Intermediaries play an important role in markets with asymmetric information by reducing the search friction and uncertainty for buyers and sellers. However, when a conflict of interest arises, agents may not fully act on behalf of their clients. Using a unique dataset of both housing resale...

How does an epidemic affect individuals' expectations on economic prospects? Do people care more about containing the disease or sustaining normal economic activities during the epidemic? We implement an incentivized longitudinal online survey on economic expectations with randomized controlled...

In this paper, we investigate the determinants of household asset portfolios during the COVID-19 outbreak in China. Using an online longitudinal survey and focusing on a broad spectrum of assets, including stocks, gold, wealth management products, and houses, we show that more confirmed COVID-19...

In this study, we exploit a policy shock that differentially increased capital gains taxes for housing units with holding period less than 5 years, and document tax avoidance and tax evasion in the residential resale market in China. We show suggestive evidence that after the capital gains tax...

The topic of air pollution has drawn considerable attention globally. In this paper, we examine the immediate effect of air pollution on a substantial decision, that is, a housing purchase. By linking housing purchasing behavior with the air quality in Beijing, we document market participants'...

There are widespread concerns that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic leads to negative attitudes or even stigmatization, especially towards peoples and products from the epicenters. We study the effects of information treatments on partially mitigating the negative impacts such as stigmatization on...