Works in Progress
Persistent Human Capital Spillovers: Evidence from China's Send-down Migration [Job Market Paper]
This study examines persistent human capital spillovers in China’s rural areas as a result of a mass migration policy. Between 1962 and 1980, the Chinese government adopted a send-down policy that relocated approximately 18 million youths from urban to rural areas. The policy raised the human capital stock in rural areas as the migrants were more educated than the locals. Using newly collected county-level migration data and an instrumental variable strategy that exploits weather-shocks at the destinations, I find that the send-down migration significantly increased the educational attainment rates in rural areas after the migrants returned to the cities. The positive effects persisted until 2010, although the magnitude weakened over time. The cohorts whose school ages overlapped with the migration policy were most strongly affected. Further, evidence shows that persistent spillovers could be caused by the increased capital-labor ratio in the agricultural sector, occupational transition out of agriculture, and increased emigration from rural counties.
Immigration and Infant Mortality in 19th Century Massachusetts (with Katherine Eriksson and Gregory Niemesh)
Immigration can affect the health conditions of the natives, particularly the children or infants. In this study, we examine the effects of the large-scale immigration of Europeans in the 19th century on native infant mortality in Massachusetts. We compile infant mortality rates at the town-level for all birth cohorts between 1855 and 1900 using Massachusetts birth and death certificates. Combining that with immigration data from federal and state censuses, we find that immigration significantly increased native infant mortality rates. Preliminary results show that one standard deviation increase in the immigrants’ share increased infant mortality rates by 0.27 standard deviations.
The Japanese Exclusion and West Coast Agriculture during the WWII (with Giovanni Peri)
By 1940, more than 36% of the Japanese Americans worked in agriculture, and most of them lived on the West Coast (36% in Hawaii, 6% in California, and 2.5% in Washington). The Japanese were among the most educated and had the longest working hours. Following Pearl Harbor, about 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry were forced to leave the West Coast in 1942. Using county-level data from the 1940 population census and the agricultural censuses in 1940 and 1945, we estimate the effects of the Japanese Exclusion Program on the agricultural productivity on the West Coast with a difference-in-differences design. The preliminary results show the exclusion policy lowered the number of farms, farm values, crop values, and the usage of machinery. Moreover, the adverse effects were mostly due to the loss of Japanese farm managers.
Life Expectancy and Education: Evidence from the Discovery of Insulin.
Human capital theory predicts that the extended life expectancy will strengthen incentives of education investment because of the increase in life-long returns to education. The discovery of insulin in the 1920s provides an excellent historical scenario to test this hypothesis by extending the life expectancy for the diabetes high-risk people without changing their health immediately. Using the micro-data from the Second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES II) and a cohort-level difference-in-difference strategy, I find the discovery of insulin significantly increased the high school enrollment rates of the people with direct relatives with diabetes.
Publications
Economic Openness and Government Size: New Findings from the History 1850 - 2009, with Hanhui Guan and Jie Miao. Economic Research Journal (Jing Ji Yan Jiu), 2015 [Download]
Economic Development, Political Structure, and Education Inequality in China: 1907 - 1930, with Hanhui Guan and Se Yan. Economic Science (Jing Ji Ke Xue), 2014. [Download]
Persistent Human Capital Spillovers: Evidence from China's Send-down Migration [Job Market Paper]
This study examines persistent human capital spillovers in China’s rural areas as a result of a mass migration policy. Between 1962 and 1980, the Chinese government adopted a send-down policy that relocated approximately 18 million youths from urban to rural areas. The policy raised the human capital stock in rural areas as the migrants were more educated than the locals. Using newly collected county-level migration data and an instrumental variable strategy that exploits weather-shocks at the destinations, I find that the send-down migration significantly increased the educational attainment rates in rural areas after the migrants returned to the cities. The positive effects persisted until 2010, although the magnitude weakened over time. The cohorts whose school ages overlapped with the migration policy were most strongly affected. Further, evidence shows that persistent spillovers could be caused by the increased capital-labor ratio in the agricultural sector, occupational transition out of agriculture, and increased emigration from rural counties.
Immigration and Infant Mortality in 19th Century Massachusetts (with Katherine Eriksson and Gregory Niemesh)
Immigration can affect the health conditions of the natives, particularly the children or infants. In this study, we examine the effects of the large-scale immigration of Europeans in the 19th century on native infant mortality in Massachusetts. We compile infant mortality rates at the town-level for all birth cohorts between 1855 and 1900 using Massachusetts birth and death certificates. Combining that with immigration data from federal and state censuses, we find that immigration significantly increased native infant mortality rates. Preliminary results show that one standard deviation increase in the immigrants’ share increased infant mortality rates by 0.27 standard deviations.
The Japanese Exclusion and West Coast Agriculture during the WWII (with Giovanni Peri)
By 1940, more than 36% of the Japanese Americans worked in agriculture, and most of them lived on the West Coast (36% in Hawaii, 6% in California, and 2.5% in Washington). The Japanese were among the most educated and had the longest working hours. Following Pearl Harbor, about 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry were forced to leave the West Coast in 1942. Using county-level data from the 1940 population census and the agricultural censuses in 1940 and 1945, we estimate the effects of the Japanese Exclusion Program on the agricultural productivity on the West Coast with a difference-in-differences design. The preliminary results show the exclusion policy lowered the number of farms, farm values, crop values, and the usage of machinery. Moreover, the adverse effects were mostly due to the loss of Japanese farm managers.
Life Expectancy and Education: Evidence from the Discovery of Insulin.
Human capital theory predicts that the extended life expectancy will strengthen incentives of education investment because of the increase in life-long returns to education. The discovery of insulin in the 1920s provides an excellent historical scenario to test this hypothesis by extending the life expectancy for the diabetes high-risk people without changing their health immediately. Using the micro-data from the Second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES II) and a cohort-level difference-in-difference strategy, I find the discovery of insulin significantly increased the high school enrollment rates of the people with direct relatives with diabetes.
Publications
Economic Openness and Government Size: New Findings from the History 1850 - 2009, with Hanhui Guan and Jie Miao. Economic Research Journal (Jing Ji Yan Jiu), 2015 [Download]
Economic Development, Political Structure, and Education Inequality in China: 1907 - 1930, with Hanhui Guan and Se Yan. Economic Science (Jing Ji Ke Xue), 2014. [Download]