Research

Publications:

Marx meets Weber: The Dissolution of Communes and the Rise of Religious Public Goods in China (joint with Shukang XIAO).

2025, World Development, Vol. 194, 107071.

Cultural behaviors can be shaped and preserved by economic institutions. We examine the causal impact of the rural decollectivization reform in China that took place after 1978 on the supply of religious public goods. A staggered difference-in-differences model that analyzes the timing of reform implementation in 1,114 counties finds that the reform resulted in a surge in religious activities in religious sites. Further evidence suggests that counties with a lower intensity of the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and a larger income growth experienced a greater impact of the reform. Moreover, lineage associations, being more religious and serving as a critical tool in mobilizing individuals, could enhance the impact of the reform. We argue that in the commune system before the reform, the demand for religions as well as its supply were not fully expressed and the reform increased people’s economic autonomy and resources for participating in religious activities. Our study offers a political economy explanation for the rise of religion in China’s economic transition after 1978.

Decollectivization and Child Adoption in Rural China (joint with Shukang XIAO), Economic Development and Cultural Changes, accepted.

Child adoption is prevalent worldwide. Understanding the adopting behaviors of households is critical, as adoption can offer children a better environment in which to grow up and significantly impact both families and children’s well-being. Can public policies or institutions influence the adoption behaviors of households? We explore the causal impact of the decollectivization reform after 1978 on child adoption in rural China. The staggered difference-in-differences estimation demonstrates an increase in child adoption by sterile households in rural China after this land reform. The reform leads to a lower adoption probability in urban areas, suggesting that our estimate is not driven by the increased supply of adoptees resulting from the One-Child Policy. Suggestive evidence shows that decollectivization may raise the value of children by increasing demand for old-age support and for agricultural production, as well as receiving favorable redistribution of land. This indicates the importance of economic incentives in child adoption in developing countries.

Stay Hungry, and Stay Calm in Upbeat Time: Local Officials’ Early-life Famine Experience and Housing Sector Development in China (joint with Linke HOU, Siyuan LV)

2025, Journal of Regional Science, Vol. 65, No.2, 324-338.

Winter Is Coming: Early-life Experiences and Politicians’ Decisions (joint with Nan GAO, Shiqi GUO)

2024, Economic Journal, Vol. 134, 295-321.

This paper traces the formation of politicians’ policy preferences to their early-life experiences. Using China’s Great Famine as an exogenous shock, we examine how the early-life experience of famine affects the fiscal decisions of China’s County Party Secretaries. Based on the biographical information of 2,806 CPS, we match the famine severity in their birth counties with the fiscal data in the 1,713 counties they governed during 1998–2007. We find that a one-percentage-point increase in the severity of famine experienced by the CPS in early-life leads to an increase in the fiscal expenditure on agriculture by 0.8% and an increase in social security subsidy by 1.1%. Consistently, agricultural tax is reduced significantly, leading to more grain production in the CPS’ work counties as a result. Our findings suggest that the CPS with early-life famine may develop the preferences for food sufficiency and the care for the people in hardships.

5. Local Governments and the Diffusion of Video Surveillance in China: Evidence from the Public Procurement Contracts (joint with Xijie LI, Yucheng GUO) . forthcoming in Journal of Chinese Political Science.

6. A Replication of “Unconscious Bias in Citizens' Evaluations of Public Sector Performance” (joint with Guoliang CHEN, Shuwei ZHANG, Wenna CHEN, Qiwei LI)

2024, Public Administration, Vol. 102, 1745-1764.

7. Flying High in the Sky: the Airports Decentralization Reform and Regional Economic Development in China (joint with Wei ZOU)
2024, Journal of Asian Economics, Vol. 90, 101681.

8. Pay it Forward: An Experimental Study on Social Connections and Indirect Reciprocity (joint with Juanjuan MENG)

2023, Review of Economic Design, Vol. 27, 387-417.

9. Pray, Vote, and Money: The Double-edged Sword Effect of Religions on Rural Political Participation in China (joint with Shukang XIAO)

2022, China Economic Review, Vol. 71, 101726.

10. Homevalue Misestimation and Household Leverage: An Empirical Study of Chinese Urban Households (joint with Nan GAO)

2021, Cities, Vol. 109, 103043.

11. Power Struggle and Pork-Barrel Politics in Authoritarian Countries: Evidence from China (joint with Nan GAO, Lixin Colin XU)

2021, Economics of Transition and Institutional Change, Vol. 29, 123-150.

