Publications

Journal Articles

• "The Prerformance of State-Owned Enterprises: New Evidence from the China Employer-Employee Survey," (with Hong Cheng and Tang Li), Economic Development and Cultural Change, forthcoming.
• "Wage Differential between Rural Migrants and Urban Workers in the People's Republic of China," (with Hong Cheng and Dezhuang Hu), Asian Development Economc Review, 37(1), 2020, pp. 43-60.
• "The Rise of Robots in China," (with Hong Cheng, Ruixue Jia and Dandan Li), Journal of Economic Perspectives, 33(2), Spring 2019, pp. 71-88.

• “Land Reform and Sex Selection in China,” (with Douglas Almond and Shuang Zhang),  Journal of Political Economy, 127(2), April 2019, pp.560-585.

• “Fertility, Household Structure and Parental Labor Supply: Evidence from Rural China,” (with Rufei Guo, Junjian Yi and Junsen Zhang),  Journal of Comparative Economics,  46(1), March 2018, pp. 145-156.

• "Human Capital and China's Future Growth," (with Prashant Loyalka, Scott Rozelle and Binzhen Wu), Journal of Economic Perspetives, 31(1), Winter 2017, pp. 25-48.

• “Skill Complementarities and Returns to Higher Education: Evidence from China’s College Enrollment Expansion,” (with Yueyuan Ma, Lingsheng Meng, Xue Qiao and Xinzheng Shi), China Economic Review, 46, 2017,  pp. 10-26.

• “The Retirement Consumption Puzzle Revisited: Evidence from the Mandatory Retirement Policy in China” (with Xinzheng Shi and Binzhen Wu), Journal of Comparative Economics 44(3), 2016, pp. 623-637.

• “How Do Exchange Rate Moments Affect Chinese Exports: A Firm Level Investigation,” (with Hong Ma and Yuan Xu), Journal of International Economics 97(1), 2015, pp. 148-161.

• “The Retirement Consumption Puzzle in China” (with Xinzheng Shi and Binzhen Wu), American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings, 105(5), 2015, pp. 437-441.

• “Girl Adoption in China—A Less-known Side of Son Preference” (with Yuyu Chen, Avi Ebenstein and Lena Edlund), Population Studies, 169(2), 2015, pp. 161-178.

• “Unequal Access to College in China: How Far Have Poor, Rural Students Have Been Left Behind?” (with Prashant Loyalka, Scott Rozelle, Binzhen Wu and Jieyu Xie), China Quarterly 221, 2015, pp. 185-207.

• “Sex Ratios and Crime: Evidence from China” (with Lena Edlund, Junjian Yi and Junsen Zhang), Review of Economics and Statistics, 95(5), December 2013, pp. 1520-1534.  (Featured in the WSJ.)

•  “Evidence on the Impact of Sustained Exposure to Air Pollution on Life Expectancy from China’s Huai River Policy” (with Yuyu Chen, Avraham Ebenstein and Michael Greenstone), Proceedings of National Academy of Science USA 110(32), August 2013, pp. 12936-12941.

  ---Over 2,000 medias covered the paper, including the WSJ, NYTimes, FT, CNN, BBC, SKY, Reuters, Bloomberg, IBTimes, Daily Mail, National Geography, Guardian, Agency France-Presse, Discover Magazine, the People’s Daily, Guangming Daily, China Daily, Beijing Daily, Xinhua News, CCTV, 21th Century Finance Caixin, Caijing, etc.

• “Poverty in China’s Colleges and the Targeting of Financial Aid” (with Lingsheng Meng, Xinzheng Shi and Binzhen Wu), China Quarterly, October 2013, pp. 1-23.

• “Family Ties and Organizational Design: Evidence from Chinese Private Firms” (with Hongbin Cai, Albert Park and Li-an Zhou), Review of Economics and Statistics 95(3), July 2013, pp. 850-867.

•  “Prenatal Sex Selection and Missing Girls in China: Evidence from the Diffusion of Diagnostic Ultrasound,” (with Yuyu Chen and Lingsheng Meng), Journal of Human Resources, 48(1), 2013.

• “The End of Cheap Chinese Labor” (with Lei Li, Binzhen Wu and Yanyan Xiong), Journal of Economic Perspectives, 26(4), 2012, pp. 57-74.

• “Does Having a Cadre Parent Pay? Evidence from the First Job Offers of Chinese College Graduates” (with Lingsheng Meng, Xinzheng Shi and Binzhen Wu), Journal of Development Economics, 99, 2012, pp. 513-520.

