During a visit to China, an HSE University delegation headed by Vice Rector Victoria Panova arranged to extend cooperation agreements with Fudan University and East China Normal University (ECNU). Particular attention was paid to expanding students’ and teachers’ academic mobility between universities.
Delegations from Nanjing University and Renmin (People's) University of China have recently made their first visits to HSE University to explore potential areas of cooperation. The Chinese universities have expressed interest in initiating collaborative research projects, educational and academic mobility programmes.
HSE University plans to significantly expand its cooperation with Chinese universities and schools, creating new cooperation programmes and developing existing ones. This includes plans to attract potential candidates to take part in HSE University olympiads, increase the number of Chinese students at the university, and create joint educational programmes.
Topic: " Autocratic Rule and Social Capital: Evidence from Imperial China "
Abstract: This paper explores the impact of autocratic rule on social capital---defined as the beliefs, attitudes, norms and perceptions that support cooperation. Political repression is a distinguishing characteristic of autocratic regimes. Between 1660--1788, individuals in imperial China were persecuted if they were suspected of holding subversive attitudes towards the state. A difference-in-differences approach suggests that in an average prefecture, exposure to those literary inquisitions led to a decline of 38% in local charities---a key proxy of social capital. Consistent with the historical panel results, we find that in affected prefectures, individuals have lower levels of generalized trust in modern China. Taking advantage of institutional variation in 20th c. China, and two instrumental variables, we provide further evidence that political repression permanently reduced social capital. Furthermore, we find that individuals in prefectures with a legacy of literary inquisitions are more politically apathetic. These results indicate a potential vicious cycle in which autocratic rule becomes self-reinforcing through causing a permanent decline in social capital.