Working Papers
1. "Reducing Nutritional Disparities Through Target Pricing: Evidence from a Large Restaurant Chain," Apr 2025 [PDF]
with Daisy Dai and Ginger Z. Jin.
Revise & resubmit at the Journal of Marketing Research.
2. "Migration Restrictions and the Migrant-Native Wage Gap: The Roles of Wage Setting and Sorting," Jan 2025. [PDF]
with Naijia Guo, Li Zhang, and Rongjie Zhang.
Revise & resubmit at the American Economic Review.
3. "Fare Structure and the Demand for Public Transit," Feb 2025. [PDF]
with Yizhen Gu, Qu Tang, Yacan Wang.
Revise & resubmit at the American Economic Journal: Applied Economics.
4. "The Dual Local Markets: Family, Jobs, and the Spatial Distribution of Skills," Nov 2021. [PDF]
with Jingting Fan.
Publications
11. "China’s Commuting-based Metropolitan Areas,"
with Ting Chen and Yizhen Gu.
Journal of Urban Economics. Vol. 144, Nov 2024.
[published version] [working paper version] [List of Metro Areas]
- Featured in The Paper, Baidu Map 2023Q3 Report
10. "Home Location Choices and the Gender Commute Gap,"
with Yizhen Gu, Naijia Guo, and Jing Wu.
Journal of Human Resources, 59(2): 545-575, Mar 2024.
[published version] [working paper version]
9. "The Motherhood Penalty in China: Magnitudes, Trends, and the Role of Grandparenting,"
with Lingsheng Meng and Yunbin Zhang.
Journal of Comparative Economics, 51(1): 105-132, Mar 2023.
[published version] [working paper version]
8. "A Marriage-Market Perspective on Risk-Taking and Career Choices,"
with Hanzhe Zhang.
European Economic Review, vol 152, 104379, Feb 2023.
[published version] [working paper version]
7. "Industrializing from Scratch: The 'Construction of Third Front' and Local Economic Development in China's Hinterland,"
with Jingting Fan.
Journal of Development Economics, vol 152, Sep 2021.
[published version] [working paper version] [appendix]
- About the Third Front Movement (Wikipedia, 维基百科)
6. "Subways and Road Congestion,"
with Yizhen Gu, Chang Jiang and Junfu Zhang.
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 13(2): 83-115, Apr 2021.
[published version] [working paper version]
- Featured in Baidu Maps 2018Q3 Report, Caixin (in Chinese).
5. "The Alibaba Effect: Spatial Consumption Inequality and the Welfare Gains from E-commerce,"
with Jingting Fan, Lixin Tang, Weiming Zhu.
Journal of International Economics, 114: 203-220, Sep 2018.
[published version] [working paper version] [online appendix]
- Featured in VoxDev.
4. "The Local Economic Impacts of Military Personnel Contractions,"
Journal of Labor Economics, 36(3): 589-621, Jul 2018. [lead article]
[published version] [working paper version]
- Media coverage: Wall Street Journal, Fox Business.
3. "Incomplete Disclosure: Evidence of Signaling and Countersignaling,"
with Ben Bederson, Ginger Z. Jin, Phillip Leslie, Alex Quinn.
American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, 10(1): 41-66, Feb 2018.
[published version] [working paper version]
- Featured in AEA Research Highlights.
2. "The Effect of Aid on Growth: Evidence from a Quasi-Experiment,"
with Sebastian Galiani, Stephen Knack and L. Colin Xu.
Journal of Economic Growth, 22 (1): 1-33, Mar 2017. [lead article]
[published version] [working paper version]
- Also available as World Bank Policy Research Working Paper.
- Mentions in the media: Marginal Revolution, The IGC Blog, The Economist, VoxEU, VoxDev, NBER Digest, Chicago Policy Review.
1. "Business Cycles and Divorce: Evidence from Microdata,"
with Judith K. Hellerstein and Melinda Sandler Morrill.
Economics Letters, 188: 68-70, Jan 2013.
[published version] [working paper version] [online appendix]
Resting Papers
1. "Interactions among Donors' Aid Allocations: Evidence from an Exogenous World Bank Income Threshold," [PDF]
with Stephen Knack and L. Colin Xu. Jun 2014.
