Do leader networks promote efficient intergovernmental contracts? We examine a groundbreaking policy in China where subprovincial governments freely traded land conversion quotas, and investigate the role of leader networks on the boundary between jurisdictions that embrace trade versus autarky....

Because many rural poor live in areas far away from markets, we investigate whether better road access could help improve their livelihood and reduce rural poverty. We use three waves of a primary panel survey at the household level conducted in 18 remote natural villages in China to study how...

Utilizing a novel database of trip ticket bookings in China during 2017–2019, we examine whether people escape from pollution by traveling to “cleaner” places. We construct travel flows at the city-pair-reservation-date level. Combining IV with high-dimensional fixed effects, we find a...

This paper investigates the relationship between genetic distance and intra-national variation in preferences and behaviours in the Chinese context. We focus on three categories of representative and fundamental preferences—risk, time, and social preferences—and related behaviours. The...

In this study we investigate disguised pollution by industrial firms in China. We find that sulfur dioxide (SO2) readings increase by 10.8% in monitoring stations after sunset in high factory density areas, controlling for station-year and city-hour fixed effects. Physical inspections by the...