Profile

My primary research interests are in public economics, development economics, and political economy. I study how people (leaders), technology (algorithms), and capital (fiscal capacity) shape government service provision and influence local infrastructure and economic development in both developed and developing economies.

Education

• Ph.D. in Economics, University of California, San Diego, 2023
• M.A. in Economics, National Taiwan University, 2017
• B.A. in Economics, National Taiwan University, 2013

Previous Appointments and Affiliations

Post-doctoral Fellow, New Zealand Policy Research Institute, Auckland University of Technology, 2023-2026

Research Interests

Public Economics, Development Economics, Political Economy
I focus on three topics:

• The importance of leaders in local public goods provision (in the context of U.S. policing)
• The role of algorithms in social service targeting (in Indonesia and Taiwan)
• Local public finance in middle-and low-income countries (in the context of local taxation, subsidy provision, and intergovernmental transfer in Indonesia)

Selected Awards and Grants

• TA Excellence Award. 2019, 2021. University of California - San Diego.
• Government Scholarship to Study Abroad. 2021. The Ministry of Education, Taiwan.
• Emerging Researcher Award. 2025. interRAI New Zealand

Selected Publication and Working Papers

• Curriculum and National Identity: Evidence from the 1997 Curriculum Reform in Taiwan. Joint with Ming-Jen Lin and Tzu-Ting Yang. Journal of Development Economics, 2023
• Political Party Affiliation of Leaders and Traffic Stop Policing: Evidence from North Carolina 
• Political Party Affiliation of Leaders and Personnel Composition: Evidence from North Carolina. Joint with Samuel Krumholz (Draft available upon request)

Teaching