We examine the association between audit quality and the use of collateral in a sample of Chinese firms from 2005 to 2011. Using the full sample, we document a negative relationship between audit quality and the use of collateral that is consistent with lenders’ interests. We also show that...

This paper examines the effects of economic integration resulting from highway construction on aggregate productivity and the spatial distribution of industries. To do so, I construct a unique dataset of bilateral transportation costs between Chinese cities, digitized highway network maps, and...

We quantify the causal impact of human mobility restrictions, particularly the lockdown of Wuhan on January 23, 2020, on the containment and delay of the spread of the Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV). We employ difference-in-differences (DID) estimations to disentangle the lockdown effect on human...

This paper analyzes the relationship between fiscal and structural policies and gender inequality in education and labor force participation for countries at different stages of development. Due to the substantial number of possible factors that link with gender inequality previously highlighted...

If experimental subjects arbitrage against market interest rates when making intertemporal allocations of cash, the data will reveal nothing about subjects' discount rates, only uncovering subjects' market interest rates. If they frame choices narrowly, market rates will not be salient and the...

Student loans defer the cost of college until after graduation, allowing many students access to higher lifetime earnings and colleges and universities they otherwise could not afford. Even with student loans, however, we find students psychologically realize the financial costs of a college...