After eight years, Macro Polo has ceased operations as the Paulson Institute will focus its independent research on supporting its programs as it continues to diversify its scope.
We appreciate the community that has grown around Macro Polo and the fruitful engagement we’ve had with our legion of smart and sharp audience. You’ve pushed us to deliver even more original work and innovative products. Our body of work speaks for itself, and we hope it will have a long shelf life – that was the intent from MP’s inception.
MP’s website is now archived and no new work will be published henceforth on this site. Please visit www.paulsoninstitute.org for future research and policy work on a range of global issues.
Thank you all for the support over the years, it has been a privilege to have had a home at the Paulson Institute and to have built it the way we did.
- Team Macro Polo
(I’m)migrant
Select one of three identification cards and take on the life of a migrant. Each is a fictionalized character, created based on a rich official survey on migrants’ livelihoods and other primary sources (see Overview). Although creative licenses are taken, each is a realistic portrayal of these migrants’ diverse experiences, aspirations, and the tensions they feel. In addition, at the bottom of each narrative, we interviewed real-life migrants to offer reflections in their own words.
This blue-collar migrant spills his thoughts in his diary on the eve of his 50th birthday, reflecting on being a migrant for decades in Chengdu and longing for his family.
This white-collar migrant pens an open letter on her blog. The daughter of Zhou Xiaofeng, Yan Zi (her nickname) is a millennial migrant who has had improbable success in Shenzhen as the founder of an education startup.
This teenage Dreamer, intensely stressed that he is being forced to return to laojia (hometown) in Shandong, writes a letter to his grandmother. He was raised by migrant parents in Beijing and knows no other home.