1. "Reducing Nutritional Disparities Through Target Pricing: Evidence from a Large Restaurant Chain," Apr 2025 [PDF]
with Daisy Dai and Ginger Z. Jin.
Revise & resubmit at the Journal of Marketing Research.
2. "Migration Restrictions and the Migrant-Native Wage Gap: The Roles of Wage Setting and Sorting," Jan 2025. [PDF]
with Naijia Guo, Li Zhang, and Rongjie Zhang.
Revise & resubmit at the American Economic Review.
3. "Fare Structure and the Demand for Public Transit," Feb 2025. [PDF]
with Yizhen Gu, Qu Tang, Yacan Wang.
Revise & resubmit at the American Economic Journal: Applied Economics.
4. "The Dual Local Markets: Family, Jobs, and the Spatial Distribution of Skills," Nov 2021. [PDF]
with Jingting Fan.
Publications
11. "China’s Commuting-based Metropolitan Areas,"
with Ting Chen and Yizhen Gu.
Journal of Urban Economics. Vol. 144, Nov 2024.
[published version] [working paper version] [List of Metro Areas]
- Featured in The Paper, Baidu Map 2023Q3 Report
10. "Home Location Choices and the Gender Commute Gap,"
with Yizhen Gu, Naijia Guo, and Jing Wu.
Journal of Human Resources, 59(2): 545-575, Mar 2024.
[published version] [working paper version]
9. "The Motherhood Penalty in China: Magnitudes, Trends, and the Role of Grandparenting,"
with Lingsheng Meng and Yunbin Zhang.
Journal of Comparative Economics, 51(1): 105-132, Mar 2023.
[published version] [working paper version]
8. "A Marriage-Market Perspective on Risk-Taking and Career Choices,"
with Hanzhe Zhang.
European Economic Review, vol 152, 104379, Feb 2023.
[published version] [working paper version]
7. "Industrializing from Scratch: The 'Construction of Third Front' and Local Economic Development in China's Hinterland,"
with Jingting Fan.
Journal of Development Economics, vol 152, Sep 2021.
[published version] [working paper version] [appendix]
- About the Third Front Movement (Wikipedia, 维基百科)
6. "Subways and Road Congestion,"
with Yizhen Gu, Chang Jiang and Junfu Zhang.
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 13(2): 83-115, Apr 2021.
[published version] [working paper version]
- Featured in Baidu Maps 2018Q3 Report, Caixin (in Chinese).
5. "The Alibaba Effect: Spatial Consumption Inequality and the Welfare Gains from E-commerce,"
with Jingting Fan, Lixin Tang, Weiming Zhu.
Journal of International Economics, 114: 203-220, Sep 2018.
[published version] [working paper version] [online appendix]
- Featured in VoxDev.
4. "The Local Economic Impacts of Military Personnel Contractions,"
Journal of Labor Economics, 36(3): 589-621, Jul 2018. [lead article]
[published version] [working paper version]
- Media coverage: Wall Street Journal, Fox Business.
3. "Incomplete Disclosure: Evidence of Signaling and Countersignaling,"
with Ben Bederson, Ginger Z. Jin, Phillip Leslie, Alex Quinn.
American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, 10(1): 41-66, Feb 2018.
[published version] [working paper version]
- Featured in AEA Research Highlights.
2. "The Effect of Aid on Growth: Evidence from a Quasi-Experiment,"
with Sebastian Galiani, Stephen Knack and L. Colin Xu.
Journal of Economic Growth, 22 (1): 1-33, Mar 2017. [lead article]
[published version] [working paper version]
- Also available as World Bank Policy Research Working Paper.
- Mentions in the media: Marginal Revolution, The IGC Blog, The Economist, VoxEU, VoxDev, NBER Digest, Chicago Policy Review.
1. "Business Cycles and Divorce: Evidence from Microdata,"
with Judith K. Hellerstein and Melinda Sandler Morrill.
Economics Letters, 188: 68-70, Jan 2013.
[published version] [working paper version] [online appendix]
Resting Papers
1. "Interactions among Donors' Aid Allocations: Evidence from an Exogenous World Bank Income Threshold," [PDF]
with Stephen Knack and L. Colin Xu. Jun 2014.