On 11 May 2026, Faculty of Finance at City University of Macau organized the sixteenth academic salon at the Golden Dragon Campus. This academic salon invited Dr. Chaonuo Dai, an assistant professor of Faculty of Finance, City University of Macau, as the speaker. His research area includes applied microeconomics, labor economics, education economics and household economics. He presented his paper titled “Intergenerational Spillovers of Political Affiliation and Human Capital Formation: Evidence from Communist Party of China”.

This paper studies whether parental political affiliation generates spillovers in children's human capital formation. Using data from the China Education Panel Survey and quasi-random classroom assignment within schools, this paper finds that exposure to classmates with parents who are Communist Party of China (CPC) member increases academic performance and cognitive skills. The effects are similar for students with and without CPC-member parents, larger for boys in academic performance, and more pronounced for lower-ability students in cognitive development. This paper suggests that stronger student effort, more prosocial classroom norms, and greater parental engagement may drive such intergenerational spillover, with no detectable adverse effects on non-cognitive outcomes.

In this academic salon, Dr. Dai shared his latest research findings with the Faculty of Finance, broadening the academic scope of the faculty. The Faculty of Finance Academic Salon at the City University of Macau is a platform for exchanging academic ideas and enhancing academic awareness. The Salon focuses on finance and economics, inviting experts from academia and the financial industry to discuss cutting-edge research and share industry development trends, aiming to bring new academic experiences and thinking models to the faculty and students of the university. Through academic activities like the academic salon, the Faculty of Finance provides a better academic platform for graduate students and encourage further exploration and research of academic issues among faculty and students.