Linda Wu

Hello. I am a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Stone Centre at the University of British Columbia. I will join the University of Michigan as an Assistant Professor of Economics in Fall 2026.

My primary fields of interest are public finance and labor economics. I completed my PhD in Economics at University College London. I am affiliated with the Stone Centre at UCL and the Rockwool Foundation Berlin.

You can find my CV here and contact me at l.wu@ubc.ca.

Working Papers

Behavioral Responses to Estate Taxation: Evidence from Taiwan (with Hsien-Ming Lien, Tzu-Ting Yang)
Selected for the REStud North America Tour 2025
Abstract: We quantify behavioral responses to estate taxation by exploiting two large reforms in Taiwan. Using administrative data and a difference-in-difference design, we find quick and asymmetric responses, with reported estates reacting more strongly to a tax increase than to a tax cut. The asymmetry is driven by larger adjustments in liquid assets and charitable exemptions under the tax increase. Several patterns indicate tax avoidance rather than real wealth changes: liquid assets reported at death differ from those held earlier, owners of closely held firms reduce book values by inflating liabilities before their deaths, and heirs show no labor supply changes despite sizable inheritance shocks. The asymmetry is consistent with tax avoidance with sunk costs, where taxpayers intensify avoidance when taxes rise but do not scale back when taxes fall. We derive sufficient statistics showing that applying the attenuated tax-cut elasticity to evaluate a tax increase would understate welfare costs and overstate net welfare effects by 61%.
Family Businesses, Nepotism, and Productivity (with Hsien-Ming Lien)
Abstract: This paper provides the first systematic evidence on kinship networks within and across businesses by linking comprehensive administrative data on family ties, firm ownership, firm-to-firm transactions, and employer-employee records for the universe of firms in Taiwan. The unique dataset enables us to document the importance of family connections both within and across firms. We document that 40% of firms employ family members and 33% have family owners with relatives owning other firms. Family-linked firms have a 25% likelihood of trading with each other at higher transaction values than non-family partners. These patterns suggest that family ties contribute to shaping business networks and raise questions about their impact on firm performance. Using a stacked event study design, we examine the effects of ownership transfers on firm performance, comparing ownership transfers to family members versus unrelated individuals. While firms transferred within the family experienced little change in sales, firms transferred to unrelated individuals increased sales by over 13% four years later. The improvement can be attributed to the restructuring of employee and supply chain networks, as firms recruit new employees and establish new supplier-buyer relationships.

Selected Work in Progress

Footloose Enough? Multinationals, Domestic Firms, and Job Creation in Developing Economies as Wages Rise (with Jonas Hjort, Yukiko Saito, Yasuka Tateishi)

Formal Labor Market Dynamics in Developing Countries (with Anne Brockmeyer, François Gerard, Gabriel Ulyssea, Coauthors)

The Gender of Inherited Wealth
A Double-Edged Sword or Double Taxation? The Efficiency-Equity Tradeoff of Corporate and Dividend Income Taxation

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