Floyd Jiuyun Zhang

PhD Student, Political Economics
PhD Program Office Graduate School of Business Stanford University 655 Knight Way Stanford, CA 94305

Floyd Jiuyun Zhang

I have graduated, and this page is no longer being updated. For more detailed and up-to-date information about my works, please visit https://floydjzhang.github.io

Publications

Nature Human Behaviour, 2023, vol. 7, issue 5, 696-706

High-profile political endorsements by scientific publications have become common in recent years, raising concerns about backlash against the endorsing organizations and scientific expertise. In a preregistered large-sample controlled experiment, I randomly assigned participants to receive information about the endorsement of Joe Biden by the scientific journal Nature during the COVID-19 pandemic. The endorsement message caused large reductions in stated trust in Nature among Trump supporters. This distrust lowered the demand for COVID-related information provided by Nature, as evidenced by substantially reduced requests for Nature articles on vaccine efficacy when offered. The endorsement also reduced Trump supporters’ trust in scientists in general. The estimated effects on Biden supporters’ trust in Nature and scientists were positive, small and mostly statistically insignificant. I found little evidence that the endorsement changed views about Biden and Trump. These results suggest that political endorsement by scientific journals can undermine and polarize public confidence in the endorsing journals and the scientific community.

Working Papers

with Avidit Acharya, Peter Buisseret, and Adam Meirowitz

Work in Progress

Nationalism and Preferences for Redistribution in Autocracies: Theory and Experimental Evidence