Contributions of Chinese doctoral recipients from foreign universities to agricultural economic research and education in North America and China
China Agricultural Economic Review
ISSN: 1756-137X
Article publication date: 20 November 2020
Issue publication date: 1 June 2021
Abstract
Purpose
This paper traces the timeline and milestones of Chinese graduate students in agricultural economics and related fields at foreign universities, with an emphasis on North American universities, since the early 1980s, and assesses the contributions of Chinese doctoral recipients from foreign universities to agricultural economic research and education in North America and China.
Design/methodology/approach
Data from department and college websites, associations of agricultural economics, university libraries and databases of theses and dissertations and selected agricultural economic journals in English and Chinese are used to attain the above purposes through graphical and bibliometric analyses.
Findings
First, the numbers of Chinese doctoral recipients and tenure-track and tenured faculty in agricultural economics at North American universities have increased steadily and significantly. Second, Chinese scholars in North America have achieved tremendous success in agricultural economic research via high-quality publications, prestigious awards, editorship of top journals, leadership in professional organizations, etc. Third, more Chinese doctoral recipients overseas have increasingly returned to China and are playing important roles in China’s agricultural economic research, education and international collaboration. Fourth, the publications of overseas Chinese scholars in Chinese journals and those of their counterparts working in China on topics beyond China are relatively limited and more collaboration may enhance the global impacts of Chinese agricultural economists.
Research limitations/implications
This research is limited by data availability and quality and the data problems are discussed in the paper.
Originality/value
This is likely the first study to assess the contributions of Chinese doctoral recipients from foreign universities to agricultural economic research and education in China and abroad.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Drs. F. Zhong, J. Huang, J. Wu, W. Hu, K. Chen and many other CDRFU for their help in collecting or confirming information on the timeline and accomplishments of CDRFU. The authors also would like to thank librarians at several American university libraries, staff at the AAEA Business Office, Angela Tweedy and Sarah Waterman at the University of Vermont, and Yizhou Hua at Purdue University for their assistance. The senior authorship is equally shared between the first two authors.
Citation
Wang, Q., Wang, H.H. and Zhang, J. (2021), "Contributions of Chinese doctoral recipients from foreign universities to agricultural economic research and education in North America and China", China Agricultural Economic Review, Vol. 13 No. 2, pp. 260-277. https://doi.org/10.1108/CAER-06-2020-0162
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited