About Me

Zhenhuan (Reed) Lei

Welcome! I am an Associate Professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of International and Public Affairs. My research focuses on comparative political economy with a regional specialization in China. My research has been published or is forthcoming in Comparative Political Studies, the Journal of Comparative Economics, the Journal of Political Institutions and Political Economy, the Journal of Politics, and Studies in Comparative International Development.

My current research focuses on the following three areas: (1) the division of labor among different political institutions in China and the economic implications of such institutional arrangements; (2) rethinking the validity and potential biases of cross-national governance indicators; (3) bureaucratic politics and its implications to regulation, public investment, economic development, and diplomacy. I regularly look for student research assistants (paid positions) for these ongoing projects (refer to this page for details).

Before returning to China, I was an assistant professor of political science and public policy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison from August 2020 to July 2024. I was a visiting scholar at Peking University, National School of Development, from August 2022 to July 2023. I obtained my Ph.D. in political science at New York University (2020), an M.A. in economics and an M.P.A. at the University of Southern California (2016), and my Bachelor of Arts and Economics degrees at China Foreign Affairs University (2014).

You can contact me by email reedlei[at]outlook.com.