Nancy Qian is the James J. O'Connor Professor at Kellogg MEDS and a professor of the Department of Economics by courtesy appointment. Nancy is a native of Shanghai, China, holds a Ph.D. in Economics from MIT, was a Harvard Univeristy Academy Scholar post-doctoral fellow, and an Associate Professor at the Dept. of Economics at Yale University prior to Kellogg.
Professor Qian's research uses data to understand the determinants of economic development, especially in relation to political economy and long-run growth. Her work examines the economic determinants and consequences of formal institutions, such as elections, and cultural norms, such as gender preference and racial identity. She uses economic frameworks and empirical evidence to resolve historical puzzles, such as the causes of the Great Chinese and Soviet Famines, or the presence of local democracy within autocratic regimes. Her work spans a large number of current and historical contexts such as former Eastern Bloc countries, the United States and sub-Saharan Africa.
Her research has been published in top academic journals and featured in media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal and National Public Radio. She is the recipient of many prestigious awards and grants. She serves in several editorial positions and has consulted for agencies such as The World Bank, the Global Development Network and the China Development Bank.
She regularly attends worskhops in development economics, political economy, and co-organizes of the Northwestern Economic History Seminar. She founded China Econ Lab, an independent international organization that promotes rigorous research about the Chinese Economy, and the China Cluster for Northwestern's Global Poverty Research Lab. She leads the development economics initiative for Kellogg.
In her spare time, she spends time with her family, writes opinion columns, appears on news outlets such NPR or Channel News Asia, and is working on her first book, which is planned for publication in 2023 with the University of Chicago Press.
