Research

Publication:

01 Incentivizing Environmental Public Goods: Evidence from Urban Greening in China 📄 Paper 🔗 Preprint

with Ding Ma and Xintong Li

natural capital

Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 2027

Abstract: China's rapid surge in urban greening over the past decade presents a puzzling deviation from global patterns. We document three stylized facts. Urban greening was stable from 2001 to 2013 but expanded rapidly afterward, coinciding with China's air pollution control efforts. More polluted cities experienced faster greening growth, and greening disproportionately occurred near air quality monitoring stations. These patterns suggest that urban greening partly reflects a strategic response by local governments to air pollution control mandates. The economic benefits of urban greening amount to approximately 1.16 trillion CNY per year, exceeding program costs. Our results suggest that top-down air pollution control reshaped local government incentives, improving the provision of environmental public goods and social welfare.

02 Urban Forests: Environmental Health Values and Risks 📄 Paper 🔗 Preprint ↗ Random Acts of Medicine ↗ 香樟

with Jianwei Xing, Fan Xia, Jintao Xu, and Eric Zou

pollution regulation · natural capital

Review of Economics and Statistics, Forthcoming

Abstract: We study a massive urban afforestation policy in Beijing that planted 1/3 of a million acres of greenery in less than a decade. The policy reduces PM₂.₅ concentration at population hubs by 4.2 percent, the health value of which amounts to 1.5% of the city’s annual GDP. Rapid vegetation growth unexpectedly led to a 7.4 percent increase in pollen exposure, triggering respiratory emergency room visits, although the medical costs are outweighed by the pollution benefits. Urban forests are only partially capitalized in housing values, with buyers mainly appreciating proximity to green spaces but not the air quality improvements they bring.

Working Paper:

01 Air pollution depresses tourism demand across China’s leading attractions

with Mingying Zhu, Bo Chen, and Wei Du

pollution regulation

02 Greening through Tourism

with Mingying Zhu, Bo Chen, and Wei Du

pollution regulation

Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Reject & Resubmit

03 Solar Powered Charging: The Role of Economic Incentives and Information Nudges

with Huanxiu Guo and Jindi Zheng

energy transition

04 After the Deluge: Natural Disaster, Environmental Regulation, and Industrial Pollution

with Wenjun Ji and Yixuan Wang

pollution regulation

Paper in Chinese:

01 遥感时代的经济学：太空、数据与研究范式转变

with Yifeng Guo, Yongwei Nian, and Zhijie Zhou

摘要: 经济学研究主要依托于统计调查数据，但此类数据常常存在质量不佳、更新滞后、缺失严重等问题。近年来，随着遥感技术的发展和卫星数据可获得性的增强，遥感数据越来越多被应用于经济学研究中。遥感数据具有内容上的客观性、时间上的连续性、空间上的精细性和覆盖上的全域性等特点，可以有效弥补传统数据的不足。本文基于中国背景，系统评述了遥感数据在相关经济学研究领域中的应用，并讨论了其对经济学研究范式的深层影响。