Helping or Hurting? The Gendered Impact of NSF China Policies on Women in Academia

Xuan Jiang is an Assistant Professor of Economics at Jinan University and a Research Affiliate at the Institute of Labor Economics (IZA). She received Ph.D. in Economics at Purdue University in 2018. Before joining Jinan, she was a Postdoctoral Scholar in Department of Economics at the Ohio State University. Her research interests are in labor economics, economics of education, and science of science. Her research focuses on understanding human capital production through education in every stage of the lifecycle and its intersection with gender issues.

主持人

侯成瀚

湖南大学经济管理研究中心副教授

澳大利亚国立大学经济学博士

时间

2024年12月20日（周五）  

下午4:15-5:30

地点

湖南大学财院校区-水上教学楼211

ABSTRACT

We examine the effects of a policy reform by the National Natural Science Foundation of China that extended eligibility for the Young Scientist Grant (YSG) to women up to age 40. Using a combination of Difference-in-Differences and Regression Discontinuity approaches, we find that the policy increased the probability of receiving the YSG for female scholars in the first batch of newly eligible cohorts. While the policy provided more opportunities for women, its impact on long-term career outcomes was limited. Additionally, we identify a significant crowding-out effect in younger cohorts, especially in more competitive fields, where male scholars accelerated their applications, securing grants and early academic resources. This increased competition reduced women’s access to crucial resources such as grants, promotion opportunities, and collaboration networks. Furthermore, we find that women in more competitive fields shifted towards more first-authored publications, suggesting a move away from leadership roles or senior collaborative positions, although the effect was not large. Our findings highlight the unintended consequences of gender-targeted policies and the importance of considering competitive dynamics in academic labor markets.