
Shorenstein APARC Research
Our Approach
APARC research is grounded in the social sciences, interdisciplinary in nature, and policy-relevant.
Asia drives the global economy, but there are worrying signs that the engine of growth is slowing. The major economies of the region—China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan—all see diminishing returns from the model of manufacturing-based, export-oriented development. They also grapple with societal challenges related to low birth rates, aging populations, brain drain, environmental pollution, political corruption, and low cultural tolerance.
The problem these societies face is how to create their own version of innovation-driven economies that will allow them to remain at the center of dynamism and growth in the twenty-first-century global ecosystem. To do so, they must find a new engine of economic growth by attracting foreign talent, upgrading pertinent social values of cultural diversity and social tolerance, and effectively reflecting and transmitting such values through social institutions.
Recognizing that countries throughout Asia lag behind in these efforts compared to more advanced, technologically innovative Western economies, the New Asia multi-year research cluster advocates for and pursues a “New Asia” of social, cultural, and economic maturity. This research cluster includes the following projects:
Select APARC research projects that have been completed or archived are listed below. You can also view a more comprehensive list of completed projects.
Engaging North Korea
Tailored Engagement: Toward an Effective and Sustainable Inter-Korean Relations Policy
Divided Memories and Reconciliation
History Textbooks and the War in Asia
Reconciliation and Cooperation in East Asia
Nationalism and Regionalism in Northeast Asia
Trends in U.S. and Korean Media Coverage of the Alliance, 1992-2004
Stanford Korea Democracy Project
New Beginnings: Post-Election Prospects for U.S.-ROK Relations
Comparative Policy Responses to Demographic Change in East Asia
Health Improvement Under Mao and Its Implications for Contemporary Aging in China
Health Service Delivery in the Asia-Pacific
Historical Development of Healthcare Institutions in East Asia
Population Aging, Child Health, and Control of Infectious Diseases
Late Democratization in Pacific Asia
Worker Identities and the Origins of Capital in Vietnam
PI: Takeo Hoshi
From Crisis to Opportunity: Japan's Post 3-11 Disaster Experience and Energy Reform
Information Technology in Japan and Asia
Japan's Transforming Political Economy and Finance
Political Change in Japan
The Political Economy of Japan Under the Abe Government
Stanford Silicon Valley - New Japan Program
Womenomics: Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment in the Workplace
Global Tobacco Prevention Research Initiative
Digital Technologies and the Labor Market
Education and Development in the Digital Economy
Entrepreneurship, Technology, and Economic Development
New Media and Political Economy
Socio-Political-Economic Consequences of COVID-19
PI: Jean Oi
Corporate Restructuring and Governance in China
Economics and Political Decision-Making in China's Villages
PI: Andrew Walder
Social Stratification in China during an Era of Transition
Politics of the Chinese Cultural Revolution