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Robert Pauls

@robertpauls.bsky.social
880 followers 724 following 228 posts

Political economy of China's socioeconomic transformation, monetary policy, industrial policy. Suzhou, China. www.robertpauls.net

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Robert Pauls @robertpauls.bsky.social · 5h
I think that's basically what Linda Weiss' argument has been as well. (America Inc.? Innovation and Enterprise in the National Security State)
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Robert Pauls @robertpauls.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Haha, is that the 上海博物馆 exhibition?
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Robert Pauls @robertpauls.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Flying into Songshan is the most iconic way of coming to Taipei
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Robert Pauls @robertpauls.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Which paper of Shaikh’s is she referring to?
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Andrew Hills @gcrespector.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Joan Robinson writing to Anwar Shaikh: “as a last resort you could always get it into the Canadian Journal” lol
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Robert Pauls @robertpauls.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
FT views this unprecedented closure of rural and city banks mainly from a regulatory and stability angle. I think it may also be part of the centre's drive for fiscal consolidation. Closing local banks will reduce local gov't's ability to control loan making, both for themselves and client firms.
giftarticle.ft.com
China closes hundreds of banks to bolster financial system
More than 670 lenders, a record, shut down last year as Fitch says smaller players remain sector’s weakest part
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Robert Pauls @robertpauls.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
CfP: Network Q Asian Capitalisms — SASE 2027, Glasgow 30 June – 3 July 2027 "Remaking Asian Capitalisms – New Paths of Development in Times of Disruption" We'd like to see more contributions on South and Southeast Asia, Japan, Taiwan, and Korea! robertpauls.net/network_q_cfp #SASE2027
robertpauls.net
SASE Network Q CfP 2027 — Asian Capitalisms
Call for Papers for SASE 2027 in Glasgow. Deadline 16 December 2026.
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SASE | The Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics @sasemeeting.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Submissions for SASE 2027 Glasgow are NOW OPEN 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 #SASE2027 #SASEGLASGOW #CallForSubmissions
sase.org
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Eli Friedman @elifriedman.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
"Two Day Weekend Shopping" 双休购 is an app that allowed Chinese consumers to shop at businesses that provide workers with a real two day weekend, based on worker-provided info. The app blew up, reflecting widespread dissatisfaction with overwork. Then it was banned.
bbc.com
「雙休購」的爆紅與下架:一個網購平臺如何撬動中國勞工權益討論 - BBC News 中文
提倡雙休的民間自發平台「雙休購」曇花一現後快速被下架,中國打工人開始在社交媒體上要求雙休正當權利。學者指這樣的消費抵制是正向的發展。
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Robert Pauls @robertpauls.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Yes, RMB internationalization focuses on creating infrastructure, but remains largely irrelevant in macroeconomic terms.
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Robert Pauls @robertpauls.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Astonishing jump in the US corporate profit share
giftarticle.ft.com
US corporate profits surge to record as worker payouts wilt
Pre-tax earnings hit highest level since after the second world war as employee remuneration slides
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Robert Pauls @robertpauls.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Patatje Oorlog
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Robert Pauls @robertpauls.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Yes, of course. Not suggesting that a relative decline of the labour share is a good thing. Distributional issues are clearly at play. Just wondering what the mechanism is.
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Eli Friedman @elifriedman.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Labor's share of GDP just falls off a cliff in Taiwan in the AI era t-pec.org/ai-growth-la...
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Robert Pauls @robertpauls.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Extraordinary, but the rising profit share is mostly driven by a rise in markup of TW firms paid for by firms and households abroad, right? Or did the AI boom also squeeze Taiwanese workers in absolute terms?
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Robert Pauls @robertpauls.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
Just came across that as well! For others to read: giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
giftarticle.ft.com
An American farewell to China
Xizhou’s internationally celebrated Linden Centre is a symbol of the deep roots of US-Chinese relations. Forty years after its seeds were sown, its founder’s plans to leave speak volumes
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Robert Pauls @robertpauls.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
I remember Philipp Huang estimated informal employment at 75% for 2015. Difficult to measure (or even define) such a thing in any case.
