JOB MARKET PAPER
The Impact of China’s Place-based Environmental Regulations on its Hog Industry: A Synthetic Difference-in-differences Approach (Current draft)
with Tao Xiong and Wendong Zhang (reject and resubmitted at American Journal of Agricultural Economics)
Agricultural water pollution from the livestock industry is a growing concern in China and globally. As opposed to size-based regulations targeting larger facilities as in the United States, China’s regulations are place-based in nature. Since 2014, China implemented regulations in eight southeast provinces classified as a Development Control Zone (DCZ), targeting to improve downstream water quality by clearing or relocating hog farms. Leveraging a novel identification strategy, synthetic difference-in-differences, we provide one of the first systematic analyses of the impacts of the regulations on hog and sow inventories. By incorporating with generated county and year weights, synthetic difference-in-differences yields a more accurate estimate of regulations’ treatment effects. Our results show that, on average, the 2014 regulations led to a 9.33% and 10% reduction in hog and sow inventories, respectively, from 2014 to 2017 in the treated counties in DCZ provinces, mainly resulting from extensive margin changes due to the closures of hog farms. We also find the treatment effects vary substantially both within and across DCZ provinces: wealthier urban provinces such as Zhejiang experienced over 50% reduction in hog and sow inventories; and counties upstream of big cities or those designated as main hog counties saw steeper declines as well.
with Tao Xiong and Wendong Zhang (reject and resubmitted at American Journal of Agricultural Economics)
Agricultural water pollution from the livestock industry is a growing concern in China and globally. As opposed to size-based regulations targeting larger facilities as in the United States, China’s regulations are place-based in nature. Since 2014, China implemented regulations in eight southeast provinces classified as a Development Control Zone (DCZ), targeting to improve downstream water quality by clearing or relocating hog farms. Leveraging a novel identification strategy, synthetic difference-in-differences, we provide one of the first systematic analyses of the impacts of the regulations on hog and sow inventories. By incorporating with generated county and year weights, synthetic difference-in-differences yields a more accurate estimate of regulations’ treatment effects. Our results show that, on average, the 2014 regulations led to a 9.33% and 10% reduction in hog and sow inventories, respectively, from 2014 to 2017 in the treated counties in DCZ provinces, mainly resulting from extensive margin changes due to the closures of hog farms. We also find the treatment effects vary substantially both within and across DCZ provinces: wealthier urban provinces such as Zhejiang experienced over 50% reduction in hog and sow inventories; and counties upstream of big cities or those designated as main hog counties saw steeper declines as well.
WORKING PAPERS
Pipeline and Property Values: A Nationwide Hedonic Analysis of Pipeline Accidents Over the Past Decade.
with Minghao Li, Pengfei Liu, Qianfeng Luo, Chuan Tang and Wendong Zhang
Comparison of Row Cover and Weed Management Systems for Pest Management in Organic Muskmelon Production
with Hayley M. Nelson, Ajay Nair, Kephas Mphande, Wendong Zhang, and Mark L. Gleason
with Minghao Li, Pengfei Liu, Qianfeng Luo, Chuan Tang and Wendong Zhang
Comparison of Row Cover and Weed Management Systems for Pest Management in Organic Muskmelon Production
with Hayley M. Nelson, Ajay Nair, Kephas Mphande, Wendong Zhang, and Mark L. Gleason
WORKS IN PROGRESS
Transmission Lines and U.S. Farmland Prices: New Evidence Leveraging Wind Energy Potential
with Qinan Lu and Wendong Zhang
How do Harmful algal blooms (HABs) Impact the Property Values: A Nationwide Assessment using LAGOS.
with Pengfei Liu and Wendong Zhang
"Civilized City" Title and Pollution Abatement
with Xiaoyin Li and Chuan Tang
with Qinan Lu and Wendong Zhang
How do Harmful algal blooms (HABs) Impact the Property Values: A Nationwide Assessment using LAGOS.
with Pengfei Liu and Wendong Zhang
"Civilized City" Title and Pollution Abatement
with Xiaoyin Li and Chuan Tang
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
Conference Presentations:
Western Regional Science Association Meeting (forthcoming) (2022)
Western Economic Association International (WEAI) Annual Conference (2021)
Association of Environmental and Resource Economists (AERE) (2021)
Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association (NAREA) (2021)
Agricultural and Applied Economic Association (AAEA) (2020)
Southern Economic Association (SEA) Annual Conference (2020)
Chinese Economist Society (CES) Annual Conference (2020)
Nanjing Agriculture University(NAU)-Zhongshan International Forum (2020)
Camphor Economist Circle Workshop (2020)
Outreach:
2021 AAEA Extension Graduate Student Competition Finalist
Summer School:
2019 Berkeley/Sloan Summer School in Environmental and Energy Economics
Research Assistant:
2016 The Chinese University of Hong Kong (supervisor: Chih-Sheng Hsieh)
Western Regional Science Association Meeting (forthcoming) (2022)
Western Economic Association International (WEAI) Annual Conference (2021)
Association of Environmental and Resource Economists (AERE) (2021)
Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association (NAREA) (2021)
Agricultural and Applied Economic Association (AAEA) (2020)
Southern Economic Association (SEA) Annual Conference (2020)
Chinese Economist Society (CES) Annual Conference (2020)
Nanjing Agriculture University(NAU)-Zhongshan International Forum (2020)
Camphor Economist Circle Workshop (2020)
Outreach:
2021 AAEA Extension Graduate Student Competition Finalist
Summer School:
2019 Berkeley/Sloan Summer School in Environmental and Energy Economics
Research Assistant:
2016 The Chinese University of Hong Kong (supervisor: Chih-Sheng Hsieh)