@article{liao_katada_2021, title={Geoeconomics, easy money, and political opportunism: the Perils under China and Japan's high-Speed rail competition}, volume={27}, ISSN={["1469-3631"]}, DOI={10.1080/13569775.2020.1816626}, abstractNote={ABSTRACT China and Japan have engaged in fierce competition over infrastructure lending in East Asia, particularly since the 2010s. Under the intense focus on the geopolitical roots of this competition, the political-economic effects of this competitive statecraft on the smaller Asian countries are less discussed. At first glance, lending competition seems to benefit borrowing countries through access to more financial resources. This paper argues, however, that competitive statecraft leads to an ‘easy money’ conundrum where overeager creditor countries, in pursuit of geostrategic goals, perpetuate political opportunism in borrowing countries. To support this claim, we examine China–Japan competition over two high-speed rail projects in Indonesia and Malaysia. Our process tracing analysis explains how push factors (easy money from China and Japan) and pull factors (the host government’s desire to exploit easy money for political gain) interacted to advance two troubled projects at the cost of borrowing countries’ fiscal discipline and government accountability.}, number={1}, journal={CONTEMPORARY POLITICS}, author={Liao, Jessica C. and Katada, Saori N.}, year={2021}, month={Jan}, pages={1–22} }
 @article{liao_katada_2021, title={Institutions, Ideation, and Diffusion of Japan's and China's Overseas Infrastructure Promotion Policies}, ISSN={["1469-9923"]}, DOI={10.1080/13563467.2021.1961219}, abstractNote={ABSTRACT This article examines Japan’s (1980s-90s) and China’s (2000s-10s) overseas infrastructure promotion campaigns. We explain how developmentalism, i.e. the state’s active engagement in economic development, has given rise to these two go-global campaigns, as the governments of both countries sought to expand industrial policy outward to compensate for domestic political economic problems. We explain how Japan, the go-global forerunner, influenced China, the go-global latecomer, and how China has formulated its own campaign strategies based on its distinct institutional and ideational settings as well as lessons derived from Japan’s past policy practices.}, journal={NEW POLITICAL ECONOMY}, author={Liao, Jessica C. and Katada, Saori N.}, year={2021}, month={Aug} }
 @article{katada_liao_2020, title={China and Japan in Pursuit of Infrastructure Investment Leadership in Asia Competition or Convergence?}, volume={26}, ISSN={["1942-6720"]}, DOI={10.1163/19426720-02603003}, abstractNote={Abstract}, number={3}, journal={GLOBAL GOVERNANCE}, author={Katada, Saori N. and Liao, Jessica}, year={2020}, month={Sep}, pages={449–472} }
 @article{liao_dang_2020, title={The nexus of security and economic hedging: Vietnam's strategic response to Japan-China infrastructure financing competition}, volume={33}, ISSN={["1470-1332"]}, DOI={10.1080/09512748.2019.1599997}, abstractNote={Abstract Hedging has been a widely discussed concept in explaining East Asian states’ counteracting policies in the face of great power competition. However, the current literature has yet to specify how hedging responds to great power competition in economic statecraft, namely, using economic means to influence other states. This paper examines Vietnam’s response to Japan and China’s infrastructure financing programs over the past three decades. Through a combination of quantitative and qualitative data, it explains how Vietnam, while following economic pragmatism, does not simply aim to maximize gains from these two powers. Vietnam’s decisions embody what we call economic hedging, or a cautious calculation over the linkage between security risks and infrastructure partnership and a tendency to pivot away from infrastructure partners deemed risky, namely, China. It also shows that such caution has intensified in the face of a nationalistic public that has challenged the notion of economic pragmatism, pushed a realist approach to economic relations with China, and bolstered Hanoi to take more action to protect Vietnamese sovereignty from Chinese economic influence. The convergence of these domestic and international trends have driven Hanoi to enhance collaboration with Japan, which it views as an increasingly important strategic partner.}, number={3-4}, journal={PACIFIC REVIEW}, author={Liao, Jessica C. and Dang, Ngoc-Tram}, year={2020}, month={Jul}, pages={669–696} }
 @article{liao_2019, title={A Good Neighbor of Bad Governance? China's Energy and Mining Development in Southeast Asia}, volume={28}, ISSN={["1469-9400"]}, DOI={10.1080/10670564.2018.1557947}, abstractNote={ABSTRACT The policies of Going Out and Good Neighbor have worked in tandem to direct Chinese diplomacy toward Southeast Asia over the past decades. This article asks how these policies have shaped Chinese energy and mining firms’ business decisions in the region. Using a combination of quantitative and qualitative data, this article argues that while Going Out and Good Neighbor have contributed to the growth of China’s energy and mining development projects in Southeast Asia, this outcome is not merely the result of a state-directed initiative. The growth is also driven by Chinese state-owned firms that take advantage of Beijing’s policy agenda and the institutional shortcomings behind it to plow state-backed resources into business partnerships with weak rule-of-law governments in the region. These partnerships and the associated projects are often touted as an arm of Chinese diplomacy, emboldening these firms to make risky expansion. Moreover, market, diplomatic, social, and geographic factors inherent to Southeast Asia further catalyze Chinese firms’ risky business practices while at the same time Beijing, prioritizing diplomatic relations over good governance, has been slow to police problems stemming from its firms’ dubious partnerships. In the end, this situation has hurt China’s image, contrary to Good Neighbor’s intended objectives.}, number={118}, journal={JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY CHINA}, author={Liao, Jessica C.}, year={2019}, month={Jul}, pages={575–591} }