International Trade, Technical Standards, and Product Classification
Vinod Aggarwal, Professor
Political Science
Applications for Fall 2026 are closed for this project.
This project examines how international trade and geopolitical pressures influence the development of technical standards in China. Technical standards establish requirements for product quality, safety, compatibility, testing, and production processes. Although standards are often presented as technical rules, they can also affect which firms and products are able to enter a market and compete internationally.
The project studies whether Chinese national standards converge with or diverge from international standards, particularly in industries affected by trade policy changes. It also investigates the political and economic actors involved in standard-setting, including government agencies, industry associations, state-owned enterprises, private firms, exporters, and import-competing firms.
The research combines several types of data, including Chinese national standards, international standards, product classifications, trade data, and information about firms and standard-setting committees. A central part of the project is linking individual standards to the products and industries they regulate. This requires carefully evaluating whether standards have been correctly matched to Harmonized System (HS) product codes.
The broader goal is to understand how technical rules interact with trade policy, industrial policy, and international economic competition.
Role: The undergraduate research assistant will primarily help validate and improve the mapping between Chinese technical standards and HS product codes. Because a standard may apply to several products, or may use terminology that differs from customs classifications, this work requires careful reading and independent judgment rather than simple keyword matching.
Depending on the student’s interests and skills, there may also be opportunities to assist with basic text analysis, data visualization, or coding in R or Python.
Qualifications: Applicants should have:
1） Strong attention to detail and the ability to work carefully with complex information.
2） The ability to follow a coding protocol while also identifying ambiguous or potentially incorrect cases.
3） An interest in political economy, international trade, China, public policy, regulation, business, law, or data-driven social science research.
The following qualifications are helpful but not required:
1） Reading ability in Chinese.
2） Experience conducting literature reviews or searching government and archival sources.
3） Familiarity with international trade, product classifications, technical standards, or industrial policy.
4） Experience with data cleaning or analysis in R, Python, Stata, or another statistical program.
Day-to-day supervisor for this project: Jiayu Lai, Ph.D. candidate
Hours: 9-11 hrs
Off-Campus Research Site: Remote position.
Social Sciences