• “Does Attending Elite Colleges Pay in China?” (with Lingsheng Meng, Xinzheng Shi and Binzhen Wu), Journal of Comparative Economics, 40, 2012, pp. 78-88.

• “Entrepreneurship and Growth: Evidence from China” (with Xianguo Yao,  Zheyu Yang, Haifeng Zhang and Junsen Zhang), China Economic Review, 23(4), December 2012, pp 948-961.

•  “Estimating the Returns to Education Using Twins in Urban China,” (with Pak Wai Liu and Junsen Zhang) Journal of Development Economics, 97(4), 2012, pp 494-504.

•  “Estimating the Effect of  the One-Child Policy on Sex Ratio Imbalance in China: Identification Based on the Difference-in-Differences,” (with Junjian Yi and Junsen Zhang) Demography 48(4), November 2011, pp. 1535-1557..

• “The Human Cost of China’s Growth,” (with Lingsheng Meng and Wenqing Pan), China Economic Review 22(3), September 2011, pp. 373-382.

• Early Commitment on Financial Aid and College Decision Making of Poor Students: Evidence from a Randomized Evaluation in Rural China(with Chengfang Liu, Linxiu Zhang, Renfu Luo, Xiaobing Wang, Scott Rozelle, Brian Sharbono, Jenifer Adams, Yaojiang Shi, Ai Yue and Thomas Glauben) Economics of Education Review 30(4), August 2011, pp. 627-640.

• “Income Inequality, Status Seeking and Savings,” (with Ye Jin and Binzhen Wu), Journal of Comparative Economics 39(2), June 2011, pp. 191-204.

• “Community Service, Educational Performance and Social Responsibility in Northwest China,” (with Renfu Luo, Yaojiang Shi, Linxiu Zhang, Chengfang Liu, Scott Rozelle and Brian Sharbono), Journal of Moral Education 40(2), June 2011, pp. 181-202.

• “Gender Earnings Gaps in Hong Kong: Empirical Evidence from across the Earnings Distribution in 2006” (with Yuhao Ge and Junsen Zhang) China Economic Review 22(1), March 2011, pp. 151-164.

• “Altruism, Favoritism, and Guilt in the Allocation of Family Resources: Sophie’s Choice in Mao’s Mass Send Down Movement,” (with Mark Rosenzweig and Junsen Zhang), Journal of Political Economy lead article 118(1), February 2010, pp. 1-38.

• “Incentives, Equality and Contract Renegotiations: Theory and Evidence in the Chinese Banking Industry,” Journal of Industrial Economics, 58(1), March 2010, pp156-189 (with Hongbin Cai and Li-an Zhou).

• “Why Does Spousal Education Matter for Earnings? Assotative Mating and Cross-Productivity,” Journal of Labor Economics, 27(4), October 2009, pp. 633-652 (with Chong Huang, Pak Wai Liu and Junsen Zhang).

• Book Review John Knight and Lina Song, Towards a Labour Market in China, Economic Development and Cultural Change, 58(1), October 2009, pp 173-176.

• “Testing The External Effect of Consumption: the Case of Child Demand,” Journal of Human Resource, 44(4), pp. 890-915, fall 2009 (with Junsen Zhang).

• “Ultrasonic Scans and Sex Ratios in China,” Asian Economic Policy Review, 4(1), pp. 121-137, June 2009 (with Hui Zheng).

• “Winter Heating or Clean Air? Unintended Impacts of China's Huai River Policy,” American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings, 99(2), pp 184-190, May 2009 (with Douglas Almond, Yuyu Chen and Michael Greenstone).

• “Mother’s Education and Child Health: Is There a Nurturing Effect?” Journal of Health Economics, 28(2), pp 413-426, March 2009 (with Yuyu Chen).

• “The Government’s Role in China’s Olympic Glory,” (with Lingsheng Meng and Qian Wang), Applied Economics 41(25), 2009, pp. 3313-18.

•  “Political Connections, Financing and Firm Performance: Evidence from Chinese Private Entrepreneurs,” (with Lingsheng Meng, Qian Wang and Li-an Zhou) Journal of Development Economics 87, 2008, pp. 283-299. (among most downloaded papers of JDE by September 2016)

• “The Quantity-Quality Tradeoff of Children in a Developing Country: Identification Using Chinese Twins,” Demography, 45(1), February 2008, pp. 223-243 (with Junsen Zhang and Yi Zhu).

•  “Effects of Longevity and Dependency Rates on Saving and Growth: Evidence from a Panel of Cross Countries,” (with Jie Zhang and Junsen Zhang), Journal of Development Economics, 84(1), September 2007, pp. 138-154.

