Assistant Professor of Economics
National School of Development & ISSCAD, Peking University
Email: hyxu@nsd.pku.edu.cn
Personal website: https://sites.google.com/umich.edu/huayu
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Development Economics, Personnel Economics
EDUCATION BACKGROUND
Ph.D. in Economics, University of Michigan, 2020
M.A. in Economics, Renmin University of China, 2013
B.A. in Economics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 2010
COURSES TAUGHT
Intermediate Microeconomics (undergraduate), Public Policy: Micro Analysis (MPA), Development Economics (PhD)
RESEARCH PAPERS
"The Long-Term Health and Economic Consequences of Improved Property Rights." Journal of Public Economics, 2021.
"Hostel Takeover: Living Conditions, Reference Dependence, and the Well-being of Migrant Workers," with Ach Adhvaryu and Anant Nyshadham. Journal of Public Economics, 2023.
"The Human Capital Effects of Access to Elite Jobs," with Ach Adhvaryu. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 2024.
"Land Reform and Health Endowments at Birth," with Yawen Ding and Xiaobing Wang. Journal of Comparative Economics, 2025.
"The Power of Children in Energy Conservation: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial," with Yuan Wang, Xiaoguang Xu, and Yongmei Zhou. Journal of Development Economics, 2025.
"The Agricultural and Economic Impacts of Massive Water Diversion," with Guangbo Huang, Chong Liu, Tianyang Xi, and Wei You. Journal of Development Economics, 2025.
"Social Learning, Agricultural Extension, and Fertilizer Application in Nepal," with Diwas Raj Bista and Zhenle Duan. China Economic Journal, 2026.
"The Socioeconomic Impacts of Industrial Parks in Ethiopia," with Guangbo Huang and Min Wang. Journal of Urban Economics, 2026.
"Managerial Attention, Employee Attrition, and Productivity: Evidence from a Field Experiment," with Hugh Wu and Shannon Liu. R&R.
"Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives and Employee Performance: Evidence from a Field Experiment," with Hugh Wu and Seth Carnahan. R&R.
"Sanitation and Human Capital Accumulation: Long-Run Impacts of a Nationwide Campaign in China," with Yinhe Liang, Xiaobo Peng, and Jiawei Zhang. R&R.
"The Impact of the #MeToo Movement on Customer-Facing Employees: A Randomized Controlled Trial," with Hugh Wu and Adina Sterling. Working Paper.
"Upgrading Informal Providers at Scale: Evidence from China’s New Midwifery Campaign," with Ach Adhvaryu, Yawen Ding, and Qiong Zhang. Working Paper.
"In-group Preferences and Land Misallocation in China." Working Paper
"Mixed Economy and Foreign Patent Licensing: A Transport Innovation in Spatial Price Discrimination Model” (in Chinese), with Guangliang Ye and Yihao Chen. China Economic Quarterly, 2020.
"Flattening Reform of the State Tax Inspection System and Corporate Tax Compliance” (in Chinese), with Weili Pan, Xiaoyan Lei, and Siwei Chen. Economic Science, 2025.
Books and Edited Volumes
Conflict and Development: A Study of the Politics, Economy, and Society of Ethiopia. Beijing: Xinhua Publishing House, 2025. (Contributing author)
"Development and Cooperation in the Global South" Special Issue, China Economic Journal, vol. 19, no. 1 (2026). (Guest Editor)
