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Nancy Qian

Nancy Qian

Writing for PS since 2021
32 commentaries
1 videos & podcasts

Nancy Qian, Professor of Economics at Northwestern University, is Co-Director of Northwestern University’s Global Poverty Research Lab and Founding Director of China Econ Lab.

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  1. What TikTok Got Wrong About America
    qian36_ Jens Kalaenepicture alliance via Getty Images_tiktok Jens Kalaene/picture alliance via Getty Images

    What TikTok Got Wrong About America

    May 6, 2024 Nancy Qian thinks the company sealed its fate by aggressively interfering in the US political process.

  2. Humanizing the US-China Relationship
    qian35_Wang GangVCG via Getty Images_shanghai Wang Gang/VCG via Getty Images

    Humanizing the US-China Relationship

    Apr 5, 2024 Nancy Qian laments the sharp decline in cross-cultural in-person interactions since the pandemic.

  3. The Truth About US Immigration
    qian34_PEDRO PARDOAFP via Getty Images_immigration PEDRO PARDO/AFP via Getty Images

    The Truth About US Immigration

    Mar 18, 2024 Nancy Qian warns that overheated campaign-season rhetoric is dangerously polarizing and ultimately self-defeating.

  4. Why Are So Many Young Chinese Depressed?
    qian33_WANG ZHAOAFP via Getty Images_chinese youth WANG ZHAO/AFP via Getty Images

    Why Are So Many Young Chinese Depressed?

    Dec 20, 2023 Nancy Qian identifies the main structural factors driving widespread youth unemployment and loneliness.

  5. Zero-COVID’s Long Tail
    qian32_Kevin FrayerGetty Images_china covid Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

    Zero-COVID’s Long Tail

    Nov 17, 2023 Nancy Qian considers the lasting economic and social effects of China’s three years of draconian lockdowns.

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  1. qxu2_VCGVCG via Getty Images_chinashipping VCG via Getty Images

    Why the US Can’t Win the Trade War With China – and Shouldn’t Try

    Qiyuan Xu argues that high capital outflows – largely a result of US policy – have resulted in an undervalued renminbi.
  2. eichengreen190_Tomohiro OhsumiGetty Images_japanexchange Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images

    The Dilemmas of the Dollar

    Barry Eichengreen

    The dollar's strength, particularly against major Asian currencies, has triggered a wave of skittishness in financial markets. Can anything be done to stem the greenback's rise, and even if something can be done, should it?

    asks whether anything can or should be done about the greenback's strength, especially against Asian currencies.
  3. matola2_Per-Anders PetterssonGetty Images_malawi cooking Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images

    Clean Cooking Advances Women’s Empowerment

    Rachel Ruto outlines a gender-based strategy for improving energy access and reducing air pollution in Africa.
  4. kirtondarling1_Andreas RentzGetty Images_european green new deal Andreas Rentz/Getty Images

    There Can Be No Business as Usual for European Industry

    Judith Kirton-Darling urges EU leaders to make a renewed Green Deal, backed by competitiveness-bolstering initiatives, a top priority.
  5. zizek30_Fatima ShbairGetty Images_gaza Fatima Shbair/Getty Images

    Protests of Despair

    Slavoj Žižek

    While the ongoing pro-Palestinian student protests have many superficial similarities to the student uprisings of the late 1960s, only the latter envisioned a new political movement to ameliorate the ills of their time. The current protesters' goals are far more modest, which makes them all the more tragic.

    sees the pro-Palestinian student demonstrations as a signal of a much deeper, widespread malaise.
  6. carstens5_Getty Images_finternet Getty Images

    The Rise of the Finternet

    Agustín Carstens & Nandan Nilekani foresee a world in which cheap, secure, and near-instantaneous financial transactions are available to all.
  7. rodrik222_Kevin FrayerGetty Images_china solar panel Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

    Don’t Fret About Green Subsidies

    Dani Rodrik sees no good argument against industrial policies that accelerate growth in decarbonization industries.
  8. gros186_Sean GallupGetty Images_euro Sean Gallup/Getty Images

    Europe’s Geoeconomic Competitiveness Challenge

    Daniel Gros highlights the security risks raised by the prolonged decline of the EU’s relative economic power.
  9. op_ang1_retrorocketGetty Images_corruption retrorocket/Getty Images

    How Exceptional Is China’s Crony-Capitalist Boom?

    Yuen Yuen Ang explains how corruption both drove the country's GDP growth and sowed the seeds for its current economic problems.

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