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Labor Market Discrimination against Family Responsibilities: A Correspondence Study with Policy Change in China

Haoran He, Sherry Xin Li, Yuling Han, Jan 24, 2024

China shifted its controversial one-child policy (1979–2015) to a two-child policy in 2016. We take advantage of the unexpected timing of this policy change and the heterogeneities in the pre-change environment to investigate labor market discrimination against expected family responsibilities.

“To Go Electric or to Burn Coal? A Randomized Field Experiment of Informational Nudges”

Hanming Fang, King King Li, Peiyao Shen, Feb 07, 2024

We conducted a randomized field experiment of informational nudges in northern China to investigate the potential obstacles that may hinder households from adopting cleaner heating, and evaluate the effectiveness of simple SMS nudges in encouraging the transition to electric heating.

Brain Drain to the State Sector: Job Preferences and Outcomes for China’s College Graduates

Hongbin Li, Lingsheng Meng, Yanyan Xiong, Sinclair Cook, Feb 28, 2024

Despite private enterprises dominating China’s labor market, college-educated workers are still highly concentrated in the state sector. Using data from the Chinese College Student Survey, we find that 64% of students in the sample expressed a strong preference for state-sector employment.

Cash in the Darkness

Haohan Ren, Kemin Wang, Bohui Zhang, Fan Zhang, Jan 12, 2024

Relying on a large dataset on cash withdrawals of over 165 million bank cards from China, we find a higher ratio of cash withdrawals late at night is associated with criminal activity.

Lucky Dragons

Chih Ming Tan, Xiao Wang, Xiaobo Zhang, Feb 21, 2024

This article explores the intriguing connection between Chinese zodiac signs and parental investment in children’s development. Particularly, parents invest more in children born under the “lucky” sign of the dragon, potentially impacting their cognitive and noncognitive skills alike.