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 studies have looked at the effect of a history of fishing on modern cultural differences. Using original survey data collected from a natural test case in Japan and on a global scale, we find that traditional marine fishing can explain large-scale differences in human behavior and psychology.

*Replication codes and data were deposited in the Open Science Framework on November 18, 2024. One-page Poster.

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

It's been shown that intergroup bias can facilitate the provision of public goods. This project reverses the causal arrow and proposes that the provision of excludable public goods plays a role in shaping intergroup bias.

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

An Huang, Paulo Santos, and Russell Smyth. 2024. Submitted

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. 2024. R&R, Health Economics

Following an intervention aimed at improving sanitation coverage, many households stopped boiling water before drinking. This is because water boiling in developing countries is associated with hassle. When people perceive the community water as cleaner with better village sanitation, their perceived necessity of boiling drinking water is reduced.