12. Can Higher Levels of Disclosure Bring Greater Efficiency? Empirical Research on the Effect of Government Information Disclosure on Enterprise Investment Efficiency (joint with Wenchao YU, Nan GAO)
2021, China Economic Quarterly International, Vol.1, No.3, 221-232.

13. In-group Bias in Prisons (joint with Shiqi GUO, Erte XIAO)

2020, Games and Economic Behavior, Vol. 122, 328-340

We conducted a field experiment in a typical Chinese prison to examine the in-group bias of groups with a stigmatized identity. Inmates were given the opportunity to work for a charity. We found evidence of both pro-sociality and in-group favoritism among inmates. In particular, inmates increased their efforts when their output contributed to a charity and worked even harder when the beneficiary of their efforts have a prisoner identity. However, inmates who have been in prisons for a longer period put in relatively less effort in helping a beneficiary who is a prisoner. This negative correlation was not observed when the beneficiary was an outsider. These findings highlight the importance of social interaction in the formation of in-group bias.

14. Homevalue Misestimation and Household Behavior: Evidence from China (joint with Nan GAO)

2019, China Economic Review, Vol. 55, 168-180

15. Transfer of Authority within Hierarchies

2017, Review of Economic Design, Vol. 21, 273-290

16. Favor Transmission under Social Image Concerns: An Experimental Study (joint with Juanjuan MENG)

2016, Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, Vol. 63, 14-21

17. Fresh Cadres, Fresh Air? Personnel Control, Institutions, and China's Water Pollution (joint with Nan GAO)

2016, Review of Development Economics, Vol.20, 48-61

18. Social Interactions, Internet Access, and Stock Market Participation: An Empirical Study in China (joint with Shiqi GUO)

2015, Journal of Comparative Economics, Vol. 43, 883-901

Social interaction plays an important role in transmitting relevant information to potential investors. However, the informational role of social interaction might be affected by other information channels, which is to a large extent ignored in previous studies. Using a new household finance survey data covering more than 8,000 Chinese households, we investigate the role of social interaction in individual stock market participation decisions. We find that a better access to Internet and high degree of social interaction both increase stock market participation, but they substitute for each other. In particular, for households with the access to Internet, having the degree of social interaction above the median level in effect is associated with a 6 percentage points decrease in the probability to participate stock market. This finding supports the informational effect of social interaction. Moreover, we also identify a social multiplier effect of social interaction: sociable households living in the communities with higher stock market participation are more likely to invest in stocks.

19.Optimal Delegation via a Strategic Intermediary

2013, Games and Economic Behavior, Vol. 82, 15-30.

I study the optimal design of delegation rule when a principal has to delegate to an informed agent via a strategic intermediary. I show that when the subordinates have opposing biases, the optimal delegation set will involve a "hole": some modest options are precluded. This may shed some new lights on policy threshold effects: small changes in the underlying state cause large policy responses.

20. Exit and Voice: A Game-Theoretic Analysis of Customer Complaint Management

2013, Pacific Economic Review, Vol. 18, 177-207.

21. A Game of Thrones: Power Structure and the Stability of Regimes (with Ruixue JIA), 2014, in Karl Warneryd (Eds) The Economics of Conflict: Theory and Empirical Evidence:: Cambridge: MIT Press, pp. 79-103.

22. Decentrlization and Military Coups (with Ruixue JIA), 2012, in Chen Bo, Manas Chatterji, Hou Na (Eds.) Contributions to Conflict Management, Peace Economics and Development: Cooperation for a Peaceful and Sustainable World, Part 1:: Vol. 20:: London: Emerald Publisher, pp 149-170.

23. The Rise of Digital Finance and the Development of Express Delivery in the People’s Republic of China (with Wei ZOU), 2024, in Bera, Subhasis, et al. (Eds.), Digital Transformation for Inclusive and Sustainable Development in Asia, Tokyo: Asian Development Bank Institute, pp 145-164.

24.Regional Economic Effects of Airport and High-Speed Rail Connections (with Wei ZOU, Xinhan JIAO), 2025, in James, Peoples (Eds.) Advances in Airline Economics, Vol. 12:: London: Emerald Publishing.

Working Papers

Attentions Online, Abatement Offline: A Natural Experiment from the Social Media in China (joint with Wei ZOU, Xiaoxing QI).

