Zhenhuan Lei
2026/9/12 10:44:31
|
Zhenhuan Lei Associate Professor
E-mail: reedlei@outlook.com
Research Areas: New Political Economy, Chinese Political Economy, Comparative Political Institutions |
Personal Profile:
Zhenhuan Lei is currently an Associate Professor and PhD Supervisor at the School of International and Public Affairs, Shanghai Jiao Tong University. He is also a Distinguished Research Fellow at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Institute for China Development (SHINE). He has been selected for the National High-Level Young Talent Program and the Shanghai Magnolia Talent Program – Pujiang Project.
His research focuses on institutional and political economics, the political economy of legislation and the judiciary, and Chinese political economy. Before joining Shanghai Jiao Tong University, he served as an Assistant Professor in Political Science and Public Policy at the University of Wisconsin–Madison (2020–2024) and as a Visiting Scholar at the National School of Development, Peking University (2022–2023).
His research has been published in Comparative Political Studies, Journal of Comparative Economics, Journal of Political Institutions and Political Economy, The Journal of Politics, Studies in Comparative International Development, Academic Monthly, and Research on China’s Modernization. Together with Shiqi Guo and Yuxiao Hu, he initiated and co-organizes the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Political Economy/Development Workshop.
Specific Research Areas:
1. Law and Political Economy:
Research on the political economy of judicial system reform and legislative processes in China.
2. Central–Local Relations:
Research on China’s practices of decentralization and their impacts on governance performance and economic development.
3. History of Political/Economic Institutions:
Research on institutional practices in ancient China, particularly their implications for succession issues and political stability (collaborator: Yuxin Chen).
4. Diplomacy:
Research on personnel issues in diplomacy, particularly the selection of diplomats in major powers such as China and the United States (collaborator: Ran Chen).
Personal Website: https://www.zhenhuanlei.com (updated more frequently)
WeChat Official Account: Reed’s Political Economy Notes
Foreign students: Please visit my personal website: https://www.zhenhuanlei.com
Education:
August 2016 – May 2020
New York University, USA
M.A. and Ph.D. in Political Science
August 2014 – May 2016
University of Southern California, USA
M.A. in Economics and Master of Public Administration
September 2010 – June 2014
China Foreign Affairs University
B.A. in Literature and B.A. in Economics
Work Experience
September 2024 – Present
Associate Professor, School of International and Public Affairs, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
September 2022 – June 2023
Visiting Scholar, National School of Development, Peking University
August 2020 – July 2024
Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science and La Follette School of Public Affairs, University of Wisconsin–Madison, USA
Scientific Research
English Publications
Lei, Zhenhuan, and Yishuang Li. 2025. “Making Local Courts Work: The Judicial Recentralization Reform and Local Protectionism in China.” The Journal of Politics, 87(4): 1573–1586.
Lei, Zhenhuan. 2024. “The Fiscal Logic of Political Responsiveness: Public Finance, Elections, and Public Goods Provision in Rural China.” Studies in Comparative International Development, 59: 1–26.
Lei, Zhenhuan. 2023. “The Political Resource Blessing or Curse? Patronage Networks, Infrastructure Investment, and Economic Development in China.” Comparative Political Studies, 56(8): 1156–1188.
Li, Yishuang, and Zhenhuan Lei. 2023. “Political Alignment and the Allocation of Stock Market Resources in China.” Journal of Political Institutions and Political Economy, 4(1): 51–80.
Lei, Zhenhuan, and Junlong Aaron Zhou. 2022. “Private Returns to Public Investment: Political Career Incentives and Infrastructure Investment in China.” The Journal of Politics, 84(1): 455–469.
Lei, Zhenhuan, and Jeff Nugent. 2018. “Coordinating China’s Economic Growth Strategy via Its Government-Controlled Association for Private Firms.” Journal of Comparative Economics, 46: 1273–1293.
Chinese Publications
Lu, Ming, Shihu Zhong, and Zhenhuan Lei. 2026. “Incentives and Coordination: The Spatial Political Economy of Central–Local Relations.” Academic Monthly, Vol. 58, June 2026, pp. 55–66.
Xi, Tianyang, Zhenhuan Lei, Shiyao Liu, Yishuang Li, Zhenzhen Liu, and Jiaqi Zhao. 2024. “National Governance Indices and Modernization in Developing Countries: An Examination Based on Historical Evolution, Theoretical Logic, and Construction Methodology.” Research on China’s Modernization, No. 1, 2024.
Teaching Courses
Institutions and Economic Development
Undergraduate elective course; offered every spring semester
Public Economics
Required course for MPA students; offered every spring semester
Comparative Politics
English-taught elective course for master’s students
Comparative Legislative Studies
Required course for students in the dual-degree program in Public Administration and Law; offered every spring semester
Other
— “A Dialogue with Zhenhuan Lei: How Can the Social Sciences Reconnect with the Real World?” — Interview with Zifeiyu Podcast, July 2026
— “Field Research, Political Science Methodology, and a Comparison of Social Science Research in China and the United States” — Participated in a livestream hosted by Gongguan Baixiaosheng, April 2026; recording replay requires scanning a QR code via WeChat
— “Give Civilization to the Years — An Interview with Professor Zhenhuan Lei” — Podcast interview with the WeChat Official Account Political Science Review, January 2025
— “Comparative Politics with a Global Perspective — An Interview with Professor Zhenhuan Lei” — Interview with the Student Union of the National School of Development, Peking University, October 2022
Contact Information
Office: Xinjian Building, Room 206
Email: reedlei@outlook.com
Personal Website: https://www.zhenhuanlei.com
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=g-gF5RwAAAAJ&hl=zh-CN&oi=ao
WeChat Official Account: Reed’s Political Economy Notes