Yuen Yuen Ang is a Singaporean professor of

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

and author of two books: ''How China Escaped the Poverty Trap'' (2016), named one of the "Best Books of 2017" by ''

Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit organization, nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership or ...

'', and ''China's Gilded Age'' (2020). She is the Alfred Chandler Chair of Political Economy at

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

Early life and education

Ang was born in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

. She studied at

Colorado College Colorado College is a private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell in his daughter's memory, the college offers over 40 majors a ...

and received a Ph.D. in political science from

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

in 2010.

Career

Ang was an assistant professor at the

School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University The School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) is the international affairs and public policy school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university located in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, New York City. SIPA offers Master of I ...

in 2010–2011, and in 2011 became an associate professor of political science at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. On 12 January 2023, she became the first newly named professor at the Center for Economy and Society (CES) and the Department of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University's

Krieger School of Arts and Sciences The Krieger School of Arts and Sciences is the college of arts and sciences at the Johns Hopkins University, a private university in Baltimore, Maryland. The school is based on the university's Homewood campus and, together with the Whiting Sc ...

. Ang's research focuses on the interactions between industrial development, technological innovation, and political structures, with an emphasis on China. She is also active in public policy debates, and her opinion columns have been published in ''

'' and

Project Syndicate ''Project Syndicate'' is an international nonprofit media organization that publishes and syndicates commentary and analysis on a variety of global topics. All opinion pieces are published on the ''Project Syndicate'' website, and also distribu ...

, among others. She has been interviewed on ''

Freakonomics Radio ''Freakonomics Radio'' is an American public radio program and podcast network which discusses socioeconomic issues for a general audience. While the network, as of 2023, includes five programs, the primary podcast is also named Freakonomics and ...

'' and the '' Ezra Klein Show'', among other outlets. In 2023, Ang was appointed Alfred Chandler Chair of Political Economy at Johns Hopkins University.

Analysis

Ang describes China's decentralized economic policymaking process as "directed improvisation", in which the

central government A central government is the government that is a controlling power over a unitary state. Another distinct but sovereign political entity is a federal government, which may have distinct powers at various levels of government, authorized or deleg ...

establishes policy directives and local governments determine policy details and implementation. In her 2016 book, ''How China Escaped the Poverty Trap'', Ang writes that the Chinese state harnessed weak institutions to develop markets and provided favorable conditions for institutions and markets to mutually develop.

Publications

Books

* ''How China Escaped the Poverty Trap'',

Cornell University Press The Cornell University Press is the university press of Cornell University, an Ivy League university in Ithaca, New York. It is currently housed in Sage House, the former residence of Henry William Sage. It was first established in 1869, maki ...

: Cornell Studies in Political Economy, 2016 * ''China's Gilded Age: The Paradox of Economic Boom and Vast Corruption'',

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

, 2020

Articles

* "Is China Back?" ''

The Wire China ''The Wire China'' is a weekly online news magazine focused on Chinese business, economics and finance, founded by former ''The New York Times'' Shanghai correspondent David Barboza. History ''The Wire China'' launched its first issue in Apr ...

'', 22 January 2023 * "The Problem with Zero", ''

'', 2 December 2022 * "How Resilient Is the CCP?" ''

Journal of Democracy The ''Journal of Democracy'' is a quarterly academic journal established in 1990 and an official publication of the National Endowment for Democracy's International Forum for Democratic Studies. It covers the study of democracy, democratic regi ...

'', July 2022 * "Decoding Xi Jinping", ''Foreign Affairs'', 8 December 2021 * "Demystifying Belt and Road", ''Foreign Affairs'', 22 May 2019 * "The Real China Model", ''Foreign Affairs'', 29 June 2018 * "Autocracy with Chinese Characteristics", ''Foreign Affairs'', 16 April 2018

Awards

* 2017

Peter Katzenstein Peter Joachim Katzenstein FBA (born February 17, 1945) is a German-American political scientist. He is the Walter S. Carpenter, Jr. Professor of International Studies at Cornell University. Katzenstein has made influential contributions to the ...

Book Prize * 2017 Foreign Affairs "Best of Books" for ''How China Escaped the Poverty Trap'' * 2018 Andrew Carnegie Fellow for "high-caliber scholarship that applies fresh perspectives to the most pressing issues of our times" * 2020

Theda Skocpol Theda Skocpol (née Barron; May 4, 1947) is an American sociologist and political scientist, who is currently the Victor S. Thomas Professor of Government and Sociology at Harvard University. She is best known as an advocate of the historical- ...

Prize, awarded by the

American Political Science Association The American Political Science Association (APSA) is a professional association of political scientists in the United States. Founded in 1903 in the Tilton Memorial Library (now Tilton Hall) of Tulane University in New Orleans, it publishes four ...

for "impactful contributions to the study of comparative politics" * 2022

Douglass North Douglass Cecil North (November 5, 1920 – November 23, 2015) was an American economist known for his work in economic history. Along with Robert Fogel, he received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1993. In the words of the Nobel ...

Best Book Prize, awarded by the Society for Institutional and Organizational Economics * 2022 Alice Amsden Book Award, awarded by the Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ang, Yuen Yuen Singaporean women academics University of Michigan faculty Johns Hopkins University faculty Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Stanford University alumni Colorado College alumni