ZOE YANG 楊揚
Working Papers
1. "The Role of Agents in Fraudulent Activities: Evidence from the Housing Market in China" (with Sumit Agarwal , Weida Kuang, and Long Wang) (link) (Revise and Resubmit at Journal of Urban Economics)
Abstract:
This study examines the role that agents play in fraudulent activities in the housing market in China. Using a proprietary and representative sample of housing transactions in Beijing from 2014 to 2017, we investigate the magnitudes of the so-called Yin-Yang contracts and explore whether and how agents affect tax evasion. We find that agents can learn the monitoring distance of local tax authorities through their cumulative experience and can strategically register prices as close as possible to the internal guideline prices set by local authorities. At the same time, agents' involvement in tax evasion is significantly affected by the tax evasion behaviors of their peers. We also show that agents' work experience contribute to creating more tax evasions in the presence of loosening financial constraints, and vice versa. Our results suggest that agents' expertise becomes more important for buyers who face a trade-off between registering higher prices to borrow more from the bank and registering lower prices to evade taxes.
- Presented at ASSA/AREUEA 2020 (AREUEA) in San Diego, CA, US
- Presented at the 2019 Asia Meeting of the Econometric Society in Xiamen, China
- Presented at the 2019 China Meeting of the Econometric Society in Guangzhou, China
- Presented at the 2019 AREUEA-International Conference in Milan, Italy
- Presented at the 2019 AsRESConference in Shenzhen, China
2. “Housing Shock and Online Consumption Behavior: Evidence from Xiong'an New Area in China”, NBER Working Paper No. 30465 (with Hanming Fang and Long Wang ) (link)
Abstract:
This study provides new evidence on the causal effects of housing price appreciation on consumer behavior. We use a proprietary dataset of individual-level online consumption provided by the largest e-commerce company in China to measure various types of consumer behavior. In order to overcome the empirical challenge of the non-random housing wealth changes, this study utilizes a unique institutional setting in China, the announcement of the newest national-level special economic zone, namely the Xiong'an New Area, as an exogenous shock to the housing price. The study focuses on three areas of interest. First, we examine how exogenous and unanticipated housing wealth shocks impact households' online consumer behavior. Second, we study the dynamic change of online consumer behavior before and after the housing shock, and determine whether the behavioral responses persist in the long run. Third, we explore the underlying mechanisms through which the housing shock affects consumer behavior. In particular, we attempt to disentangle the collateral effects from the wealth effects and the rent effects.
-Presented at AREUEA International 2021 Virtual Conference
-Presented at ABFER 2021 Virtual Conference
-Presented at ASSA/AEAUEA 2021 Virtual Conference
- Presented at School of Economics, Nankai University
3. "Information Provision and Labor Efficiency: Evidence from Taxis in Singapore”, (with Sumit Agarwal, Shin-fen Cheng, Jussi Keppo, and Long Wang), (link), (Revise and Resubmit at Review of Economics and Statistics)
Abstract:
This study examines the causal impact of real-time information provision on labor efficiency. Using approximately 257 million taxi trip records and extensive GPS trace data, we demonstrate that providing real-time demand information at airport terminals to airport-bound taxis enhances labor efficiency, corrects taxi supply misallocation, and benefits passengers and drivers. Specifically, information provision leads to a 16.3% increase in waiting speed and a 10.77% decrease in waiting time, significantly raising daily earnings and extending operational hours. These improvements contribute to a substantial annual reduction of USD $4 million in fuel consumption and 5,463 metric tons in CO2 and other pollutants.
4. "The Response of Online Consumer Spending to Air Pollution: Evidence from a Quasi-experiment in China" (with Sumit Agarwal and Long Wang)
Abstract:
To examine how sustained air pollution affects various categories of online consumption, this study uses a proprietary panel dataset consisting of 41,955,507 observations between 2017 and 2019 obtained from the largest e-commerce company in China. We address the endogeneity of air pollution in affecting household consumption by exploiting plausibly exogenous variations in air quality caused by China's Huai River policy. Our difference-in-differences estimations show that the heating season causes a 7% increase in health-related consumption, a 7.7% increase in consumption of necessities, and a 3.6% decrease in consumption of non-essential goods at the Seller-BuyerCity-Month level. We then show that the estimated causal effects are substantially larger when we aggregate the data to the BuyerCity-Year level under a two-stage least square regression discontinuity design. Moreover, utilizing two sets of online keyword search indices on "air pollution" and "mood", we show that avoidance behavior and negative mood jointly provide potential mechanisms.
5. “Energy Saving and Price Premium of Green Buildings: Evidence from Singapore” (link)
Abstract:
This paper empirically examines energy savings and price premiums of residential buildings with the “Green Mark” (GM) certification. First, we do not find significant differences in energy consumption between GM-certified buildings and non-GM-certified buildings using a panel of electricity consumption data for a large sample of residential buildings in Singapore. Second, we find a significant Green Mark premium of 1.6% in terms of the housing transaction price. Third, the price premium associated with the labeling could be explained by the green labels' positive image rather than the energy savings. Moreover, the potential omitted variable bias and reverse causality issues between energy consumption and housing prices are addressed using an instrumental variable approach.
