Research

Publications

[17] "Private and Public Appeals in Promoting Impure Public Goods: Evidence from a Field Experiment with Farmers." Ecological Economics 247 (2026): 109016. (with Tongzhe Li) 

Publisher’s Version (DOI) | Working Paper (SSRN)

[16] "Thinking against the Wind: Narratives, Information, and Reasoning Ability." European Economics Review 184 (2026): 105267. (with Shuguang Jiang and Qian Wei)

Publisher’s Version (DOI) | Working Paper (SSRN)

[15] "The Timing of Pricing: A Theory and Experiment on Freelance Co‐Creation." Managerial and Decision Economics 47.5 (2026): 1259-1279. (with Ying Yang)

Publisher’s Version (DOI) | Working Paper (SSRN)

[14] "Echo Chambers: Choosing Interlocutors and Messages." Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 236 (2025): 107121. (with Delong Meng)

Publisher’s Version (DOI) | Working Paper (SSRN)

[13] "Returns to Education: The Roles of Income, Gender, and Occupations." AEA Papers and Proceedings 115 (2025): 664-68. (with Hui Xu, Meng Shen, and Delong Meng)

 Publisher’s Version | Working Paper (SSRN)

[12] "From Adam Smith to Artificial Intelligence: An Experimental Exploration of Emotion in Humanomics." Public Choice  202.3 (2025): 383-399. (with Qin, Xiangdong, Mike Zhiren Wu, and Xuechun Feng)  

Publisher’s Version (DOI) | Working Paper (SSRN)

[11] "Is It What You Say or How You Say It?" Experimental Economics 27.4 (2024): 874-921. (with Qin, Xiangdong and Mike Zhiren Wu)

Publisher’s Version (DOI) | Working Paper (SSRN)

[10] "Impact of Open-Mindedness on Information Avoidance: Tailored Vs. Generic Communication.” Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics 108 (2024): 102152. (with Delong Meng)

Publisher’s Version (DOI) | Working Paper (SSRN)

[9] "Is the 'Smoke-filled Room' Necessary? An Experimental Study of the Effect of Communication Networks on Collusion." Southern Economic Journal 89.4 (2023): 1056-1077. (with Timothy Flannery)

Publisher’s Version (DOI) | Working Paper (SSRN)

[8] "The Impact of Parental Migration on Social Interaction - A Framed Field Experiment with Left-behind Children in China." Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 187 (2021): 246-257. (with Hui Xu)

Publisher’s Version (DOI) | Working Paper (SSRN)

[7] "The Aspirational Income Hypothesis: Limits of the Relative Income Hypothesis."  Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 182 (2021): 229-247. (with Elias Lafi Khalil, Jason Aimone, Daniel Houser, Deborah Martinez and Kun Qian)

Publisher’s Version (DOI) | Working Paper (SSRN)

[6] "Intention or Request: The Impact of Message Structure." Games 12.1 (2021): 12. (with Timothy Flannery)

 Publisher’s Version (Open Access) 

[5] "Collective Experimentation: A Laboratory Study." Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 175 (2020): 365-379. (with Freer, Mikhail, César Martinelli)

Publisher’s Version (DOI) | Working Paper (SSRN)

[4] "Demanding or Deferring? An Experimental Analysis of the Economic Value of Communication with Attitude.” Games and Economic Behavior 115 (2019): 381-395. (with Daniel Houser)

Publisher’s Version (DOI) | Working Paper (SSRN)

[3] "Embezzlement, Whistleblowing, and Organizational Architecture: An Experimental Investigation." Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 147 (2018): 58-75. (with Michael Makowsky)

Publisher’s Version (DOI) | Working Paper (SSRN)

[2] "The Effect of Digitalization on Penalty Payments: An Experimental Investigation." Journal of Neuroscience, Psychology and Economics 8.4 (2015): 250. (with Xiangdong Qin)

Publisher’s Version (DOI) | Working Paper (SSRN)

[1] "Using an Exogenous Mechanism to Examine Efficient Probabilistic Punishment." Journal of Economic Psychology 39 (2013):1-10. (with Xiangdong Qin)

Publisher’s Version (DOI) | Working Paper (SSRN)

Working Papers 

"Errors in the Pursuit of Justice: An Experimental Study of Type I and Type II Trade-offs " (with Stanton Hudja, Jason Ralston, Jason Aimone, Lucas Rentschler, and Charles North) Revise & Resubmit at Public Choice

"Incomplete Contracts with Optional Remedies: An Experimental Study" (with Zhiyong Liu) Revise & Resubmit at Economic Inquiry

"How Elections Reshape Beliefs: Cognitive and Social Dissonance in Political Preference Formation" (with Thomas Stratmann) 

"Climate Beliefs: Signaling and Accountability in the Field" (with Tongzhe Li) 

"Motivated Beliefs and the Dynamics of Perceived Returns to Education" (with Hui Xu, Meng Shen, and Delong Meng) 

"False Memory, Competition, and Performance" (with Timothy Flannery and Benjamin Beranek) 

"Identity, Climate Beliefs, and Behavioral Responses to Information: A Field Experiment" (with Tongzhe Li) 

"Beliefs about Returns to Education and Gender Inequality: Evidence from a Field Experiment in Rural China" (with Hui Xu) 

Research in Progress

"Should Birds of a Feather Learn Together? An Experimental Study on How Group Composition Affects Social Learning" (with Tingting Ding) - data collected; manuscript in preparation

"When Do (and Don’t) Information Nudges Work? Evidence from a Field Experiment on Public Safety" (with Lin Hao, Xueling Li, and Yacan Wang) - data collected; analysis in progress

"Motivated Belief and Perceptions of Gender Inequality in Workload" (with Xiaofei Pan) - experimental design in progress

"AI Expectations and Polarization” (with Abigail Zbiegien and Joe DiRienzo) - experimental design in progress

"Multidimensional Political Identity and Motivated Belief in State Capacity" (with Thomas Stratmann) - theory building in progress

"Competing Narratives: Theory and Experiments" (with Jian Song) - theory building in progress

Teaching 

Currently Offering

Behavioral Economics 

Introduction to Microeconomics 

Experimental Economics

Courses Offered in the Past

Business Statistics 

Behavioral Economics and Managerial Decisions 

Design and Analysis of Experimental Economics

Econometrics II

Exploring the World of Business

Intermediate Microeconomics

Industrial Behavioral Economics