Sanitation and work time: Evidence from the toilet revolution in rural China
with Dongqin Wang, World Development, 158, 105992.
Abstract: In 2020, 46% of the global population lacked safely managed sanitation services. Poor sanitation may lead to health problems and restrict economic activities. This study is the first to focus on the government-subsided Toilet Revolution in rural China and empirically investigates the causal effects of sanitation coverage increase on labor supply in developing countries. Using the China Health and Nutrition Survey data, we exploit the temporal and regional variation during the revolution and employ a difference-in-differences methodology. Our study finds that rural households with access to clean flush toilets significantly increase their work time by 0.253–0.431 h/day, and the effects are more prominent among women than men. As for the mechanism, clean toilets significantly decrease housework related to cleaning the house and raising livestock and poultry, allowing people to reallocate their time and invest more into work, which is more salient for women. Our findings highlight the importance of sanitation coverage in improving the economic outcomes in the rural areas of China. For policymakers concerned with the provision of sanitary facilities and the supply of labor force in developing countries, this study indicates that improved sanitation facilities also unexpectedly increase labor supply, particularly for women.

Peer Effects on Consumption: Evidence from China
Abstract: This study investigates peer effects on consumption by exploiting unique urban housing demolition (UHD) program in China. We study the consumption response of non-demolition households whose demolished peers have received substantial unexpected wealth and raised consumption. Our instrumental variable (IV) estimation shows that the elasticity of household annual consumption with respect to peers’ consumption is around 0.233 to 0.292. These effects are more prominent in counties with a higher proportion of demolition households and do not vary across community within a country. The findings imply a positive and significant externality of large-scale urban housing demolition on consumption.

The cost of the Internet: An examination of the causal impact on well-being and health
With Miki Kohara
Abstract: This paper investigates the effect of Internet use on well-being and health, focusing on both short-term happiness and long-term health. We employ an instrument variable method with fixed effects, utilizing the individual panel structure. Using the number of broadband access ports per capita as the instrument, the results show that the Internet has a positive despite insignificant effect on short-term happiness, while it has a negative and significant effect on long-term health as it lowers self-rated health, decreases memory and increases the odds of being overweight. This effect is stronger on males, old people, and lower-educated individuals. Our results highlight the gap in personal perceptions of instant non-negative Internet effect and the unconscious negative Internet effect on long-term health.