LOS ANGELES—In his most recent post, Ethan Penner looks at the differences in analyses between his Chinese and non-Chinese students at his USC business school course and asks to what extent do societal prejudices inform our interpretations of the economy.

Penner writes:
“As I read these homework submissions and observed this trend it got me thinking about the cultural proclivities towards things like trusting authority, and what that meant for nations. I initially concluded that given the central planning structure of Chinese government and its history of limited freedom it should not be surprising that the notion of accepting government proclamations at face value is the norm. Yet, as I thought some more, I wondered if it was possible that the Chinese students are deeply skeptical of their own nation's government but view the U.S. government as being highly trustworthy.”

To read the full post, “Trusting Authority,” click here. For other posts from Ethan Penner, click here.