Research

Working Papers

Job Market Paper: "The Legacy of Ancient China's Civil Exams on Contemporary Local Innovation"

Abstract: China's civil examination system (\textit{keju}) is a long-lasting institution. By combining prefecture-level data on \textit{jinshi} density—the number of individuals with the highest qualifications per 10,000 people, used as a proxy for \textit{keju} influence—from 1371 to 1905 with contemporary innovation measures, I uncover persistent positive effects of historical \textit{jinshi} density on contemporary innovation levels. Using the average river distance to a prefecture's nearest pine and bamboo habitats as an instrumental variable for historical \textit{jinshi} density, I obtain stronger IV results. A doubling of \textit{jinshi} density leads to more than a 33\% increase in the number of top scientists and engineers and a 91.7\% increase in the number of patents. Additionally, I find that investments in military equipment and telegraph construction may play crucial roles in sustaining the effects of \textit{jinshi} density over time. These findings suggest that China's recent innovation benefits from its historical institutions.

"The Causal Effects of Pollution on the Mortality of People at Different Ages. Evidence from Mexico City"

Abstract: Previous literature examines the effects of pollution on the health of infants and the elderly in developed countries. However, little is known about the acute effects of pollution on the elderly in developing countries. This research fills this gap in the literature by using the meteorological phenomenon of thermal inversion as an instrumental variable to investigate the acute effects of both PM$_{10}$ and CO on elderly individuals in Mexico City. Results reveal that PM$_{10}$ and CO both significantly increase the mortality of elderly people, with the largest effect sizes seen for those over 70 and smaller but still statistically significant effects for those ages 55 to 70. The mortality of infants under one year old was also shown to increase due to pollution exposure, but effect sizes are much smaller than for the elderly. These results suggest that policies reducing pollution may have broader mortality impacts than typically believed.

Work in Progress

"Being the Head of a Dog or the Tail of a Lion? Evidence from Xuekao Scores in Dongkou County"