Projects

The Intergenerational Impact of the Long-term Care Insurance Policy, Job Market Paper
Draft coming soon.

Educational Decisions in the Shadow of Cronyism: An Empirical Study of College Graduates in China, with Xiaofan Zhu
Abstract: This paper investigates how inefficient political institutions, marked by rampant corruption and cronyism, shape students’ educational choices based on their political connections. Utilizing the recent anti-corruption campaign in China, we find that college graduates with cadre parents from more corrupt regions are more likely to pursue further studies after the campaign. The effects are more pronounced among students with a non-STEM major, lower academic performance, and more powerful political connections, and among males. The study of underlying mechanisms suggests a more equitable post-campaign employment environment, where connected students need stronger educational qualifications to remain competitive against their unconnected counterparts.


The Effect of On-campus Student Accommodation on Academic and Non-academic Outcomes, with Xuanyi Jin, Sujata Visaria, and Xiaofan Zhu
Abstract: We investigate the impact of on-campus housing on undergraduate students’ academic and non-academic outcomes in an East Asian university. Our empirical strategy exploits the housing allocation policy at a leading public university in Hong Kong, whereby applicants receive offers in a randomly selected order. In contrast to the previous literature, we find that living in a student hall reduces students’ yearly Grade Point Average (GPA) by 0.12 points (or 0.18 standard deviations), and causes them to receive fewer job offers at the time of graduation. These negative effects are concentrated among male students. This effect is associated with reduced time spent studying: hall residents report spending more time on extracurricular activities and less time on academic study, and make fewer visits to the library during the day, although more visits at night. We offer a possible explanation for why student accommodation may have different effects in East Asia than in the Western context that have been studied previously.

Gender Gap, Structural Change and Female Comparative Advantage, with Marc Dordal i Carreras
Abstract: This paper examines the decline in female labor force participation (LFP) in developing countries by linking structural change to female comparative advantage (CA). Our model predicts that female LFP decreases when women’s CA is concentrated in contracting sectors and increases when it shifts to expanding sectors. In many developing economies, the CA often resides in the shrinking agricultural sector. We validate the framework using Chinese census data, demonstrating its ability to explain regional female LFP variations and gender gaps in LFP, and further apply it to India to illustrate its broader predictive utility.

Impact of Cross-Border Migration on Gender Gap in Labor Force Participation in Latin American and Caribbean, IMF working Paper, with Manuk Ghazanchyan