Theme：Wings of Growth: A Mindset Intervention in Rural China

Guest Speaker：Mike Zhiren Wu (Monash University)

Time：November 12th, 2025(Wendesday)，9:00-10:00 am

Venue：Room 318, Business School Building

Organizer：The Department of Economics

Guest Bio:

  Mike Zhiren Wu, PhD candidate at Monash University, specializes in behavioral economics. His primary research interests focus on information provision and communication. In recent years, he has published papers in international journals such as Experimental Economics and Public Choice.

Synopsis：

  We evaluate the impact of a six-week growth mindset intervention conducted in 18 disadvantaged middle schools in rural China. In the short term, the intervention improved students' socio-emotional skills, including strengthened growth mindset, stronger internal locus of control and moderately enhanced grit. However, we find no significant effects on academic performance or aspirations. At the six-month follow-up, the medium-term effects remained largely sustained, although weakened in size. Short-term benefits were more pronounced among male students, those with better baseline academic performance, and those who received more parenting. In the medium term, treatment effect heterogeneity disappeared across gender, persisted for baseline academic performance, while weakened for parenting.