• About Me

    I'm an Assistant Professor in the School of Economics at Zhejiang University.

     

    I received my Ph.D. in Economics from the Department of Economics at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. I received my Master in Economics and Bachelor in Economics from School of Economics at Fudan University.

     

    My research interests are macro development, trade and spatial economics. I combine micro-level big data with machine learning technologies, reduced-form analysis tools, and quantitative models to explore various topics related to China's economic development.


    This is my most updated curriculum vitae. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

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  • Research

    Job Market Paper

    On (Un)Congested Roads: A Quantitative Analysis of Infrastructure Investment Efficiency Using Truck GPS Data (with Simon Alder and Zheng (Michael) Song) [Link]

    This study aims to quantify the gains from investments in a transportation network, where the elasticity of driving time to traffic ("congestion elasticity") may differ across roads. We use high-frequency GPS data from half a million Chinese trucks to measure traffic flow and to uncover the congestion elasticity heterogeneity in China's city-to-city road links. We find that one-third of the links are uncongested and that no more than 40% are associated with a large congestion elasticity comparable to the recent estimates for developed economies. In contrast, using real-time traffic data for interregional highways in England, we find that almost all roads are associated with a large congestion elasticity. We next incorporate congestion elasticity heterogeneity into a quantitative general equilibrium trade model with optimal route choices and structurally estimate the model. To calculate the returns on investment in each link, we infer the benefit from the estimated model. We find the returns to be highly unequal in China, and the heterogeneity in congestion elasticity can account for more than half of the dispersion. Numerical simulations show that dispersion is a robust indicator of misallocation and that optimized investments with a reasonable budget generate sizable welfare gains. Moreover, the optimal investment allocation turns out to be orthogonal to the actual allocation. Our findings suggest a severe misallocation of road investments in China.

    Publication

    Chasing or Cheating? Theory and Evidence on China’s GDP Manipulation (with Shuo Chen, and Xue Qiao), 2021, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization. [Link]

    Gone with the Wind? Emissions of Neighboring Coal-Fired Power Plants and Local Public Health in China (with Shuo Chen, Yiran Li, and Guang Shi), 2021, China Economic Review. [Link]

    Running out of Steam? A Political Incentive Perspective of FDI Inflows in China (with Shuo Chen, Xiaowei Rose Luo, and Danqing Wang), 2020, Journal of International Business Studies. [Link]

    Working Paper

    Club-based Promotions in Organizations: Evidence and Theory (with Shuo Chen, and Xinyu Fan), 2022, submitted. [Link]

    Work in Progress

    Ming Garrisons (weisuo), Folktales, and Long-term Culture Formation

  • Teaching

    Teaching Assistant at CUHK

    • Analysis of China's Economy by Prof. Zheng Song (Fall 2022, 2021)
    • China and Global Economy by Prof. Dan Lyu (Spring 2022, 2021, 2020)
    • Global and Regional Economic Integration by Prof. Gene H. Chang (Spring 2019)
    • China and Global Economy by Prof. Gene H. Chang (Spring 2018)
    • Development Economics by Prof. Ying Bai (Fall 2022, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017)

    Teaching Assistant at Fudan University

  • Contact

    School of Economics, Zhejiang University