The institute helps coordinate the efforts of scholars (faculty and students) across campus and supports research to understand economic growth in China (past, present and future) and its impact on the world economy. Focus areas include rural development, firm activities and industrial dynamics, markets and regulation, financial and real estate markets, international trade, and environmental and energy challenges. Some of current research projects aim to understand: the impacts of industrial policies in China; the dynamics of firm productivity and location choices; the causes, consequences, and policy choices regarding air pollution; the transportation policies and outcomes; and electricity sector restructuring.

China's Industrial Policy: an Empirical Evaluation, Panle Jia Barwick, Myrto Kalouptsidi, and Nahim Zahur

WTO Accession and Performance of Chinese Manufacturing Firms, Loren Brandt, Johannes Van Biesebroeck, Luhang Wang, and Yifan Zhang

Local Protectionism, Market Structure, and Social Welfare: China's Automobile Market, Panle Jia Barwick, Shengmao Cao, and Shanjun Li

One State, Many Regions: China's Fragmented Industrial Takeover, Panle Jia Barwick, and Myrto Kalouptsidi

Endogenous Dynamics of Institutional Change, Victor Nee, Daniel DellaPosta, and Sonja Opper

Network Effects, Cooperation and Entrepreneurial Innovation in China, Sonja Opper, and Victor Nee