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Robert Pauls @robertpauls.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Could be, or it just interpreted the Chinese names in that way. Curious case though.
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Robert Pauls @robertpauls.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Not clear from the reporting that any of the three men involved, including the victim, are Chinese nationals.
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Fulya Apaydin @fulyaapaydin.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
1/9 I am very happy to share a new special issue of the Journal of Economic Policy Reform, which I co-edited with Merve Sancak and Andreas Nölke: “Industrial Policy beyond the Hegemons” which examines how non-hegemonic powers respond to geoeconomic competition.
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Robert Pauls @robertpauls.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Has the paper itself been published?
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Austin Ramzy @austinramzy.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
During his short speech at the German Bundestag, Zhang Yabo began to choke back tears, Li Yuan writes. Zhang had served for nine years as a police officer in Xinjiang, enforcing China’s campaign to surveil, detain and indoctrinate that region’s Uyghur population. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/28/b...
nytimes.com
He Served China’s Police State of Xinjiang. He Says It Imprisoned Him, Too.
After nearly 10 years carrying out Chinese government repression in Xinjiang, a former police officer is now seeking asylum in Germany.
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Robert Pauls @robertpauls.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Mind sharing the source? Thanks!
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Robert Pauls @robertpauls.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Finally some Chinamaxxing content I can get behind
youtube.com
I smoked every Chinese cigarette so you don't have to (DO NOT DO IT)
YouTube video by Bodega Kat
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Robert Pauls @robertpauls.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Not that I want to defend Springer, but the rule explicitly states that criticism of the Israeli government is allowed, whatever that means in practice …
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Jason Hickel @jasonhickel.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
I'm pleased to share this new paper, "The myth of 'catch-up' development". The paper assesses trends in core-periphery inequality since 1960, and draws several main conclusions: 🧵https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13563467.2026.2659076
tandfonline.com
The myth of catch-up development: trends in core–periphery inequality from 1960 to 2023
The conventional narrative in international development holds that poorer countries are “catching up” with richer countries through the process of capitalist growth. This paper assesses this claim ...
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Robert Pauls @robertpauls.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Seems to me to be standard claims for academic work. I.e., contribute to discipline and provide a novel perspective?
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Robert Pauls @robertpauls.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
I’ve been told many of our female students prefer AI boyfriends over the real thing. Should do a survey…
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Thomas Kalinowski @thomas-kalinowski.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
Our article on green industrial policies in China and South Korea was just published in @Journal of Economic Policy Reform! With @Robert Pauls and @Soeun Kim. Thanks to @Merve Sancak, @fulyaapaydin.bsky.social and @Andreas Nölke for organizing the special issue! www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
tandfonline.com
Industrial policy at the intersection of geopolitics and state–business relations. A comparative study of battery industries in China and South Korea
This article examines how industrial policy is shaped by the interplay of geopolitics and state– business relations. Moving beyond technocratic views that treat policy as a neutral tool to correct ...
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Robert Pauls @robertpauls.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
link.springer.com
The Politics of Football in China
This book provides a theoretically informed and cross-disciplinary understanding of Chinese football politics under the leadership of Xi Jinping.
