[1] Interrupted local development and human capital investment, with Qian Li and Erica Myers, 2025.
Abstract: this study examines the impact of regional development restrictions on human capital investment in developing countries, where low-skilled jobs dominate the labor market. Using the exogenous restrictive development policy introduced in the upstream of Danjiangkou Reservoir as part of China’s South-to-North Water Diversion Project after 2004, we employ a revised difference-in-differences method to assess its effects on schooling. The results show that the middle school entry rate (under age 14) increased by 2.3% immediately after the policy, while high school entry rate (under age 17) decreased by 3.6% in the short term. The policy’s effects were more pronounced among low-income households. Following the policy, GDP per capita and the number of newly established firms in the regulated areas declined by 12.34% and 38.55%, respectively. These human capital impacts are possibly driven by the distorted labor market: falling local labor market opportunities reduced household incomes in the short term but also lowered the opportunity cost of attending middle school. Notably, pre-existing poor water quality did not predict a stronger policy effect, suggesting that improved health or cognitive outcomes from cleaner water are not the main drivers. In the long run, the employment rate decreased insignificantly but the cross-county migration rate increased. These findings emphasize the critical role of job opportunities in the implementation of development restrictions in developing countries.
[2] High human capital and infant mortality, with Pinghan Liang and Chuanchuan Zhang, 2025.
Abstract: This paper investigates the social value of high human capital by studying the withdrawal of educated urban youth (Sent-Down Youths, SDYs) from rural China in the early 1980s, finding that the exodus of these skilled individuals caused a significant increase in rural child mortality. This effect was driven by the collapse of frontline medical services, as the departing SDYs were not immediately replaced. The mortality surge was concentrated in deaths from preventable causes—such as neonatal tetanus—rather than congenital anomalies. We identify two key factors that exacerbated the crisis. First, the “spatial friction” of the referral system: in remote areas where access to distant hospitals was difficult, the loss of local providers proved fatal. Second, a “low-human-capital trap”: regions with an undereducated local populace were unable to substitute for the lost skills. Conversely, counties with a higher pre-existing stock of local human capital demonstrated resilience. Our findings highlight that high-skilled human capital is a non-substitutable input in the production of basic public goods like healthcare, particularly in developing economies.
[1] Marx Meets Weber: The Dissolution of Communes and The Rise of Religious Public Goods in China, with Pinghan Liang, World Development, 2025.
Abstract: cultural behaviors can be shaped and preserved by economic institutions. To investigate this, we examine the causal impact of the rural decollectivization reform in China that took place after 1978 on the supply of one cultural public goods-the religious activities in religious sites. A staggered difference-in-differences model that analyzes the timing of reform implementation in 1,114 counties finds that the reform resulted in a surge in religious activities in religious sites. Further evidence suggests that counties with a less severe exposure to the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) and a larger income growth experienced a greater impact of the reform. Moreover, kinship organizations, being more religious and serving as a critical tool in mobilizing individuals, could enhance the impact of the reform. We argue that in the commune system before the reform, the demand for religions was suppressed and the reform increased people's economic autonomy and resources for participating religious activities. These findings demonstrate that economic institutions may shape cultural behaviors in the short term.
[2] Decollectivization and Child Adoption in Rural China, with Pinghan Liang, Economic Development and Cultural Change, 2025.
Abstract: many children are trafficked in developing countries to meet the household demand for children as most trafficked children are finally adopted by households. We exploit the county-by-county rollout of land reform in rural China since 1978 to explore the causal impact of decollectivization on child adoption. The difference-in-differences estimation demonstrates an increase in child adoption by rural sterile households after the reform, coinciding with a surge in child trafficking. Besides, the reform led to a lower adoption probability in urban areas and less children were abandoned after the reform, suggesting that our estimate is not driven by the One-Child policy. Further analysis seems to support that decollectivization raises the value of children by increasing labor demand for old age support and for agricultural production, as well as receiving favorable redistribution of land. This indicates the importance of economic incentives in child adoption in developing countries. Our study offers insights into the rising occurrence of child trafficking after decollectivization reform in 1978 in China.
[3] Pray, Vote, and Money: The Double-edged Sword Effect of Religions on Rural Political Participation in China. With Pinghan Liang. China Economic Review. (2022)
[4] The Effect of Adult’s Migration on the Health of Parents Left Behind (in Chinese). With Xingxiang Wen and Xue Wen. Population & Economics. (2016)
[1] Land acquisition rights and extractive behaviors of government
[2] The social cost of developemnt projects: the cases of High-Speed Railway and Special Economic Zones in China