Welcome! I am a fifth-year Ph.D. student in Economics at Syracuse University.
I am on the job market for the 2025-26 academic year!
My research interests mainly lie in applied econometrics and economics of crime.
If you would like to get in touch, please email me at yzhan424@syr.edu.
Job Market Paper
Abstract: This paper investigates social interactions under endogenous and dynamic network formation. We consider the multiple network spatial autoregressive (SAR) model of Horrace et al. (2022), where each network consists of agents assigned by their respective managers to produce output. Agents complement one another within their own network but compete across other networks over multiple periods. To address endogeneity in network formation, we extend their static selection framework to a dynamic setting by assuming that each network is overseen by a forward-looking manager who makes strategic decisions about her own network's membership. Following Ericson and Pakes (1995), we adopt a dynamic game framework and implement a Heckman-type selection bias correction to recover the network-level contextual effects. The competition is played across multiple rounds (i.e., matches), and equilibrium of actions is characterized by a Markov Perfect Equilibrium (MPE) within each independent match. The assumption of match independence underpins our theoretical and empirical models, with theory suggesting that a large number of matches is necessary for consistency, while simulations show that a large number of periods in each match helps reduce estimator RMSE. We apply our model to National Basketball Association data, treating players as agents and on-court lineups, organized by coaches from their respective teams, as networks competing head-to-head. We find that ignoring coaches' substitution decisions attenuates the impact of situational factors, such as score differential, on individual performance.
Working Paper
Abstract: This paper examines the impact of cross-border consumption on Hong Kong's local economy, focusing on the food industry that faces a comparative disadvantage. Using administrative data on restaurant registrations from 2021Q3 to 2024Q4, we exploit the sudden lifting of COVID-19 restrictions and the subsequent border reopening between Mainland China and Hong Kong as a natural experiment. Empirical results show that neighborhoods closer to the border experienced significantly more restaurant exits after the border reopening. This adverse impact persists even when considering a surge in Mainland visitors to Hong Kong. Further analysis suggests that local non-chain restaurants are particularly vulnerable, and the magnitude of the impact varies across regions. Taken together, the results highlight the distributional effects of cross-border consumption: while the overall society benefits from deeper regional integration and more open economic policies, policymakers should also pay attention to specific industries and individuals bearing disproportionate costs.
Abstract: This paper examines the effect of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD)’s reform restricting the use of pretextual stops on policing pattern and public safety. The results reveal that Los Angeles police persistently reduced their enforcement of pretextual stops more in minority relative to White neighborhoods after the reform. At the same time, minority neighborhoods experienced a sharp and disproportionate increase in crime incidents, particularly property crimes. I provide evidence linking the decline in pretextual stops to the rise in crime. These findings suggest that while limiting pretextual stops curtailed biased enforcement, it also imposed disproportionate public-safety costs on minority neighborhoods, underscoring the distributional trade-off between police enforcement and public safety in the design of jurisdiction-wide reforms.
