Regional Expertise

In addition to the most pressing issues of the day, scholars at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies focus their research on many regions of the world, from Beijing to Brazil.

Research Spotlight

Students in China participate in the National College Entrance Exam

The Ripple Effects of China’s College Expansion on American Universities

Researchers at SCCEI trace how China’s unprecedented expansion of higher education has impacted U.S. graduate education and local economies surrounding college towns.

Nayib Bukele and Gabriela Roberta Rodríguez de Bukele, president and first lady of El Salvador, wave to supporters from a balcony.

Does the Bukele Model Have a Future?

While Nayib Bukele's style of authoritarianism may have some successes on paper, Beatriz Magaloni and Alberto Diaz-Cayeros argue that the regime is headed for a reckoning.

Time for Iran to Make a No-enrichment Nuclear Deal

The time has come for Iran’s leaders to reconsider their past intransigent, deceptive posture and instead pursue a nuclear power program that will benefit the Iranian people, write Abbas Milani and Siegfried Hecker.

Featured Faculty

https://aparc.fsi.stanford.edu/people/karen_eggleston

Karen Eggleston

Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies

Deputy Director, Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center

Eggleston Full Bio

https://cddrl.fsi.stanford.edu/people/beatriz_magaloni

Beatriz Magaloni

Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies

Professor of Political Science

Magaloni Full Bio

https://reap.fsi.stanford.edu/people/scott_rozelle

Scott Rozelle

Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies

Co-Director, Rural Education Action Program

Rozelle Full Bio

https://fsi.stanford.edu/people/kiyoteru-tsutsui

Kiyoteru Tsutsui

Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies

Henri H. and Tomoye Takahashi Professor and Director, Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center

Tsutsui Full Bio

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Publications

Books

Desire and Imitation in International Politics

2021

Journal Articles

Skill Levels and Gains in University STEM Education in China, India, Russia, and the United States

Nature Human Behavior, 2021

Journal Articles

Socio-technical multi-criteria evaluation of long-term spent nuclear fuel management strategies: A framework and method

Science of The Total Environment, 2021

Journal Articles

Improving Learning by Improving Vision: Evidence from Two Randomized Controlled Trials of Providing Vision Care in China

Journal of Development Effectiveness, 2021

Journal Articles

To Address Drug Affordability, Grab the Low-Hanging Fruit

JAMA Network, 2021

Working Papers

Government Quality and State Capacity: Survey Results from Brazil

2021

Books

A Decade of Upheaval

2021

Working Papers

A Quarter Century of ‘The Proper Scope of Government’: Theory and Applications

Asia Health Policy Program working paper # 64, 2021

Books

The Dragon, the Eagle, and the Private Sector

2021

Testimonies

The Precarious State of Cross-Strait Deterrence

2021

Working Papers

The Effects of Chronic Disease Management in Primary Health Care: Evidence [Working Paper]from Rural China

Asia Health Policy Program working paper # 62, 2021

Journal Articles

The Impact of Internet Use on Adolescent Learning Outcomes: Evidence from Rural China

China Agricultural Economic Review, 2021

Purpose: Internet use has become particularly prevalent among adolescents, prompting much thought and concern about both its potential benefits and adverse effects on adolescent learning outcomes. Much of the empirical literature on the impact of Internet use on adolescent learning outcomes is mixed, and few studies examine the causal relationship between the two in rural China. In order to bridge these gaps, we use empirical analysis to investigate the effect of Internet use on the learning outcomes of adolescents in rural China. Design/methodology/approach: We use fixed effect models with samples drawn from a large nationally representative dataset (the China Family Panel Studies—CFPS) to identify the causal impacts of Internet use on the learning outcomes of three cohorts (Cohort A (N = 540), Cohort B (N = 287) and Cohort C (N = 827)) of adolescents in rural China. Findings: The results of the descriptive analysis show a continued increase in the number of adolescents accessing the Internet and the amount of time they spend online. The results of the fixed effect models show that Internet use has positive (in many of the analyses), but mostly insignificant impacts, on the learning outcomes of adolescents. In the sets of results that find significant associations between Internet use and learning outcomes, the measured effects are moderate. Originality/value: This study investigates the causal relationship between Internet use and adolescent learning outcomes in rural China. The findings claim that there is not a great need to worry about adverse effects of Internet use on adolescent learning development. Attention, however, should focus on seeking ways to improve the positive effects of the Internet use on adolescent learning outcomes. The study will provide a reference and experience for the development of education and the Internet in rural areas and promote the integrated development of urban and rural areas in China.

Working Papers

Trading Stocks Builds Financial Confidence and Compresses the Gender Gap [Working Paper]

Stanford GSB, 2021

Commentary

France’s Vanishing Center

2021

Journal Articles

Early Childhood Reading in Rural China and Obstacles to Caregiver Investment in Young Children: A Mixed-Methods Analysis

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health , 2021

Journal Articles

False Alarm? Estimating the Marginal Value of Health Signals

Journal of Public Economics, 2021

Journal Articles

Governing youth in times of dissent: essay competitions, politics of history, and emotions

Turkish Studies, 2021

Journal Articles

The Birth of Nuclear Eternity

Oxford Handbooks Online, 2021

Working Papers

Just Above the Exam Cutoff Score: Elite College Admission and Wages in China

National Bureau of Economic Research, 2021

Journal Articles

A million kernels of truth: Insights into scalable satellite maize yield mapping and yield gap analysis from an extensive ground dataset in the US Corn Belt

Remote Sensing of Environment, 2021

Crop yield maps estimated from satellite data increasingly are used to understand drivers of yield trends and variability, yet satellite-derived regional maps are rarely compared with location-specific yields due to the difficulty of acquiring sub-field ground truth data at scale. In commercial agricultural systems, combine harvesters with onboard yield monitors collect real-time yield data during harvest with high spatial resolution, generating a large ground dataset. Here, we leveraged a yield monitor dataset of over one million maize field observations across the United States Corn Belt from 2008 to 2018 to evaluate the Scalable Crop Yield Mapper (SCYM). SCYM uses region-specific crop model simulations and climate data to interpret vegetation indices from satellite observations, thus enabling efficient sub-field yield estimation across large regions and multiple years without reliance on ground data calibration. We used the ground dataset to compare alternative SCYM model implementations, define minimum required satellite observation criteria, and evaluate the sensitivity of satellite-based yield estimates to on-the-ground variation in management, soil, and annual weather. We found that smoothing annual time series data with harmonic regression increased 30 m pixel-level accuracy from r2 = 0.31 to 0.40 and reduced dependency on specific satellite observation timing, enabling robust yield estimation on 97% of annual maize area using only Landsat data. Agreement improved as the assessment was aggregated to field-level (r2 = 0.45) and county-level (r2 = 0.69) scales, demonstrating the need for fine-resolution ground truth data to better assess sub-field level accuracy in high resolution products. We found that SCYM and ground data showed a similar yield response to management and environmental variation, particularly capturing linear and nonlinear responses to sowing density, soil water holding capacity, and growing season precipitation. However, sensitivity to factors like soil quality and planting date was muted for SCYM estimates compared to ground-based yields. Random forest models were able to match SCYM performance when trained on at least 1000 ground observations, but performed poorly when tested on years and locations not represented in the training data. Our results demonstrate that satellite yield maps can provide much-needed information on multidecadal yield trends and inform yield gap analyses.

Books