This paper investigates the impact of high school quality on students’ educational attainment using a regression discontinuity research design based on entrance examination score thresholds that strictly determine admission to the best high schools. Using data from rural counties in...

We investigate the effect of entering magnet classes on the educational performance of high school students in China. Using the regression discontinuity design and data from a high school in Hebei Province, we find that enrollment in a magnet class can increase students’ gross final...

We estimate the return to attending elite colleges in China using 2010 data on fresh college graduates. We find that the gross return to attending elite colleges is as high as 26.4%, but this figure declines to 10.7% once we control for student ability, major, college location, individual...

With the aim of investigating the effects of household educational expenditures on the test scores of children, I construct an instrumental variable for the endogenous household educational expenditures by taking advantage of the educational fee reduction reform in China. I do not find any...

We ask how export demand shocks associated with the Asian financial crisis affected Chinese exporters. We construct firm-specific exchange rate shocks based on the pre-crisis destinations of firms' exports. Because the shocks were unanticipated and large, they are a plausible instrument for...

This paper analyzes firm panel data to examine how export demand shocks associated with the 1997 Asian financial crisis affected Chinese exporters. We construct firm-specific exchange rate shocks based on the pre-crisis destinations of firms’ exports. Because the shocks were unanticipated and...

We test for evidence of an intra-household flypaper effect by evaluating the impact of an educational fee reduction reform in rural China on different categories of household expenditure, including spending on individual children. Using pre- and post-reform data, this study exploits cohort...

We estimate the wage premium associated with having a cadre parent in China using a recent survey of college graduates carried out by the authors. The wage premium of having a cadre parent is 15%, and this premium cannot be explained by other observables such as college entrance exam scores,...

We ask how export demand shocks associated with the Asian financial crisis affected Chinese exporters. We construct firm-specific exchange rate shocks based on the precrisis destinations of firms' exports. Because the shocks were unanticipated and large, they are a plausible instrument for...

We find that firms winning Green Company Awards in China from 2008 to 2011 experienced on average insignificant and in some cases significantly negative effects on shareholder value. Various robustness checks suggest that these findings are not driven by the inefficiency of the Chinese stock...