Research & Projects

Working Papers 

“Fracking Boom and Respiratory Health: Evidence from Texas”  

Abstract: This paper investigates the impact of fracking (shale oil and gas) on respiratory health conditions, using data from Texas and a continuous difference-in-difference design. I find that compared to a county with the 25th percentile of the reserves and comparing post to pre fracking periods, a county with the 75th percentile of the reserves has 0.76 (5.31) more asthma (general respiratory disease) hospitalizations per 100,000 residents, which is a 0.82% (0.55%) increase compared to the average. These impacts are the largest for children and teenage. By back-of-envelop calculation, the fracking boom brought approximately 15,000 extra asthma hospitalizations and 103,000 extra respiratory disease hospitalizations to fracking counties in Texas between 2005 and 2014. I explore three channels to explain the mechanisms of these findings: migration, air pollution, and water pollution. Air and water pollution channels are consistent with the health impact, while migration is not.

"The Incidence of “Tampon Taxes”: Evidence from the Elimination of State Sales Taxes on Feminine Hygiene Products” (with Justin Ross, Shuangyu Chen, and Lanjun Peng) Submitted

"Impact of Berkeley's Healthy Checkout Ordinance on the Sale of Soda and Candy: A Quasi-experimental Study ” (with Justin White, Yuru Huang, Lisa M. Powell, Anna H. Grummon,  and Jennifer Falbe) Submitted

"Measuring the Co-benefits of Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) Technology" (with Andrew Waxman and Sheila Olmstead) 

Selected Works in Progress

 "Evaluation of State Child Tax Credit Laws" (with Justin White, Rita Hamad, and Zach Parolin)

  "Every Year Count: Long Run Effects of Substance Use Initiation Age" (with Justin White, and Siyi Wang)

 "Fracking and Traffic Congestion" (with Yumeng Zou, Ziyue Wang, Max Harleman, and Mary Willis)