Ling Chen joins the Walter Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (Shorenstein APARC) during the 2013-2014 year from Johns Hopkins University where she received her Ph.D. in political science. Her research interests lie in comparative politics and political economy, especially the political origins of economic policies and outcomes in China and East Asia. During her time at Shorenstein APARC, Chen will conduct research on how global firms enabled bureaucratic manipulation of mandatory economic policies in local China. Her research is based on 18 months of fieldwork throughout China and economic census and survey data at both the city and the firm level.

Chen has published articles in The China Journal, Review of International Political Economy, and New Political Economy. A recent article based on her dissertation research has also been accepted for publication by Politics & Society.  Her research has received support from the Social Science Research Council (Andrew Mellon Foundation), Institute for Humane Studies, Fei Hsiao-Tung Foundation, Johns Hopkins University, as well as other institutions.

Chen holds a MA in political science from the University of Toronto and a BA in political science and a BA in economics from Peking University. She was also a pre-doctoral research fellow at Brown University.