Events

Ancestors’ Education, Descendants’ Innovation — The long-run effects of keju on corporate innovation
(Language: Conducted in Mandarin)

China’s civil examination system (keju) is an influential long-lived institution that has left a lasting impact on Chinese thinking and behavior. Shijun He of Wuhan University and his co-authors find evidence to suggest that companies led by chairpersons whose birthplaces had higher ancestral jinshi* densities were associated with significantly better innovative performance, measured by R&D spending, patents, and patent citations. Based on Galor and Özak’s (2016) theory on the origins of long-term oriented values, they hypothesize that the keju examination system during the Ming and Qing dynasties has fostered the development of China’s long-term oriented culture by motivating people to invest in examination activities in the hope of high returns. In this Quantitative History Webinar, Professor Shijun He will explain how their study provides empirical evidence supporting the transmission of this cultural trait and the view that chairpersons of cooperatives from regions with higher ancestral jinshi densities are more likely to pursue innovative activities.

Shijun’s co-authors: Qiankun Gu (Wuhan), Yuchen Wei (Wuhan), and Chaopeng Wu (Xiamen)

Live on Zoom on October 28, 2021
16:00 Hong Kong/Beijing/Singapore
09:00 London | 17:00 Tokyo | 19:00 Sydney
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The Quantitative History Webinar Series, convened by Professor Zhiwu Chen and Dr. Chicheng Ma of The University of Hong Kong (HKU), aims to provide researchers, teachers and students with an online intellectual platform to keep up to date with the latest research in the field, promoting the dissemination of research findings and interdisciplinary use of quantitative methods in historical research. The Series is co-organized by the International Society for Quantitative History, HKU Business School, and the Asia Global Institute (AGI).

Conveners:
Professor Zhiwu Chen
Dr. Chicheng Ma