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Hello, welcome to Zhiwen's website!

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Zhiwen is a PhD student at Department of Economics, University of Pittsburgh. 

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He received a Master by Research in Management at National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School, a Master in Quantitative Finance at NUS, Dept. of Math, and a Bachelor in Economics at Xi'an Jiaotong U.

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Research interests:

Development Economics, Economic History,

Political Economics, Organizational Economics 

Email: wangecon@outlook.com

Research Highlights

Nutrition, Labor Supply, and Productivity:
Evidence from Ramadan in Indonesia
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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.

  • Their productivity recovers immediately after sunset, when they can eat.

Abstract & Manuscript
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).

  • 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%.

  • 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%).

  • Panel c, alcohol consumption endangers personal security (assault and manslaughter surged by 28% and 17%) and property security (aggravated property damage rose by 53%).

Abstract & Manuscript