“The good work is collaborative”

“The Poverty Research Network is a fair amount of work for everyone – especially for Li Shi, who’s the point man on it – but I find it very gratifying work,” says mentor Terry Sicular. “I meet some really interesting, smart young people, and some not so young people too.

“The network makes a real contribution for China, because this is such an important policy area. It provides a framework for people to have informed interchange and to work collaboratively.”

Researchers working on related subjects in different parts of China, or even at separate institutions in the same city, can have difficulty making connections and forming scholarly networks, she says.

“The real value-added of the poverty network is much more than the money received. The young scholars get to know all the senior people from within and outside of China, and they get to know other people in their own peer group and establish ongoing relations with them.

“In my experience, economics is less and less a field where people are out there on their own, working independently in an isolated fashion. Nobody knows everything they need to know on a subject, so the good work these days is collaborative. It’s important to facilitate that in China also.”

 Next: The network evolves
 Previous: "We chose the mentors carefully"


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