This paper examines the medium and long-term human capital consequences of in-utero exposure to agricultural fires in rural China. We exploit exogenous variations in birth month, fire intensity, and wind direction to identify the causal effect of fetal exposure to fire. Our findings suggest that in-utero exposure to agricultural fires significantly reduces individuals health, cognitive, and non-cognitive performance in adolescence, with the effect primarily driven by the male sample. Tracking these cohorts into adulthood, we show that fire exposure decreases the number of years of education and earnings. Besides the transmission of adverse conditions in early life, a key mechanism driving the persistent effect of fetal exposure is that liquidity-constrained households reinforce the negative impacts by reallocating resources away from exposed children. Using the rollout of Chinas New Cooperative Medical Scheme (NCMS) as a quasi-experiment, we present evidence that health insurance coverage can largely offset the effects of agricultural fire exposure by easing financial constraints and promoting parental investments. Our findings underscore the disproportionate cost of pollution on vulnerable rural families and have significant policy implications for mitigating the adverse effects of pollution exposure.

Policy experimentations are widely accepted instruments for promoting economic growth in many countries. However, the effects may be undermined if theyre masked by top-down enforcement that ignores local conditions. Using satellite night light data, we investigate the economic impacts of the Taobao Villages (TBVs) program in China, a bottom-up pilot on rural e-commerce that is imitated nationwide under top-down directives. Exploiting the difference-in-differences approach, we show that the establishment of TBVs significantly reduces townships night light and therefore local economic growth. We further reveal that the top-down directives in TBVs establishment and the strategic behaviors of local officials motivated by political incentives are the potential driving forces.

Environmental regulations can trigger unintended pollution externalities if they lack well-designed economic incentives or fail to account for the responses of polluters. This paper examines the effectiveness and unintended consequences of the Universal Prohibition on Straw Burning (UPSB) policy in China. By exploiting a generalized difference-in-differences design, we find that the UPSB policy significantly reduces agricultural fires and air pollution through top-down campaign-style enforcement. However, as straw burning is commonly used to kill pests and fertilize the soil, the UPSB policy also increases the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, leading to magnified water pollution. Cost-benefit analysis suggests that much of the health benefit from improved air quality is offset by the health cost from degraded water quality. Our findings highlight the importance of considering the potential responses of individuals subject to the regulation when conducting policy evaluation.

This paper presents new evidence on how multitasking local governments strategic responses to top-down environmental regulations can induce pollution in border areas. Using the implementation of the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan in China as a quasi-experiment, we exploit a difference-in-differences model and find that this policy induces the border effect of air pollution. We further reveal a salient window dressing behavior of local governments, which air pollution in border counties reduces significantly as the high-stakes inspection time neared, followed by a dramatic increase soon after the inspection. These results are driven by local government responses to incomprehensive air quality monitor stations installed in non-border counties, and local officials with strong promotion incentives, who exert strict regulations in non-border counties while varied regulations in border counties over time to cater for the multitasking of economic growth and air quality targets.

Land quality and productivity are fundamental to agricultural development, yet urban expansion poses a growing challenge by reallocating high-quality land away from agriculture for urban development. Focusing on China, a country that features both agricultural land protection and growth-oriented political incentives, this paper examines how land-based urbanization affects agricultural land productivity. Using high-resolution satellite data, we document a significant decline in both the quantity and quality of agricultural land due to urban expansion. To understand the mechanisms behind this decline, we develop a theoretical model that extends the monocentric city framework by incorporating local political incentives and land quality considerations into land allocation decisions. The model predicts that strict farmland protection policies focusing on land quantity, such as Chinas Agricultural Land Protection Policy (ALPP) introduced in 2010, may inadvertently reduce land quality when local leaders prioritize economic growth. Empirical evidence supports this prediction: we find that ALPP enforcement leads to a decline in agricultural land quality, particularly in regions where political incentives for urban expansion are stronger. Additionally, urban expansion reduces agricultural productivity by decreasing the use of modern agricultural technologies and increasing reliance on fertilizers. These findings underscore the need for policies that balance land conservation with quality considerations to ensure long-term agricultural sustainability.

This paper examine the premium effects of neiborhood upgrading projects in China, Hefei. We show that surrounding neighborhoods within a 500-meter radius of the upgrading areas experienced a significant increase in prices by 6.01% compared to neighborhoods located beyond this range. Mechanism analysis shows the old neighborhood upgrading projects revitalize community vitality, thereby increasing housing prices of surrounding neighborhoods.

This paper examine the heterogeneous effect of housing purchase limits policy on the price of elite school district houses (ESDH) and non-elite school district houses. We find that the the puchase limits policy increased housing price of ESDH relative to non-ESDH, which unintendedly exacerbate the educational capitalization.

This paper examines the impact of expressways on economic growth in border areas.