Working Papers

"The Development of Personality Traits and Cognitive Skills in Adolescence: Evidence from a Skill Formation Model and a Control Function Approach" (Job Market Paper)

Abstract: Despite its great importance in child development, education, intra-household allocation, and labor market outcomes, the development of personality traits remains understudied. I use a skill formation model and a control function approach to investigate the formation of the Big Five personality traits and cognitive skills in adolescence. I find evidence of cross-effects between personality traits and cognitive skills, which are consistent with the findings in neuroscience research. I find strong self-productivity of personality traits and cognitive skills. Based on the control function approach, I find a positive impact of family income that fully offsets the negative effect of maternal hours worked on the development of adolescents' personality traits and cognitive skills. Both personality traits and cognitive skills are important for adult earnings. Results from the skill formation model and the control function approach are internally consistent, and consistent with other studies. This paper offers valuable insights for education policy, on-the-job training programs, and mothers' workforce participation choices.

"Die Tomorrow to Live Today: The Impact of E-waste Dumping on Children’s Health" 

Abstract: I investigate the effect of living within the exposure area of an electronic-waste dumpsite on infant health outcomes in Ghana, using a difference-in-differences strategy. I leverage Geographic Information System (GIS) to identify the buffer zones for treatment and the control groups. I find that exposure from the e-waste dumping site significantly increases the probability of diarrhea and respiratory illness. I employ a triple difference framework to study heterogeneous effects and explore the mechanisms of the effects. I find two channels of mechanisms, tetanus infection and water pollution. I find that premature birth is more likely to occur when mothers have not received a tetanus vaccine during or before pregnancy in the exposed area. I also find that diarrhea can be mitigated by consuming safer sources of drinking water. This paper provides important policy implications to effectively address the adverse health impact of living in the vicinity of an electronic waste dumpsite.

"The Decision-Making of College Enrollment in an Increasingly Independent World'' (with Yue Bao)

Abstract: In the U.S., children's college education has become more independent of parents' income transfers among all ethnic and income groups. Accounting for the new dynamics, we construct a two-period discrete choice model to investigate the decision-making of college attendance using the NLSY97 data. The model features higher education not being a tool of income transfer for the parents, but an independent decision made by the children to maximize their life-time utility. In an economy that all students borrow for higher education, we still find significant disparities in college access and school quality between students from the lower and the upper income levels. The inequality is largely attributed to the differences in the quality of pre-college education. Universally lowering the base price of tuition amplifies the inequality in college enrollment and school quality. The key approach to close the gap between students from low- and high-income families is to provide education of higher quality to disadvantaged children during earlier years.

Work in Progress

"Child Development Path of Cognitive Skills and Personality Traits and Implications for Policy Experiments"

"Returns to Investment in Child Development: Evidence from the EITC and 1996 Welfare Reform"

"Adolescent Development of Impulsive Behaviors'' (with Brenden Tervo-Clemmens)

"A New Poverty Measurement: Poverty Lines Adjusted by Health Risk and Cost"

"COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout against Delta Variant and Economic Inequality'' (Title may be subject to change)  (with Elizabeth Wrigley-Field) 

Peer-Reviewed Publications

"Quantifying Social Contact Patterns in Minnesota during Stay-at-Home Social Distancing Order" (with Audrey Dorélien, Narmada Venkateswaran, Kelly Searle, Eva Enns, and Shalini Kulasingam) BMC Infectious Diseases, May 2023