Research

Late-Night Tutoring Ban and Adolescent Substance Use 

(Job Market Paper)

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Abstract: This study examines how education policy affects adolescent risky behaviors and their implications for long-run labor market outcomes. I exploit South Korea's 2009 late-night operating ban policy for private tutoring centers as a quasi-experimental setting. Using the Korea Youth Risk Behavior Survey and a fixed-effects model with grade-cohort, province, and year fixed effects, I find that government-enforced limits on late-night private tutoring considerably reduced the probability of adolescent drinking and lowered alcohol and cigarette consumption, highlighting the potential of education policy to improve adolescent public health. Back-of-the-envelope calculations further suggest that reductions in smoking are associated with lower probabilities of non-employment and higher labor income, indicating that the policy may generate positive long-run labor market externalities through improved human capital formation. 

Presentations:

• 2026: Midwest Economics Association (Scheduled)

• 2025: Southern Economic Association, Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management, Workshop in Applied & Theoretical Economics - FL, American Society of Health Economists, Midwest Economics Association 

Development Effects of Electrification on Wage and Working Time: Evidence from Tanzania 

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Abstract: This paper estimates the effects of residential electrification on hourly wages and working weeks per month in Tanzania from 2008 to 2013 using a two-way fixed effects (TWFE) model and an instrumental variables (IV) strategy. Linking the Tanzania National Panel Survey to geospatial data on mini-grids and power plants, I find that residential electricity access increases weeks worked per month by 0.298 under TWFE and by 1.717 under IV among working-age individuals, relative to no access. These effects indicate substantial labor-supply responses to infrastructure investment and have direct implications for targeting grid extensions and mini-grids where household energy chores are time-intensive. 

Presentations:

• 2025: Midwest Economics Association

• 2024: Southern Economic Association, Workshop in Applied & Theoretical Economics - FL, Western Economic Association International

Determinants of CO₂ Emission: New Insights from Transformed Estimation for Panel Interactive Effects Model (with Nicholas Brown and Cynthia Yang)

Abstract: This paper examines the effects of key economic degradation drivers on CO₂ emissions by applying the Transformed Estimation for Panel Interactive Effects Model (Hsiao, Shi, & Zhou, 2022), offering new insights beyond traditional approaches such as the two-way fixed effects model and the common correlated effects model. Compared to traditional static models, we find the amplified role of urbanization, dampened effects of population and GDP, and the reversed effect of energy intensity. This paper highlights the importance of selecting an appropriate estimator for practitioners and policymakers analyzing environmental degradation, as failing to properly account for common factors and small-N properties can distort policy-relevant inferences about the drivers of emissions.