Research & Projects
Research & Projects
Hong, D., & Qiu, S. (2026). What cities pay for: IT vs. interpersonal skills in China’s urban labor markets. China Economic Review, 102729.
This paper evaluates the effects of paid family leave (PFL) policies on older adults’ health. Using data from the Health and Retirement Study from 1998 to 2018, I exploit the staggered adoption of PFL in California and New Jersey to identify the effects of the policy. I find PFL adoption is associated with declines in several older-adult health outcomes, including sensory, physical, and mental health. I argue that these health declines may be partly explained by changes in intergenerational childcare arrangements. By enabling parents to spend more time caring for newborn children themselves, PFL may reduce older adults’ opportunities to provide grandchild care, weakening regular link with adult children and reducing informal support in daily life. I further examine two related mechanisms through which reduced inter-generational linkage may affect older adults’ health: reductions in healthcare demand and worsening health behaviors. These findings suggest that paid family leave policies may generate unintended negative spillovers across generations, and that their full welfare consequences may be more complex than previously recognized.
A substantial body of research has examined the effects of early childhood education programs on children’s developmental outcomes and parental labor market participation. However, relatively little attention has been given to their potential impacts on parental mental health. This study addresses this gap by evaluating the effect of one of the most prominent early education interventions—pre-kindergarten (pre-K) programs—on the mental health of parents. The analysis distinguishes between two major types of pre-K programs: universal and targeted. Leveraging age-based eligibility rules for identification, the findings indicate that universal pre-K programs significantly enhance parental mental health among low-income families, whereas targeted programs do not yield comparable benefits. The disparity in outcomes between the two program types may be attributed to differences in classroom diversity and peer effects. Two primary mechanisms are identified as contributing to the program effect: (1) a reduction in time devoted to child-rearing, and (2) improvements in children’s behavioral development, which may facilitate a better parents-child communication. The evidence suggests that the latter plays a much more substantial role. These results highlight that the benefits of early education programs extend beyond child outcomes, generating meaningful positive spillover effects on parental well-being.
The internet has become essential for countless individuals globally, making it crucial to understand its impact on daily life. This study examines theeffect of internet usage on mental health in China, using data from the Chinese General Social Survey, employing the ”Broadband China” pilot policy as aquasi-natural experiment, and conducting a two-way fixed effect difference-in-differences model for analysis. The findings suggest that expanded internet access negatively affects Chinese adults’ mental health through a channel of reducing time spent with friends, increasing exposure to harmful information, and encouraging greater engagement in financial investments.