• “Economic Returns to the Communist Party Membership: Evidence from Chinese Twins,” (with Pak Wai Liu, Junsen Zhang and Ning Ma), Economic Journal, 117(523), October 2007, pp. 1504-1520.

• “Do High Birth Rates Hamper Economic Growth?” (with Junsen Zhang), Review of Economics and Statistics 89(1), February 2007, pp. 110-117.

• “Incentive Effects and Bank Performance: Evidence from Rural China,” (with Scott Rozelle and Li-an Zhou), Economics of Transition 15(1), March 2007, pp. 109-124.

• “Testing the Collective Model of Household Labor Supply: Evidence from China,” (with Tak Wai Chau, Pak Wai Liu and Junsen Zhang), China Economic Review 18, 2007, 389-402.

• “Income, Income Inequality and Health: Evidence from China,” (with Yi Zhu), Journal of Comparative Economics 34(4), December 2006, pp. 654-667.

• “Relative Earnings of Husbands and Wives in Urban China,” (with Lai Ting Sin and Junsen Zhang), China Economic Review 17(4), Winter 2006, pp. 412-431.

• “Why Do Entrepreneurs Enter Politics,” (with Lingsheng Meng and Junsen Zhang), Economic Inquiry 44(3), July 2006, pp 559-578.

• “Political Turnover and Economic Performance: The Disciplinary Role of Personnel Control in China,” (with Li-An Zhou), Journal of Public Economics 89(9-10), September 2005, pp. 1743-1762.  (among most downloaded papers in the journal by September 2016; Ranked No. 4 of the journal in citations since 2005; 1,316 citations in Google Scholar by September 2016)

• “Banks and Enterprise Privatization in China.” (with Loren Brandt and Joanne Roberts), Journal of Law, Economics and Organization 21(2), October 2005, pp. 524-546.

• “Relative performance evaluation and the turnover of provincial leaders in China.” (with Ye Chen and Li-an Zhou), Economics Letters 88(3), June 2005, pp. 421-425.

• “Management Buyout, Information, and Firm Performance: How Has Privatization Worked in China?” (with Qian Wang), Journal of Restructure Finance 2(1), 2005, pp. 55-67.

• “Parental Childcare and Children’s Educational Attainment: Evidence from China,” (with Xianguo Yao, Junsen Zhang and Li-An Zhou), Applied Economics 37, 2005, pp. 2067-76.

• “Insider Privatization with a Tail: The Screening Contract and Performance of Privatized Firms in Rural China,” (with Scott Rozelle), Journal of Development Economics (lead article) 75(1), October 2004, pp 1-26.

• “Micro-Credit Programs and Off-Farm Migration in China,” (with Scott Rozelle and Linxiu Zhang), Pacific Economic Review 9(3), 2004, pp. 209-223.

• “Government’s Budget Constraint, Competition and Privatization: Evidence from China’s Rural Industry,” Journal of Comparative Economics 31(3), September 2003, pp. 486-502.

• “Bank Discrimination in Transition Economies: Ideology, Information or Incentives?” (with Loren Brandt), Journal of Comparative Economics(lead article) 31(3), September 2003, pp. 387-413.

• “Privatizing Rural China: Insider Privatization, Innovative Contracts, and the Performance of Township Enterprises” (with Scott Rozelle), China Quarterly 174, December 2003, pp. 981-1005.

• “Reversing Privatization as a Screening Mechanism,” Economics Letters 78, February 2003, pp. 267-271.

• “Saving or Stripping Rural Industry: An Analysis of Privatization and Efficiency in China,” (with Scott Rozelle), Agricultural Economics 23(3), 2000, pp. 241-252.

   

Book Chapters

• “Long-term Effects of China’s Great Famine in Hong Kong and Mainland China,” (with Douglas Almond, Lena Edlund and Junsen Zhang), forthcoming in NBER Book on population issues in Asia 2009.

• “Income, Income Inequality, and Health: Evidence from China.” (with Yi Zhu) in Understanding Inequality and Poverty in China, ed., Guanghua Wan, April 2008, New York: Palgrave Macmillan

• “Firm Dynamics in Economic Transition: Evidence from a Chinese Science Park” (with Quanlin Gu, Weiying Zhang and Li-an Zhou), in Growth of New Technology Ventures in China’s Emerging Market, edited by Haiyang Li, 2007, Edward Elgar: MA, USA.

• “Gender Earnings Differentials in Hong Kong,” (with Chung Man Lee and Junsen Zhang), in Mainstreaming Gender in Hong Kong Society, edited by Fanny Cheung and Eleanor Holroyd, 2009, Chinese University of Hong Kong Press: Hong Kong