University of Pittsburgh
Hello, welcome to Zhiwen's website!
Zhiwen is a PhD candidate at Department of Economics, University of Pittsburgh.
He received a Master by Research in Management at National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School, a Master in Quantitative Finance at Dept. of Math, NUS, and a Bachelor in Economics at Xi'an Jiaotong U.
Research interests:
Economic History, Development Economics,
Political Economics, Health Economics
Email: wangecon@outlook.com
Research Highlights
Nutrition, Labor Supply, and Productivity:
Evidence from Ramadan in Indonesia
Working Hours
(Fasting Worker v.s. Non-Fasting Worker)
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Fasting salespersons work 35 minutes less during a fasting day, relative to their non-fasting colleagues.
Sales Amount
(US$, Fasting Worker v.s. Non-Fasting Worker)
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The productivity of fasting salespersons declined by 30% during 2 hours before sunset.
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Their productivity recovers immediately after sunset, when they can eat.
The Effects of Alcohol Consumption on Health, Crimes, and Socio-economic Outcomes:
Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Finland
Part A. The policy: the deregulation in travelers’ alcohol import in Finland
In 1995, the Finnish government increased the quota on travelers’ tax-free alcohol import. Further, they abolished the duration requirement that a trip much last for more than 24 hours to bring in tax-free alcohol.
Part B. Significant impacts on travelers' alcohol import and alcohol consumption.
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Plot a, the number of travelers crossing Finnish border with Estonia and Russia (where the alcohol price is less than 1/10 of that in Finland) increased by 84% (3.6 million).
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Plot b, the travelers’ alcohol import increased by 194%, driving a 12% increase in total alcohol consumption per capita in Finland.
Part C. Significant impacts on Health, Crimes, and Socio-economic Outcomes in Closer Area
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Panel a, the increased availability of tax-free alcohol in Finish municipalities closer to the border crossings (less than 2-hour travel time v.s. more than 5-hour travel time) increased the prevalence of epilepsy and asthma significantly by 3.1% and 2.9%, but it decreased coronary heart disease by 4.4%.
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Panel b, alcohol consumption has detrimental effects on economy (employment dropped by 2.3%), human capital (vocational education decreased by 0.8%), and social capital (voter turnout went down by 5.4%).
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Panel c, alcohol consumption endangers personal security (assault and manslaughter surged by 28% and 17%) and property security (aggravated property damage rose by 53%).