Research Interests
Sustainable product, Public policy, Political actions, Structural modeling
Working Papers
The Effects of Government Policies and Charger Types on Electric Vehicle Adoption , with George John and Linli Xu (Job market paper)
My job market paper investigates the effects of government policies on electric vehicle (EV) adoption, focusing on differences across charger types and EV types. EVs, including battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions than internal combustion engine vehicles. To promote EV adoption, governments have implemented three key policies: (1) EV purchase subsidies, (2) subsidies for public charger installation, and (3) directly building public chargers. While prior research has examined the impact of subsidies, few studies consider how different charger types and policies interact to shape both consumer demand and strategic charger deployment. This study fills that gap using a structural model of consumer vehicle choice and Level 2 (L2) charger deployment by charging network companies. Using data from Seoul, South Korea’s largest EV market, we find that: (1) L2 chargers significantly increase both BEV and PHEV sales, with a stronger effect on PHEVs, whereas Level 3 (L3) chargers have limited impact on BEVs; (2) government investment in L3 chargers induces additional L2 charger installations by charging network companies; (3) when charger types are analyzed separately, charger investment increases more EVs than purchase subsidies alone, in contrast to previous findings. In addition, implementing all policies together generates a much larger increase in EVs compared to a purchase-subsidy-only policy; and (4) there is a trade-off between boosting EV sales and improving budget efficiency. These findings highlight the importance of considering charger types when analyzing the effects of government policies on EV adoption. Also, the preferred policy may vary depending on the government’s goals.
Work in Progress Papers
Presidential Advertisement Campaign and Hate Crimes, with Linli Xu and Yi Zhu (targeting Science)
This paper investigates whether presidential campaigns have broader social impacts beyond influencing voting outcome. Presidential advertising campaigns are crucial means to communicate their positions on key political issues and persuade voters. However, we questioned if the amount of exposure to those advertisements could lead to unexpected outcomes, such as an increase in the number of hate crimes. In this paper, we asked two main research questions; 1) What is the relationship between presidential advertising and the number of hate crimes? 2) How does the relationship vary by the source of the presidential advertising campaign (political parties)? To answer those questions, we assembled data from multiple sources over three U.S presidential election cycles (2012, 2016 and 2020) and applied the border identification strategy. The results consistently indicate that presidential advertising campaigns by Republican candidates have positive relationships with the number of hate crimes across all three election cycles. In addition, this effect is stronger in counties with a greater Democratic voter turnout. We empirically examine the mechanism behind this finding using the contents of the presidential advertisements from our assembled data. This finding warns politicians and advertisers about unexpected outcomes of presidential campaigns, especially in light of the recent rise in hate crimes in the U.S.
How Natural Disasters Drive EV Adoption: The Changing Impact Across Distance