This paper investigates the real responses of firms and governments in authoritarianism states to social media activities, by exploiting spatial variation in online public attention after the unexpected release of the documentary Under the Dome in China in 2015. We combine several novel datasets and find that a 10 percentage increase in public attention to the documentary induces a significantly lower firm emission of SO2 and NO by 0.84 percentage and 0.47 percentage, respectively. IV estimation based on the filmmaker’s previous popularity supports the causal relationship. The event-study estimation suggests that the impact of public attention on air quality persists. Further analysis shows that after the release of the documentary, residents significantly raise environmental awareness, adjust energy consumption, and complain more about polluters to local governments. As a response, local governments also strengthen environmental regulation enforcement.

Budget Rollovers and Year-End Spending in China (joint with Yucheng GUO). R&R.

This study exploits the reform of China's Budget Law, which restricts the rollover of fiscal surplus across years, to examine the impact of the use-it-or-lose-it (UILI) budget rules on year-end spending spikes. We analyze over 2.8 million government procurement contracts from 2014 to 2021 and develop a novel method to assess contract quality. We observe substantial surges in procurement contracts at the end of the year, which are more likely to be of low quality. The event study model indicates that after the reform, local governments awarded 25.8% more procurement contracts and doubled spending on procurement in the last month of the year. Year-end spending surges concentrate on goods and construction project procurement, high-value contracts, and favor local suppliers. We suggest that the hierarchical allocation of funds explains the distortion caused by the UILI rules.

The Art of Not Being Chocked: Environmental Awareness, Vote with Feet, and Land Revenue in China (joint with Wei ZOU). R&R.

This paper investigates the impact of environmental awareness on local fiscal revenue in China. We exploit the unexpected release of the environmental documentary Under the Dome in early 2015 as an exogenous shock on residents’ preferences. The generalized difference-in-difference estimation shows that on average, a one standard deviation increase in exposure to film reduces government land leasing revenue by 21.45 billion yuan. We employ the minimal distance from the city to the birthplace and first workplace of the filmmaker as the instrumental variable for exposure to the film. Consistent with the “vote with feet” mechanism, after the release of this film, residents increase their awareness of air pollution and express a higher intention to move to cleaner cities. Local governments also spend more on environmental protection as a response. This suggests the role of the property market in making authoritarian governments responsive to citizens’ preferences.

Breaking the Drug Trafficking Chains: The Real Name Mailing Regulation and the Decline of Drug Use (joint with Wei ZOU).

Postal service becomes an important channel for drug-trafficking worldwide. This paper examines the impact of the real-name mailing regulation on drug use in a Chinese province. Based on the universe of drug arrest, the difference-in-differences analysis shows that after the implementation of this regulation, on average a town with 10 percent more courier services penetration exhibits a 0.78 percent reduction in drug arrest. This effect persists for at least a year. The early development of courier service industry suggests that in towns with early mulberry trees planting have more courier service penetration. We find no evidence that police activities change or drug users substitute with alternative substances. Further analysis show that the number of first-timers decreases, while the number of repeated users remain. We suggest that this regulation on courier service companies is likely to be a cost-effective method to decrease the supply of drugs.

Social Preference Games Go to Work: Testing for External Validity in the Workplace (joint with Daniel Navarro-Martinez, Xinghua WANG). Under review.

Social preference games are frequently used to study organizational behavior. However, their externally validity (i.e., generalizability) in relation to real behavior in organizations remains unclear. This paper presents a systematic investigation of the external validity of these games in the workplace. Employees and managers in five hotels played various social preference games. We also collected data on naturally-occurring awards and behaviors at these companies, and participants were rated by their supervisors employing an organizational citizenship scale. Using this

comprehensive dataset, we show that standard social preference games have very limited explanatory power in relation to organizational behaviors in the field.

Why is There so Much Surveillance in China——An Explanation from a Fiscal Perspective (joint with Yucheng GUO, Chenglin LI).

Why is there so much surveillance in China? This paper explains the continuous expansion of China’s digital surveillance system from a fiscal perspective. Local governments may resort to extra-budgetary revenues, such as traffic fines, when being in fiscal distress. We collect public traffic cameras procurement information from 2014 to 2019 in China, and exploit the VAT reform in 2016 as an exogenous shock to local fiscal revenue. We find that in regions with better road access, local governments procure more traffic enforcement cameras as a response to fiscal pressure. Increasing traffic cameras is associated with more fine revenues, more drivers petitions, and less activities in related industries, without detectable improvement in road safety. This effect is more pronounced in areas with poor institutional environment, low fiscal transparency, and strong promotion prospect officials. Our paper highlight the hidden fiscal incentives underlying the construction of surveillance system in China.

Surveillance Cameras, School Safety, and Mental Health in China (joint with Xijie LI, Yucheng GUO).

