My research interests include the political economy of energy transitions and climate change, as well as the intersection of governance and technology development.

Dissertation: “Decarbonizing the Dragon: Policy Communities and the Power of Networks”

Abstract: Policymakers often engage in networks of social relations involving various stakeholders and social actors. I argue that the diversity of policy networks in which decision makers are embedded contributes to compliance and effective policy delivery because heterogeneous connections provide them with more information and alternatives for securing political support. I test this argument by examining local governments’ preferences for renewable energy development in China. Drawing on original network data on local policymakers’ networks, I show that local governments are more likely to comply with the central government’s goal for renewable development when policymakers are embedded in pluralistic policy networks. I also employ a quasi-experimental design and qualitative interviews to explore the mechanisms of engagement. My findings emphasize the structure of embeddedness and draw attention to how policy actors can leverage structural positions within the network to advance their policy agenda.



Peer-Reviewed Articles, Book Chapters and Reports

  1. “When Green Recovery Fails to Consider Coal Pushback: Exploring global coal rebounds, production, and policy retrenchment post Covid-19.” Energy Research & Social Science 101 (2023) (with Fang Zhang and Libo Chen)

  2. “Market-led decline amidst intense politicization.” Book chapter, The Political Economy of Coal: Obstacles to Clean Energy Transitions, Routledge Press (2022) (with Gregory Nemet)

  3. “Investigation of a coupling coordination degree model between low-carbon development and air quality in China.” Advances in Climate Change Research (2021) (with Liu Tianle, Song Qijiao and Qi Ye)

  4. “Evidence Map: Policy Implications of the Energy Transitions Literature.” Environmental Research Letters (2020). (with Gregory Nemet)

  5. “Knowledge spillovers between PV installers can reduce the cost of installing solar PV.” Energy Policy 144 (2020): 111600. (with George Nemet, Varun Rai, Rohan Rao)

  6. “The Policy-Driven Peak and Reduction of China’s Carbon Emissions.” Advances in Climate Change Research (2020). (with Qi Ye, Nicholas Stern, He Jiankun, David King, Wu Tong, Liu Tianle)

  7. “Jurisdictional Air Pollution Regulation in China: A Tragedy of the Regulatory Anti-commons.” Journal of Cleaner Production 212 (2019): 1054-1061. (with Shihong Guo)

  8. “The China Wind Paradox: The Role of State-Owned Enterprises in Wind Power Investment versus Wind Curtailment.” Energy Policy 127 (2019): 200-212. (with Zhu Mengye, Qi Ye, David Belis, Bart Kerremans)

  9. “China’s Post-Coal Growth.” Nature Geoscience 9, no. 8 (2016): 564-566. (with Qi Ye, Nicholas Stern, Tong Wu, Fergus Green)

  10. “The Effects of Expert Selection, Elicitation Design, and R&D Assumptions on Experts’ Estimates of the Future Costs of Photovoltaics.” Energy Policy 80 (2015): 233-243. (with Elena Verdolini, Laura Diaz Anadon, Gregory Nemet)



Other Publications:

  1. “To End Coal, Adapt to Regional Realities” Nature (2022): 29-31 (co-signatories with Michael Jakob, Jan Steckel, Gregory Nemet, et al.)

  2. “U.S. Gas to China: Positive Energy for Bilateral Relations.” Brookings Op-ed. 2018. (with Qi Ye)

  3. “Wind Curtailment in China: A Mismatch Between New Technology and Old Electricity System.” Brookings Press (2017). (with Qi Ye, Zhu Mengye)

  4. “China’s Coal Consumption Has Peaked.” China Daily Op-ed. 2017. (with Qi Ye)

  5. “The End of Coal-Fired Growth in China.” Brookings Op-ed. 2016. (with Qi Ye)

  6. “State-Based Childhood Obesity Prevention.” 2013. National Champion of Policy Solutions Challenge USA. (with Eadie, S., M. Palmer, N. J. Simon, and A. Walsh)




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