Working Papers

[4] Marine Fishing Explains Large-scale Behavioral and Psychological Differences in Japan and Worldwide (with Thomas Talhelm)

Within the fields of economics and psychology, few subsistence studies have looked at the effect of a history of fishing on modern cultural differences. Using our own survey data collected from a natural test case in Japan and on a global scale, this project shows that pre-modern marine fishing practices explain large-scale differences in human behavior and psychology.

[3] Exclusion and the Origin of Intergroup Bias (with Yan Chen)

It has been shown that intergroup preferences can facilitate the provision of public goods. This project reverses the causal arrow and argues that the provision of excludable public goods plays a role in shaping intergroup preferences. We empirically test this theory using data we collect from (i) a natural experiment in China; (ii) historical ethnic groups; (iii) contemporary nations; (iv) second-generation immigrants in European countries.

[2] Paddy and Prejudice: Evidence from China and 12 other Asian Societies 

An Huang, Paulo Santos, and Russell Smyth. 2023.

In China, people from rice-farming areas are less likely to oppose having diverse groups as neighbors in the World Values Survey. This relationship is mediated by greater exposure to grain markets, itself derived from paddy’s higher land productivity, likely reflecting the opportunities for interpersonal contact created by markets.

[1] Behavioral Adaptation to Improved Environmental Quality: Evidence from a Sanitation Intervention 

Lisa Cameron, An Huang, Paulo Santos, and Milan Thomas. 2023. Asian Development Bank Blog.

Following the conclusion of a field experiment aimed at improving sanitation coverage, a significant portion of households stopped boiling water before drinking. This is because water boiling in developing countries is associated with hassle and inconvenience. When people perceive the community water as cleaner with better village sanitation, their perceived necessity of boiling drinking water is reduced.