wen Jiabao, the highest honor that can be bestowed on a foreigner. 

 

hongbin li headshot

Hongbin Li is the Co-director of Stanford Center on China's Economy and Institutions, and a Senior Fellow of Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR) and the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI). Hongbin obtained his Ph.D. in economics from Stanford University in 2001 and joined the economics department of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), where he became full professor in 2007. He was also one of the two founding directors of the Institute of Economics and Finance at the CUHK. He taught at Tsinghua University in Beijing 2007-2016 and was C.V. Starr Chair Professor of Economics in the School of Economics and Management. He founded the Chinese College Student Survey (CCSS) in 2009 and the China Employer-Employee Survey (CEES) in 2014.

Hongbin’s research has been focused on the transition and development of the Chinese economy, and the evidence-based research results have been both widely covered by media outlets and well read by policy makers around the world. He is currently the co-editor of the Journal of Comparative Economics.

A NOTE ON LOCATION

This seminar is a hybrid event. Please join us in person in the Goldman Conference Room located within Encina Hall on the 4th floor of the East wing, or join remotely via Zoom.

Register once to receive the Zoom meeting link that will be used for all lectures in this series.

Questions? Contact Debbie Aube at debbie.aube@stanford.edu

 

Scott Rozelle
Hongbin Li

Hybrid Event: Goldman Room E409, Encina Hall | Zoom Meeting

Hanming Fang
Seminars

The Impact of Socio-demographic, Environmental, and Individual Factors on Urban Park Visitation in Beijing, China

All Publications button
1
Publication Type
Journal Articles
Publication Date
Subtitle

Urban parks improve quality of life by providing an array of cultural and natural ecosystem services, such as maintaining biodiversity, reducing air pollution, and benefiting residents' physical and mental states. Although government invests a large amount of capital into park management, parks are still underused in many cases. In this study, the association and relative importance of socio-demographic, environmental, and individual factors were investigated with regards to their impact on citizens' park visitation. Data was collected through cross-sectional door-to-door questionnaires and online databases, and was analyzed using a hierarchical regression model. Results showed that physical exercise (27.4% of collected reports) and rest and relaxation (26.7%) were the two most widespread reasons for park use. When asked about constraints of park visitation, time limitations were reported as being the most constraining factor. However, our quantitative analysis found no significant correlation. Socio-demographic, environmental, and individual variables explained 1%, 20% and 26% (adjusted R2) of the total variance in frequency of park visitation between participants, respectively. A citizen's neighborhood greenspace, housing price, and distance from the nearest park were negatively correlated with park use. Among individual factors, a participant's reported affinity for park visits, time spent in their residential greenspace, and number of children under seven were positively correlated with park visitation, with a decreasingβcoefficient. This research highlights the predominant contribution of attitude over accessibility factors when it comes to park visitation. Furthermore, the data indicates that accessibility factors function differently for frequent, infrequent, and moderate park users and provision with parks within 1000 m of their home is recommended. The findings have implications for park management and future research.

Journal Publisher
Journal of Cleaner Production
Authors
Hongxiao Liu
Feng Li
Lianfang Xu
Baolong Han
Subscribe to Environment