Assistant Professor at Tohoku University, Japan
Ph.D. in Economics, University of Bologna, Italy, 2019
Main interests: Labor Economics, Economics of Education, and Development Economics
E-mail: yu.bai.uniroma2@gmail.com
A fellow of the Global Labor Organization
I previously served as a Specially Appointed Assistant Professor at the University of Tokyo and Nanjing Audit University (research representatives are Professor Ning Sun and Professor Ning Yu).
RESEARCH
Working Papers:
A long-run consequence of the relaxed education for labor market performances (with Ryuichi Tanaka). Working Paper
This paper finds a relaxation-oriented educational approach leads to worsened labor market outcomes in Japan.
Land reform and illegal adoption of children (with Yanjun Li, Masaki Nakabayashi). Working Paper Accept at JCE
The paper investigates how China's land reform during 1978–1984 derived demand for children beyond the one-child policy's birth quota, leading to increased illegal adoption of abandoned or abducted children, particularly boys.
Highway havens for hidden horrors (with Yanjun Li, Xinyan Liu, and Yajie Sun). Working Paper Accept at JEBO
Child trafficking is a long-lasting social issue in China. We find that abducted children increase as an indirect and unintended consequence of improved urban infrastructure, such as the construction of expressways that facilitate the expedient transfer of victims between cities.
Corruption disclosure and its impact on labor-related actions (with Yanjun Li, Hamza Umer). Working Paper Conditionally Accepted
The paper aims to explore the profound impact of corruption-related injustices on organized labor actions. Our findings indicate a significant increase in labor unrest incidents following each additional reported convicted officials.
Education as a Panacea for Crime Prevention? The Heterogeneous Impact of Educational Policy on Crime in China (with Yanjun Li, Xinyan Liu, and Ryuichi Tanaka). Working Paper Revise and Resubmit
We examine the impact of educational attainment on participation in criminal activities, employing the implementation of compulsory schooling laws (CSL) to address the endogeneity in schooling decisions.
Do Girls Help Girls? Exploring the Impact of Female Teachers on the Cognitive and Noncognitive Development of Female Students (with Chen-Hsuan Liao). Working Paper
We find that female teachers enhance students' academic achievements and non-cognitive skills. The mechanisms include teachers interacting more with students of the same gender and female students feeling more comfortable and inspired by same-gender teachers.
Golden Opportunities: Firm-Level Evidence on the Economic Impacts of Mining Operations (with Yanjun Li). Working Paper
This paper shows that firms 10–100 km from active gold mines experience higher sales, employment, and resilience due to reduced business constraints. Sales gains are larger in less corrupt countries, while employment effects dominate in more corrupt ones.
Sophie and the locust curse: Effects of locust plague on human capital accumulations (with Guojun He, Pakhung Lam, and Yanjun Li).
This paper investigates whether and how a locust swarm invasion created a devastating and enduring impact on the human capital accumulation of offspring.
Quantity-quality trade-off in Northeast China, 1780-1880 (with Pakhung Lam and Yanjun Li). Journal of Population Economics, 2023 Link Working Paper
Media Coverage: GLO news PoIiticaI理论志 (in Chinese)GLO News
Political tournament and growth-enhancing policies (with Yanjun Li). Journal of Regional Science, 2022 Link
Media Coverage: 南开城市与区域经济 (in Chinese)
The legacy of the Great Wall (with Anastasia Arabadzhyan and Yanjun Li). Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2022 Link Working Paper
Media Coverage: 香樟经济学术圈 (in Chinese)
Chinese aid and local political attitudes (with Yanjun Li and Yunuo Wang). Economic Modelling, 2022 Link
More suffering, more involvement? The causal effects of seismic disasters on social capital (with Yanjun Li). World Development, 138, 2021 Link
Good bye Chiang Kai-shek? The long-lasting effects of education under the authoritarian regime in Taiwan (with Yanjun Li). Economics of Education Review, 78, 2020 Link
A Sibling-pair analysis for causal effect of education on health (with Yanjun Li). The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, 18.4, 2018 Link