- Presented at the 2019 Furture City Forum, Hangzhou, China
-Presented at the 2017 AsRES/GCREC Conference in Taiwan, China
Abstract:
This study examines the role that agents play in fraudulent activities in the housing market in China. Using a proprietary and representative sample of housing transactions in Beijing from 2014 to 2017, we investigate the magnitudes of the so-called Yin-Yang contracts and explore whether and how agents affect tax evasion. We find that agents can learn the monitoring distance of local tax authorities through their cumulative experience and can strategically register prices as close as possible to the internal guideline prices set by local authorities. At the same time, agents' involvement in tax evasion is significantly affected by the tax evasion behaviors of their peers. We also show that agents' work experience contribute to creating more tax evasions in the presence of loosening financial constraints, and vice versa. Our results suggest that agents' expertise becomes more important for buyers who face a trade-off between registering higher prices to borrow more from the bank and registering lower prices to evade taxes.
- Presented at ASSA/AREUEA 2020 (AREUEA) in San Diego, CA, US
- Presented at the 2019 Asia Meeting of the Econometric Society in Xiamen, China
- Presented at the 2019 China Meeting of the Econometric Society in Guangzhou, China
- Presented at the 2019 AREUEA-International Conference in Milan, Italy
- Presented at the 2019 AsRESConference in Shenzhen, China
2. “Housing Shock and Online Consumption Behavior: Evidence from Xiong'an New Area in China”, NBER Working Paper No. 30465 (with Hanming Fang and Long Wang ) (link)
Abstract:
This study provides new evidence on the causal effects of housing price appreciation on consumer behavior. We use a proprietary dataset of individual-level online consumption provided by the largest e-commerce company in China to measure various types of consumer behavior. In order to overcome the empirical challenge of the non-random housing wealth changes, this study utilizes a unique institutional setting in China, the announcement of the newest national-level special economic zone, namely the Xiong'an New Area, as an exogenous shock to the housing price. The study focuses on three areas of interest. First, we examine how exogenous and unanticipated housing wealth shocks impact households' online consumer behavior. Second, we study the dynamic change of online consumer behavior before and after the housing shock, and determine whether the behavioral responses persist in the long run. Third, we explore the underlying mechanisms through which the housing shock affects consumer behavior. In particular, we attempt to disentangle the collateral effects from the wealth effects and the rent effects.
-Presented at AREUEA International 2021 Virtual Conference
-Presented at ABFER 2021 Virtual Conference
-Presented at ASSA/AEAUEA 2021 Virtual Conference
- Presented at School of Economics, Nankai University
3. "Information Provision and Labor Efficiency: Evidence from Taxis in Singapore”, (with Sumit Agarwal, Shin-fen Cheng, Jussi Keppo, and Long Wang), (link), (Revise and Resubmit at Review of Economics and Statistics)
Abstract:
This study examines the causal impact of real-time information provision on labor efficiency. Using approximately 257 million taxi trip records and extensive GPS trace data, we demonstrate that providing real-time demand information at airport terminals to airport-bound taxis enhances labor efficiency, corrects taxi supply misallocation, and benefits passengers and drivers. Specifically, information provision leads to a 16.3% increase in waiting speed and a 10.77% decrease in waiting time, significantly raising daily earnings and extending operational hours. These improvements contribute to a substantial annual reduction of USD $4 million in fuel consumption and 5,463 metric tons in CO2 and other pollutants.
4. "The Response of Online Consumer Spending to Air Pollution: Evidence from a Quasi-experiment in China" (with Sumit Agarwal and Long Wang)
Abstract:
To examine how sustained air pollution affects various categories of online consumption, this study uses a proprietary panel dataset consisting of 41,955,507 observations between 2017 and 2019 obtained from the largest e-commerce company in China. We address the endogeneity of air pollution in affecting household consumption by exploiting plausibly exogenous variations in air quality caused by China's Huai River policy. Our difference-in-differences estimations show that the heating season causes a 7% increase in health-related consumption, a 7.7% increase in consumption of necessities, and a 3.6% decrease in consumption of non-essential goods at the Seller-BuyerCity-Month level. We then show that the estimated causal effects are substantially larger when we aggregate the data to the BuyerCity-Year level under a two-stage least square regression discontinuity design. Moreover, utilizing two sets of online keyword search indices on "air pollution" and "mood", we show that avoidance behavior and negative mood jointly provide potential mechanisms.
5. “Energy Saving and Price Premium of Green Buildings: Evidence from Singapore” (link)
Abstract:
This paper empirically examines energy savings and price premiums of residential buildings with the “Green Mark” (GM) certification. First, we do not find significant differences in energy consumption between GM-certified buildings and non-GM-certified buildings using a panel of electricity consumption data for a large sample of residential buildings in Singapore. Second, we find a significant Green Mark premium of 1.6% in terms of the housing transaction price. Third, the price premium associated with the labeling could be explained by the green labels' positive image rather than the energy savings. Moreover, the potential omitted variable bias and reverse causality issues between energy consumption and housing prices are addressed using an instrumental variable approach.
- Presented at the 2019 Furture City Forum, Hangzhou, China
-Presented at the 2017 AsRES/GCREC Conference in Taiwan, China