This paper develops an analytical framework for ramp metering, under which various ramp control strategies can be viewed as ramifications of the same most-efficient control logic with different threshold values, control methods, and equity considerations. The most-efficient control logic only...

We estimate the impact of investment tax credit on firm fixed investment, using China's 2004 value-added tax reform pilot that introduces a permanent 17%-tax credit for fixed investment in six industries in the Northeastern region. The tax credit raises significantly fixed investment of eligible...

The HIV epidemic amongst men who have sex with men (MSM) in Bangkok is substantial. The population size of MSM in Bangkok is 120,000-250,000, with approximately one-third (33.5 percent) considered high-risk, characterized by their young age, multiple partnerships, frequent unprotected anal...

Policy debates about the balance of vocational and general education programs focus on the school-to-work transition. But with rapid technological change, gains in youth employment from vocational education may be offset by less adaptability and thus diminished employment later in life. To test...

Returns to education are traditionally estimated in a Mincer wage equation from the variation in schooling for a cross-section of individuals of different ages. Because individuals receive education at different time periods, when the quality of their education may not be identical, this method...

We study how lender-shareholder distance affects loan contract terms. We hypothesize that an increase in lender-shareholder distance aggravates the lender's information asymmetry vis-à-vis shareholders by making it difficult to observe shareholders' risk preferences and their influence on...

This paper estimates the return to an elite university education over a college graduate's career in contemporary China. We find a substantial premium for graduating from an elite Chinese university at the job entry that declines quickly in early career before starting to recover subsequently....

We identify a group of investors with a track-record of owning firms that undergo securities class action lawsuits. We hypothesize and find evidence that these investors are ineffective monitors of corporate management. Firms with a large proportion of these shareholders are at greater risk of...

We study the effect of corporate exposure to weather on bond yield spread. We construct three firm-level weather exposure measures and find that firms exposed to greater weather risk experience substantially higher yield spread on their bonds in the secondary and primary markets. Chanel tests...

This paper examines how college educational debt affects various post-baccalaureate decisions of bachelor's degree recipients. I employ the Baccalaureate and Beyond 93/97 survey data. Using college aid policies as instrumental variables to correct for the endogeneity of student college debt...