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Robert Pauls @robertpauls.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
An outline of how tiao-kuai is broken up can be observed in the Free Trade Pilot Zones with 放管服 and associated state restructuring
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Robert Pauls @robertpauls.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Yes, it’s the algorithmic feeds that need to be regulated rather than imposing blanket age-based restrictions. But this would be much more difficult to push through politically I suppose
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Albert Pinto @70sbachchan.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
Industrial policy sometimes has "Governments picking winners." But it just as often has "Losers picking Governments" US AI companies losing to open-source Chinese AI companies are likely to go to US govt to create themselves a 'moat'
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Robert Pauls @robertpauls.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
Calling it something like the “plaza accord” is a horrible idea as Chinese discourse has been geared up to expect this as the next “trap” the West will set for it
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Michael W @michaelwood8.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
Massive reaction in China to my post on Xiaohongshu about the ‘cancellation’ of Joseph Rock. The botanist-explorer’s former residence and museum near Lijiang has been shut down and his name erased from travel articles hosted by Yunnan and Gansu authorities. xhslink.com/o/6lCMankPaqt
xhslink.com
洛克被封杀了? - 小红书
3 亿人的生活经验,都在小红书
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Robert Pauls @robertpauls.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Best to seek peaceful coexistence. Make offerings to appease the cockroach queen, give her emissaries free passage.
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Eli Friedman @elifriedman.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Cannot recommend this enough for anyone interested in Taiwan
positionspolitics.org
What is a Left Position on Taiwan? - positions politics
What is a left position on Taiwan? This question was posed to us – the three editors of praxis, Rebecca Karl, Aminda Smith, and Fabio Lanza – at a recent social event in New York. The query came from ...
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Robert Pauls @robertpauls.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Thanks for sharing! Liu's position is the clearest one, imo, and does not seek to tie up Taiwan with US politics (cf. Wang). As one commenter remarks, class doesn't feature anywhere, though, which is surprising.
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Robert Pauls @robertpauls.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Are there drones yet that could replace the NH-90? It's primary role would to drop a sonar buoy, no?
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Robert Pauls @robertpauls.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Similarly, I found the argument unconvincing that, before the washing machine, most households would outsource to a laundress. In any case, LLMs are a service sold to households, potentially replacing other services. I'd be more worried about the YouTubers doing DIY videos.
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Robert Pauls @robertpauls.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
Rhymes nicely with this FT reporting today: giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
giftarticle.ft.com
New AI espionage powers trigger Putin camera scare
Russia paused surveillance system after killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader exposed how AI can be used on CCTV data to target enemies
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Robert Pauls @robertpauls.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
“While central bankers ’may want to stay out of politics, they simply have no moves left that do not contradict the neutrality they profess.’“ -Great way to put it!
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Robert Pauls @robertpauls.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
This must be the so-called “high-level opening” that policies keep talking about
heise.de
China expands travel restrictions for AI talent
To retain AI specialists in the country, China is extending existing travel restrictions to employees of private companies. This could have the opposite effect.
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Robert Pauls @robertpauls.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Hukou reform and broadening of access to social services have been promised and debated for decades.
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Robert Pauls @robertpauls.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
"Honest answer" – as if it had a benchmark of truth.
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Robert Pauls @robertpauls.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
This is like asking a tree why it chose to branch at one place rather than another. LLMs are non-deterministic stochastic machines. They do not reason. There is no why that they can answer to. They will just produce more predictive text absent any self-observation or reflection.
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Robert Pauls @robertpauls.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
Or take the weekend biker meet-up on Jiashanlu where the local bobos parade their Harleys
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Eli Friedman @elifriedman.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
The "Lying Flat Foundation" call for submissions, prizes paid in USD. Incredible work
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Robert Pauls @robertpauls.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Yes, much of EU trade defense measures are inadvertently directed against EU companies sourcing from China. If the EU and nat’l govs would increase their capacity to steer business, this may also reduce the need for zero-sum outward-facing confrontation.
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Christian Göbel @christiangoebel.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
Österreichische Unis rufen zu einer Demonstration nächsten Mittwoch, 13:00 Uhr auf. Demonstriert wird gegen anvisierte hohe Budgetkürzungen, die die Qualität von Forschung und Lehre massiv beeinträchtigen würden. Bitte weitersagen und teilnehmen! www.univie.ac.at/aktuelles/pr...
univie.ac.at
Budget - Unis rufen zu Demos gegen Kürzungen auf
Rektor Schütze: "Schaden für die Reputation enorm"
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