This paper examines the impact of surveillance cameras installation on school safety in China. We use a novel data on the installation of school surveillance cameras from public procurement contracts during 2014-2021, and combine it with public complaints about school safety. The results show that school surveillance cameras significantly increase reported school safety issues. The presence of surveillance cameras spillovers to increase the number of other education-related complaints. However, enhanced surveillance is also associated with higher satisfaction with education and improve students mental health level. This paper indicates that surveillance cameras keeps visual evidence in school, and facilitates parents to request higher-level intervention, which could improve school safety in the long term.

The Heterogeneous Impact of Public Security Cameras on Safety Perception in Cities: Evidence from China (with Yadi LIU, Yucheng GUO, and Fanqi ZENG). R&R.

Digital public security systems in cities, such as surveillance cameras, can record illegal behavior and deter crime, thereby enhancing residents’ perception of safety, especially among migrants who often lack local social ties. Yet, the impact of public surveillance cameras on residents’ safety perceptions in cities remains less understood. Drawing on a novel dataset from Chinese government procurement records on surveillance cameras (2013–2017) and a representative national household survey, we find that a 10% increase in per capita camera expenditure results in a 0.2-unit increase in residents’ perceived safety. However, this effect is observed only among local residents. For migrants, surveillance cameras improve perceived safety only when complemented by social ties, with neighborhood ties being more effective than distant ones in shaping these perceptions. Furthermore, the effectiveness of surveillance cameras on migrants’ perceived safety is mediated by weather conditions and the inclusiveness of the urban environment.

Counterproductive State Infrastructure: The Unintended Consequences of Traffic Cameras on Road Trips (with Yichuan ZHANG, Yucheng GUO)

Traffic cameras are important modern state infrastructure to collect information and to maintain traffic order, but the profit-driven law enforcement by local agencies would distort drivers’ choice of destinations. We merge several novel datasets in China and show that one standard deviation increase in traffic cameras density is associated with a 0.88 percentage point less road trips, and a substantial loss of tourism revenue. Traffic cameras significantly increase public complaints about traffic fines. The negative effect of traffic cameras on road trips is more salient in cities with high fiscal pressure, low fiscal transparency, limited transparency, and multiple police agencies, indicating the strategic use of state infrastructure by local bureaucrats, and its negative consequences.

Safety and City: The Adoption of Surveillance Cameras Increases the Real Estate Price in China (with Yichuan ZHANG, Tianyun ZHU)

Utilizing an eight-year city-level panel data set, this study presents the first evidence of causal relationship between surveillance camera adoption and the real estate price of a city. Specifically, we find that a one-standard-deviation increase in surveillance density is associated with a 2.7% increase in the real estate price. We identify and empirically validate three underlying mechanisms: reduced crime rate, increased perceived safety, and enhanced access to urban amenities. And our heterogeneity analysis reveals that the effect of surveillance camera adoption on real estate prices is more pronounced in cities with higher net labor inflow, greater streetlight density and higher crime rates.

Presidents' Heel: Hometown Biases and (Mis)allocation of Chinese Universities Fund (joint with Yucheng GUO, Qilin HUANG).

The allocative efficiency of higher education spending is key to technological advancement and human capital accumulation, but it is usually influenced by political power. This paper examines the impact of university president’s turnover on the allocation of procurement contracts by utilizing the procurement contracts of all Chinese elite universities during 2013-2021. We find that universities procure significantly more from the new president’s home city after the turnover. These procurements tend to be of low quality. We suggest this is due to presidents’ hometown favoritism, not the information asymmetry. Our results illustrate corruption as a source of distortions in Chinese universities funds.

Digital Monitoring Technology and Air Quality: Evidence from the People's Republic of China (joint with Yadi LIU, Shu TIAN)

Since the early 21st century, air quality concerns in PRC have garnered significant attention from both the public authorities and the society. This study investigates the effects of digital environmental monitoring technology on air pollution. Specifically, we explore the data from government procurement of digital environmental monitoring technologies over the 2014–2019 period. The baseline results indicate that on average, each additional environmental contract per 100,000 residents signed by governments is associated with an 8 percentage reduction in city PM2.5 levels. This effect arises from more accurate pollutant identification, which strengthens enforcement of environmental regulations, expedites the exit of heavily polluting enterprises, and fosters green innovation. Further, this effect exhibits regional variation in the extent of environmental concern and the level of information disclosure. The results suggest that technology-driven environmental governance, supported by public engagement and policy frameworks, plays a crucial role in enhancing air quality in the People's Republic of China.

