China Daily reports that the Institute for Social Research of the University of Michigan will work with Peking University to establish a program in quantitative social science.

Its first project will be a biannual survey carried out in two Chinese provinces focusing on families. The survey is scheduled to begin in August 2006 in Henan and Liaoning provinces.

Xie Yu, a demographer leading the survey, said that the data from it would cover "a comprehensive set of topics ranging from health and filial relationships to socioeconomic status."