Publications 

Forthcoming in Economic Development and Cultural Change [Link] [Manuscript] [Supplementary Appendix]

Abstract: This paper shows that natural disasters with higher spatial clustering are associated with positive selection in migration. Focusing on extreme precipitation events in rural Chinese counties, I analyze their effects using census and rainfall data within a difference-in-differences framework. The results show that natural disasters significantly increase out-migration, primarily by worsening local economic conditions. More spatially clustered disasters induce stronger response from younger, male, and better-educated individuals, who are associated with longer migration distances and better economic outcomes. A migration decision model suggests that more spatially clustered disasters may exacerbate inequalities in mobility. Targeted subsidies for individuals with lower productivity and higher migration costs could help promote more equitable access to economic opportunities.


Presentations:

Southern Economic Association (SEA) Annual Meeting, Presidential Session, Tampa, FL 2025

Midwest Economics Association (MEA) Annual Meetings, Kansas City, MO 2025

Awards:

James A. Papke Graduate Fellowship for the Study of Public Sector Economics, Purdue University, 2023

PGSG Travel Award, Purdue University, 2025

Job Market Paper

Abstract: College education is widely regarded as a pathway to local labor markets, particularly where migration frictions limit labor mobility. This paper examines how such frictions shape college choices in China, where mobility is constrained by both formal migration restrictions and informal barriers. Using a national administrative dataset on four-year college admissions from 2005 to 2011, I show that relaxing migration restrictions through hukou reforms enabled colleges in reformed cities to attract higher-quality students. The largest gains occurred in colleges located in economically more developed cities relative to students' origins, consistent with the mechanism of improved local labor market prospects. Counterfactual analysis based on a college choice model indicates that easing migration restrictions in major cities strengthens the sorting of stronger students into treated colleges and raises aggregate welfare, though the gains are unevenly distributed. Welfare increases further when students can freely access the highest-paying labor markets. These results highlight the role of both formal and informal migration frictions in shaping spatial skill sorting and welfare.


Presentations (* indicates scheduled):

American Economic Association (AEA) Annual Meeting*, Philadelphia PA 2026

Southern Economic Association (SEA) Annual Meeting, Tampa, FL 2025

Western Economic Association International (WEAI) Annual Meeting, virtual day 2025 

Midwest Economics Association (MEA) Annual Meetings, Kansas City, MO 2025

KDSA Research Symposium, West Lafayette, IN 2024

Award:

Best Presentation Winner Award, KDSA Research Symposium, 2024


Working in Progress

[Preliminary draft available upon request]

Abstract: To understand how students make college choices and how skilled individuals are spatially distributed, we develop and estimate a spatial general equilibrium model in the context of China. The model features two key stages: a college choice stage and a labor market choice stage, and incorporates the following elements. (1) In the first stage, students choose colleges while anticipating migration costs when entering the labor market in the second stage. These migration costs are lower when the labor market is closer to the student's home or to the location of the attended college. (2) The model accounts for idiosyncratic matches between students and colleges in the first stage and between college graduates and working locations in the second stage. The student–college idiosyncratic matches generate the quality dispersion of admitted students within colleges, while the graduate–location idiosyncratic matches capture heterogeneity in job fit across destinations. We estimate the parameters governing the extent of these idiosyncratic matches and derive gravity equations for both college and labor market choices. Preliminary results show that the model's implied gravity equations closely match empirical patterns, suggesting it provides a coherent framework for analyzing spatial skill sorting.