Research
Job Market Paper
The effects of Colorado’s Pay Transparency among Older Workers
This paper studies the effects of Colorado’s cross-firm pay transparency law, the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act (EPEWA), on the labor market outcomes of mid- to late-career workers aged 45–64. I examine how improved information about outside wage opportunities affects earnings, the gender wage gap, and labor supply for a group that may face relatively high search frictions and outdated wage information. Using a difference-in-differences design that exploits variation across states and over time, I find that pay transparency increases both weekly earnings and hourly wages, with larger wage gains among women and highly educated workers, and narrows the gender wage gap. The wage gains are observed among both job changers and job stayers, although they are larger for job changers, and they vary across occupations with different wage levels, wage dispersion, and age–wage profiles. Turning to labor supply, pay transparency increases employment and raises main-job working hours among employed workers in the short run. In contrast, I find limited effects among younger workers aged 25–44, with positive wage effects appearing among job changers. Survey evidence further shows that pay transparency increases workers’ expectations about outside wage opportunities, raises reservation wages, and temporarily increases the perceived probability of receiving a job offer. Overall, the findings suggest that cross-firm pay transparency is particularly valuable for mid- to late-career workers, whose beliefs about outside wage opportunities are more likely to be outdated.
Publications
Balancing Efficiency and Equity in Classroom Assignment under Endogenous Peer Effects
with Lei Bill Wang, Zhenbang Jiao, and Om Prakash Bedant
Published in Journal of Applied Economics
This paper develops a three-step empirical framework to optimize classroom assignments under endogenous peer effects. First, we design PeerNN, a neural network modeling friendship formation, generating a linkage-intensity matrix (Ω) that captures student popularity. Second, using quasi-random classroom assignments as an instrument, we estimate peer effects: a 10% increase in friends’ 6th-grade class rank (weighted by Ω) increases 8th-grade test scores by 0.13 SD. Third, we simulate assignment policies. A genetic algorithm (GA) maximizing average peer effect yields a 1.9% gain but exacerbates inequality, disproportionately harming students with lower 6th-grade class ranks. We propose a variance-penalizing approach named Algorithmically Fair GA (AFGA), which achieves a 1.2% improvement while ensuring equitable outcomes. Our findings highlight the trade-off between efficiency and equity in classroom assignment policies and underscore the need for fairness-aware algorithms when designing group assignment policies.
First place, 2024 Hayes Forum Poster Competition.
Working Papers
The Effect of Public Long-Term Care Insurance in China on Adult Children’s Labor Supply
This paper studies how China’s public long-term care insurance (LTCI) affects adult children’s labor supply using staggered city-level policy implementation and parental eligibility. I find that parental LTCI eligibility increases adult children’s labor supply on the extensive margin, with larger effects among daughters. The results suggest that formal long-term care can affect not only care recipients but also the labor market behavior of family members by reducing informal caregiving responsibilities.
Paper coming soon
The Effects of SNAP Work Requirements on Self-Employment
This paper examines how SNAP work requirements affect self-employment and SNAP participation among Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs). Using variation in SNAP work-requirement waivers, I find that work requirements have little effect on overall self-employment but reduce SNAP participation among self-employed ABAWDs and increase their working hours. The effects also differ by gender and across different phases of the business cycle.
Paper coming soon
The Effects of SNAP Work Requirements on Immigrants
This study examines the impact of waivers of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) work requirements on Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs) in immigrant families during the economic recession (2007–2010). Drawing on data from IPUMS-USA and Han (2022), the findings show that the waivers encourage ABAWDs in immigrant families to participate in SNAP, have no effect on their employment, but reduce their conditional working hours. Moreover, a heterogeneous analysis reveals that these effects are primarily observed among immigrants with citizenship. Furthermore, using the Food Security Supplement from the CPS Basic Monthly Survey, the study finds that the waivers increase the probability of being food secure among immigrant families and consistently reduce the likelihood of experiencing severe food insecurity. Therefore, by lowering barriers to SNAP participation, the government can encourage immigrants to participate in SNAP and alleviate food insecurity, especially during economic downturns.
Paper coming soon
Works in Progress
How Does Family Structure Influence Women’s Bargaining Power in the Labor Market?
This project studies whether the effects of pay transparency on women’s labor market outcomes vary with family structure, with particular attention to marriage and children.