Job Market Paper
Government and Nature: Evidence from the Distribution of Flood Damages in China
(with Yifan Wang) draft
Asian Development Bank-International Economic Association Innovative Policy Award (Honorable Mention); Selected for JEEM Data, Information, and Environment Workshop
Media Coverage: VoxDev; Presentations: Harvard Kennedy School Climate Economics Workshop, LSE EEE Camp, Peking University-CCER Summer Institute, Renmin University of China, Warwick, Monash University, EAERE Early Career Workshop, AERE Annual Meeting, UEA Summer School, UEA North America Meeting, EEA-ESEM, North America Econometric Society Summer Meeting, AEA/ASSA Annual Meeting
Asian Development Bank-International Economic Association Innovative Policy Award (Honorable Mention); Selected for JEEM Data, Information, and Environment Workshop
Media Coverage: VoxDev; Presentations: Harvard Kennedy School Climate Economics Workshop, LSE EEE Camp, Peking University-CCER Summer Institute, Renmin University of China, Warwick, Monash University, EAERE Early Career Workshop, AERE Annual Meeting, UEA Summer School, UEA North America Meeting, EEA-ESEM, North America Econometric Society Summer Meeting, AEA/ASSA Annual Meeting
photo credit to: Fang Wu
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Abstract: With increasing disaster risks, it is increasingly important to understand the impact of government interventions that reallocate environmental damages. In 2000, the Chinese government designated 96 Flood Detention Basin (FDB) counties, allocating lower-elevation areas within these counties for temporary floodwater storage. During severe flood events, floodwater may be diverted to these FDB counties to protect downstream urban centers. We evaluate the aggregate and distributional impacts of the FDB policy. Difference-in-differences results show that if a county is selected to the FDB list, county-level firm entry and firm-level fixed asset investments would decrease by 15.9% and 19.7%, respectively. Overall, FDB designation results in a 10.7% reduction in county-level nighttime light intensity. We then develop a spatial general equilibrium model that captures trade linkages among FDB counties, protected cities, and other regions. By comparing the actual output to a counterfactual scenario without FDBs, we find that as FDBs absorb more floodwater, the policy’s output gains increase; however, this comes at the cost of growing inequality between FDB counties and others. In summary, FDBs may improve economic resilience against floods, but the economic cost is taken disproportionately by rural counties.
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Research Projects
2. Trapped by Floods? Migration Decisions in Response to Floods in China
(with Runhong Ma)
(with Runhong Ma)
- We study whether Chinese people in areas of higher flood risk are making optimal migration decisions.
3. Natural Disasters and Spatial Patterns of Innovation
(with Haoyu Gao, Runhong Ma, and Peixuan Zhao)
(with Haoyu Gao, Runhong Ma, and Peixuan Zhao)
- We study the impact of disasters on the vitality of innovation, and how disasters reshape the spatial distribution of patents.
4. Battling Emissions: Green Transition in Steel Industry
(with Yuanhang Yu)
(with Yuanhang Yu)
- We try to understand why it is difficult for steel industry in developing countries to achieve its green target.
5. In the Shadow of Rainbow: Is the Sexual Orientation Wage Gap Disappearing in the US?
Presentations: APPAM Annual Conference, AEA/ASSA Annual Meeting
Presentations: APPAM Annual Conference, AEA/ASSA Annual Meeting
- We show that gay male employees should have earned more than their heterosexual counterparts, but they did not.
6. Foreign Aid and Fiscal Capacity in Post-Cold War Africa
- We find that aid volatility in Africa exacerbates African countries' reliance on trade tax.