Lily L. Tsai is an Associate Professor of Political Science at MIT. Her research focuses on issues of accountability, governance, and state-society relations. Her first book, Accountability Without Democracy: Solidary Groups and Public Goods Provision in Rural China (Cambridge Studies on Comparative Politics, Cambridge University Press, 2007), uses a combination of original survey data and in-depth case studies to examine the ways in which informal institutions provided by social groups can substitute for formal and bureaucratic institutions to hold local officials accountable for governmental performance and public goods provision. Tsai has also published articles in The American Political Science Review, The China Quarterly, and The China Journal. She is currently working on a project about taxation, representation, and state capacity in rural China.
Tsai is a graduate of Stanford University, where she graduated with honors and distinction in English literature and international relations. She received a M.A. in political science from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Ph.D. in government from Harvard University in 2004. She is the recipient of fellowships from the Fulbright program and the Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies.
Accountability Without Democracy: Solidary Groups and Public Goods Provision in Rural China (Cambridge Studies on Comparative Politics, Cambridge University Press, 2007). 