Journal of Economic Literature
Jia, Ruixue and Hongbin Li. The Highest Exam: How the Gaokao Shapes China
2026-05-29
Ofer Melamud of Northwestern University reviews “The Highest Exam: How the Gaokao Shapes China” by Ruixue Jia and Hongbin Li. The Econlit abstract of this book begins: “Describes the structure of China's education system as a centralized hierarchical tournament, focusing on how this system influences China's institutions and social life.”