Publications
Working Papers & Manuscripts
My research focuses on applied microeconomics, with interests in environmental and labour economics, migration, and the links between pollution, health, and socioeconomic outcomes. I use large-scale microdata, spatially matched environmental indicators, and causal inference techniques.
I currently have Five Papers & Manuscripts in progress. Titles and brief summaries are below.
Host Country Language and School Integration of Immigrant Students
With Michael Vlassopoulos and Jackie Wahba — RF Berlin Discussion Paper
Language proficiency is a key determinant of immigrant integration. This paper examines the causal impact of host-country language proficiency (proxied by reading test scores) on school integration and bullying among first-generation immigrant students across 16 OECD destination countries, using data from the 2015, 2018, and 2022 waves of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). We employ an instrumental variable strategy exploiting exogenous variation in exposure to the host-country language, measured through the interaction of immigrants’ age at arrival and the linguistic distance between their mother tongue and the host-country language. We find that a one-standard-deviation increase in reading proficiency raises a standardized index of school integration by about 0.56 standard deviations, and reduces a standardized bullying index by about 0.59 standard deviations. The protective effect against bullying is stronger for boys, whereas integration gains are more similar across genders. We also find positive effects on academic achievement and grade progression, and links to more ambitious expectations, better teacher relations, and a stronger non-cognitive profile that plausibly explains the integration effects. These results suggest the importance of language proficiency as an input into the joint production of cognitive and psychosocial outcomes for immigrant youth.
Breathing Easy, Retiring Early? Effects of Air Pollution on Retirement Age Expectations: Evidence from China
Job Market Paper
This paper examines how air pollution affects forward-looking labour supply decisions using longitudinal survey data linked with satellite-based PM2.5. The findings show that higher pollution is associated with earlier expected retirement, especially among rural workers, women, and individuals in physically demanding jobs. Health insurance coverage, financial security and local environmental infrastructure contribute to heterogeneous responses.
Green Remittances: How Migration Shapes Green Behaviours in Rural China
Manuscript in preparation
This paper studies how migration influences environmental behaviour within households. Current migration may weaken daily green practices due to household separation, while return migration improves recycling and waste sorting through the transmission of norms acquired in urban areas. Social capital and green infrastructure amplify these effects.
The Role of Air Pollution in Migration Decisions: Evidence from China
Manuscript in preparation
Using bidirectional urban migration flows and plausibly exogenous variation in pollution, this study shows that households respond to environmental risks when choosing destinations. Cleaner cities attract more migrants, particularly where social services and environmental regulation are stronger, indicating that environmental quality is an emerging driver of internal migration in developing economies.
When the Air Gets Dirty: Recruitment Responses in China’s Listed Companies
With Dingzhi Chen and Hanlei Huang — Manuscript in preparation
Using millions of online job postings matched with city-level environmental data, this paper examines how firms adjust recruitment strategies under worsening pollution. Firms reduce advertised wages for higher-skilled positions and increase recruitment of non-managerial roles, consistent with shifting labour demand and adaptation costs under environmental stress.
If you are interested in full drafts or working paper versions, please feel free to request them by email: Y.Qin@soton.ac.uk.