Curriculum Vitae | Yuxing (Nemo) Chen

Education

Harvard University · September 2026 – May 2031 (expected)
Ph.D. in Government (Political Science)

Research interests: State capacity; development; bureaucratic reform; historical political economy.

University of Michigan · December 2025
B.S. in Political Science, summa cum laude; minor in Statistics

Thesis: “Bureaucratic Interests: Does Fiscal Decentralization Impede Efficient Governance?”
Committee: Mark Dincecco (Chair), Jonathan Hanson, Nancy Burns, Anne Pitcher, and Tyler Chen.
Marshall Sahlins Award for the best thesis in the social sciences; Frank Grace Award for the best thesis in political science.
GPA: 3.968; Highest Distinction.

Publications & Research

Chen, Y. (2026). “Bureaucratic Interests: Does Fiscal Decentralization Impede Efficient Governance?” Politics & Policy, 54(5), e70173.

Publication details · Working papers and work in progress

Research Experience

Stamps Research Fellow, University of Michigan · May 2025 – August 2026
“Cities, States, Borders, & Conflict,” with Mark Dincecco and Anil Menon. Built a historical conflict database, coded more than 1,000 wars, and conducted GIS and data analysis.

Shanghai and Hangzhou Team Leader, Zhejiang University · June – August 2025
World Value Survey Wave 8, China Division. Trained and led 20 interviewers, completed over 200 questionnaires, and conducted questionnaire validation.

Research Assistant, Harvard University · November 2024 – May 2025
“Political Elites and Intellectuals in China,” with Yuhua Wang and Hanning Luo. Coded more than 500 articles on political, economic, and cultural ideology.

Research Assistant, University of Michigan · May – November 2024
“Economic Opportunities and the Remaking of Identities,” with Jun Fang. Compiled historical sales data from Chinese livestreaming e-commerce influencers.

Research Assistant, University of Michigan · September 2023 – May 2024
“The Effect of Nation-Building on the Salience of Ethnicity: Experimental Evidence from Southwest China,” with Jean Hong. Cleaned and coded more than 3,000 survey records and conducted GIS analysis.

Research Assistant, China University of Political Science and Law · June 2022 – August 2023
With Qingqian He, on European right-wing populism and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Collected 200,000 tweets and profile data for 1.97 million interacting users; applied topic modeling.

Conference Presentations & Invited Talks

APSA Annual Meeting, Vancouver · September 2025
IPSA 28th World Congress, Seoul · July 2025
Peking University–Fudan University “In-depth Forum on State Governance” · 2025, 2026
MPSA 82nd Annual Conference, Chicago · April 2025
WPSA Annual Meeting, Seattle · April 2025
Japanese Political and Legal Studies Association 14th Annual Meeting, Yamanashi Gakuin University · November 2024
China Annual Conference on Political Science and International Relations, Beijing · July 2024
International Forum of Young Scholars on Governance Modernization, Central China Normal University · June 2024

Honors & Awards

Marshall Sahlins Award for Best Thesis in Social Science, University of Michigan · 2025
Frank Grace Award for Best Thesis in Political Science, University of Michigan · 2025
Stamps Scholar Research Fellowship, University of Michigan · 2025
James B. Angell Scholar for Academic Excellence, University of Michigan · 2025
Gerstein Family Research Stipend, University of Michigan · 2024
University Honors, University of Michigan · 2023, 2024, 2025
First place, “JD Cup” Entrepreneurship Competition · 2023
iCenter Entrepreneurial Star, Tsinghua University · 2023
First Place in Beijing, 8th China International College Students’ Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition · 2022
Outstanding Award, National College Students’ Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program · 2022

Professional Experience

Forever Technology Company, Co-Founder & COO, Beijing · December 2021 – August 2024
Taihill Venture, Investor Relations Intern, Boston · May – August 2024
Y Combinator China (MiraclePlus), Investment Assistant, Beijing · March – June 2023
ALLBright Law Offices, Legal Intern, Shanghai · December 2022 – March 2023
Guangming Daily, Trainee Reporter, Beijing · May – November 2022

Skills & Languages

Technical: R, Python, ArcGIS, LaTeX, Microsoft Office, XMind.
Languages: Mandarin and Cantonese (native), English (fluent), Italian (beginner).