Digital Connectivity and Female Income: Empirical Evidence from Vietnamese Residents (joint with Yichuan ZHANG, Shu TIAN)

This paper examines the effect of digital connectivity on women’s income in Vietnam, using the Vietnam Digital Economy Access Index and the Vietnam Household Living Standards Survey (VHLSS). The empirical analysis finds that increased digital connectivity significantly improves women’s income, thereby reducing gender inequality. Vulnerable groups in the labor market, such as individuals with limited educational attainment, those with low income, and people living in rural areas, benefit more from access to the digital economy. We explore the mechanisms behind women's increased participation in the labor market, particularly in the service sector. Further analysis reveals that digital connectivity significantly enhances businesses' revenue, attracts skilled employees and female workers, and drives regional economic development. This paper offers new insights into the inclusive effects of digital connectivity and provides policy recommendations for advancing digital infrastructure development.

Public Toilets, Rural Health and Family Income: Evidence from China (joint with Chenglin LI, Yucheng GUO)

In this paper, we attempt to unravel socioeconomic effect of public toilet revolution in rural China. Through a two-way fixed effect model analogous to differences-in-differences strategy, we find the construction of public toilets significantly benefits rural resident's health and improves household income. In general, a 10% increase of rural public toilets input will lead to a 0.28 point (out of 5) increase for people’s self-evaluated health and a 0.15% increase in family income (about CNY 107.3) . Extension of working distance and nonlocal working time are detected as significant mechanism. Heterogeneity analysis shows the pro-health effect of public toilets is more significant in areas with higher risk of endemic diseases and benefits to both male and female residents. However, access to public toilets mostly encourages male residents to work longer and seek nonlocal employment opportunities. Additionally, We detect a novel evidence shows that external financial support from upper government may play an important rale on promoting sanitation facilities.

Great Expectations: Policymakers’ Adolescent Experience and R&D Spending (joint with Jiezhong Shen, Yichuan Zhang)

Access to optimistic expectations about future in impressionable ages may shape growth-mind and affect individual decisions in the long-term. This paper examines the causal impact of policymakers' adolescent exposure to science fiction (Sci-Fi) on R&D spending. Our cohort DID design leverages variations in the timing and geographic distribution of the short-term prosperity of Sci-Fi magazines in China in the early 1980s. With a novel dataset linking policymakers’ experience with decisions and public spending, we find that officials who exposed to Sci-Fi magazines between ages 12 and 22 are significantly more likely to increase R&D spending during their city mayor tenure in the period of 2003-2022. We show that they tend to express more optimistic attitudes toward future in government work reports, and procure more of new technologies. Further analysis reveals that these experiences affect the directions of industry policy, producing more innovation outputs during their tenure. Our findings highlight the long-term effects of exposure to novel ideas in adolescence on policy making.

中文发表：

“财政压力与地方政府罚没收入”（与郭宇辰，李成林），《经济理论与经济管理》，第5期，2025年。

“我国政府采购支出质量的评价及影响因素研究——基于政府采购信息披露质量的视角”（与郭宇辰），《宏观质量研究》，第3期，2025年。

“基层公务人员的算法避责———基于税务部门发票自动化改革的分析”（与刘洪志），《经济社会体制比较》，第1期，2025年。

"行政负担的生成逻辑——兼论为什么数字政府未能减轻行政负担“（与刘洪志，陈雨萱），《公共管理评论》，第4期，2024年。

“扶贫政策的经济增长效应：来自光伏产业扶贫的证据”（与江鸿泽），《数量经济技术经济研究》，第10期，2024年。

"传统宗族文化与商业纠纷治理”（与于文超，朱丽琴），《经济科学》，第6期，2023年.

”地方政府建设智能视频监控系统的影响因素研究“（与郭宇辰，赵玉兰），《复旦公共行政评论》，第27辑，2023年.

“一波三折” 何以发生: 竞技体育“体能测试” 政策执行的波动逻辑与调适机制（与赵玉兰、章智琦），《公共管理与政策评论》，第5期，2023年。

“政务新媒体与地方政府信任：来自开通政务微博的证据”（与刘伯凡，赵玉兰，张军），《世界经济》，第5期，2023年。

“激励相容视角下亲清政商关系的全面构建：一个集体行动分析框架“（与赵玉兰），《广东财经大学学报》，第2期，2023年。

”从‘减量’到‘超额’：政策执行波动的过程与机制“（与赵玉兰、汪瑾），《社会发展研究》，第1期，2023年。