Social Ties and Favoritism in Chinese Science
研究中国两院院士评选中基于同乡关系的偏袒现象，发现同乡关系使候选人当选概率提高39%，但当选者产出高水平论文的可能性更低，且这种偏袒显著影响资源分配。
We study favoritism via hometown ties, a common source of favor exchange in China, in fellow selection of the Chinese Academies of Sciences and Engineering. Hometown ties to fellow selection committee members increase candidates' election probability by 39 percent, coming entirely from the selection stage involving an in-person meeting. Elected hometown-connected candidates are half as likely to have a high-impact publication as elected fellows without connections. CAS/CAE membership increases the probability of university leadership appointments and is associated with a US$9.5 million increase in annual funding for fellows' institutions, indicating that hometown favoritism has potentially large effects on resource allocation.