She writes about authoritarian politics, contentious politics and the political economy of development. Her book, Prosper or Perish: Credit and Fiscal Systems in Rural China, published by Cornell University Press in 2012, was among the first to raise warning flags about the China model and perils of its local government debt. Her publications have appeared or are forthcoming in Perspectives on Politics, Comparative Politics, International Political Science Review, China Quarterly, China Journal, among others. Her writings have also appeared in the Washington Post, Foreign Affairs and New Mandala.