Working Papers

Revising for Resubmisson

“Causal Effects of Schooling on Memory at Older Ages in Six Low-and-Middle-Income Countries: Nonparametric Evidence with Harmonized Datasets” (with Vikesh Amin, Jere Behrman, Hans-Peter Kohler, Iliana Kohler, Alfonso Flores-Lagunes, Carlos Flores, and Shana Stites) R&R at the Journal of Gerontology-B, November 2024.

“Longevity and In Utero Exposure to the Influenza Pandemics in the 19th Century” (with Won-tak Joo, Michal Engelman and Alberto Palloni). R&R at PNAS, November 2024.

“Prenatal Exposure to Racial Violence and Later Life Mortality: Evidence from Lynching.” (with Hoa Vu, Tiffany Green and Hamid Noghanibehambari), R&R at American Economic Review, July 2024.

Under Review

*with a student or postdoc coauthor 

“Long-Term Impacts of Childhood Disease Exposure on Longevity: Evidence from the 1916 Polio Epidemic” (with Hamid Noghanibehambari) November 2024.

“The Long Shadow of the Past: Early-Life Disease Environment and Later-Life Mortality” (with Hamid Noghanibehambari) IZA Discussion Paper, October 2024.

“Reimagining Gene-Environment Interaction Analysis for Human Complex Traits.” (with Jiacheng Miao, Gefei Song, Yixuan Wu, Jiaxin Hu, Yuchang Wu, Shubhashrita Basu, James S. Andrews, Katherine Schaumberg,  Lauren L. Schmitz, and Qiongshi Lu). R&R at Nature Human Behavior, August 2024.

“Intergenerational Health Benefits of Education: Evidence from the First Wave of Compulsory Schooling Laws.”(with Hamid Noghanibehambari and Vikesh Amin),  May 2024.

“Later Life Impacts of Delaying Childbirth on Maternal Health and Economic Wellbeing: Evidence from the UK Biobank.” (with Shubhashrita Basu and Lauren L. Schmitz), December 2023.

“Toxified to the Bone: Early-Life and Childhood Exposure to Lead and Men’s Old-Age Mortality” (with Hamid Noghanibehambari), Feb 2023.

“Estimating the Causal Effect of Television Viewing on Individual Social Capital: A Panel Analysis” (with Michael Lebenbaum), 2023 June.

“The Long Run Impacts of Court-Ordered Desegregation” (with Owen Thompson and Garrett Anstreicher). 2023, July.
NBER

“Generating polygenic risk scores in large biobanks through cross-validation.” (with Jie Song, Fengyi Zheng, Yuchang Wu, and Qiongshi Lu), 2022 Sept.

“Area-Level Infant Mortality Exposure in Early-Life and Later Life Stroke: The Role of Modifiable Risk Factors and Place of Birth” (with Michael Topping). 2022 Jul.

“Early-Life Income Shocks and Old-Age Mortality: Evidence from World War I Veterans’ Bonus” (with Hamid Noghanibehambari). 2022 Jul.

“Gamete Simulation Improves Polygenic Transmission Disequilibrium Analysis” (with Jiawen Chen, Jing You, Zijie Zhao, Zheng Ni, Kunling Huang, Yuchang Wu, and Qiongshi Lu). 2020 Oct.

“Causal Effects of Fertility on Life Course Outcomes Among Older Adults: Evidence from A Novel Genetic Instrumental Variable Approach” (with Boyan Zheng and Qiongshi Lu). 2020 Sep.

Current Working Papers

In-Utero Exposure to Abortion Legalization and Adult Disability and Mortality. (with Hamid Noghanibehambari and Hoa Vu), November 2024, SSRN Working Paper.

Early Life Disease and Later Life Mortality: Evidence From the Polio Vaccination. (with Hamid Noghanibehambari and Hoa Vu), November 2024, SSRN Working Paper.

Early Life Healthcare Access and Later-life Mortality: Evidence Using County Health Departments  (with Hamid Noghanibehambari), November 2024.

Blueprints of Maladies: Early Life Exposure to Malaria Eradication and Later-life Mortality. (with Hamid Noghanibehambari) October 2024.

A Blessing in Disguise: The Long-Term Effects of Childhood Exposure to the boll weevil on Old-Age Longevity. (with Hamid Noghanibehambari) September 2024.

Unhooking the Past: Early-life Exposure to Hookworm Eradication and Later-life Longevity.  (with Hamid Noghanibehambari) September 2024.

Internal Migration and Longevity. (With Jiaxin Shi) September 2024.

The Silk Road of Ashes: Exposure to NAFTA and Adult Mortality. (with Hamid Noghanibehambari) August 2024.

Citizenship and Immigrant Longevity: Evidence from U.S. Census-linked Social Security Administration Death Records (with Jiaxin Shi). July 2024

“Chilling Sunsets: Climate Distances and Later-Life Mortality of Immigrants” (with Hamid Noghanibehambari) January 2024.

“Mortality in the Long Shot: Lasting Legacies of Screening the “Birth of a Nation” (with Hamid Noghanibehambari) February 2024.

”Children Are Bridges to Heaven: The Effects of Fertility on Later-Life Mortality” (with Hamid Noghanibehambari) 2023 May.

“Walking with Feet Tied to the Past: Childhood Exposure to the 1918 Influenza Pandemic and Later-Life Mortality” (with Hamid Noghanibehambari), October 2023

“In Money, We Survive: The Effects of Social Security Retirement Income on Longevity” (with Hamid Noghanibehambari) 2023 March.

*”Genome-wide summary measures of genetic risk reveal treatment effect heterogeneity in a randomized control trial of smoking cessation” (with Lauren Schmitz, Qiongshi Lu, and Shubhashrita Basu), 2023 Feb.

“Passing as White: Racial Identity and Old-Age Longevity” (with Hamid Noghanibehambari), 2022 Dec.

*”Effects of Environments in Critical Periods on Later Life Cognition: Mediating Role of Education” (with Shiro Furuya). 2022 Jul.

“The Great Migration and white-black geographic inequalities in mortality in US states” (with Wei Xu). 2022 Jul.

*”Childhood Family Structure History on Adulthood Depression: The Role of Age and Genetic Sensitivity” (with Boyan Zheng and Qiongshi Lu). 2022.

“Understanding Sibling Correlations in Education: Molecular Genetics and Family Background” (with Bhash Mazumder, Qiongshi Lu, Jie Song). 2021.
IZA

“Religious Context and Genetic Influences on Adolescent Drinking” (with Joseph Clark and Qiongshi Lu). 2020 Nov.

“Estimating Causal Effects of Fertility on Life Course Outcomes: Evidence Using A Dyadic Genetic Instrumental Variable Approach” (with Boyan Zheng and Qiongshi Lu). 2020 Sep.
NBER

“Early Life Exposures, Gene-Environment Interactions, and Cognitive Decline in Old Age” (with Atheendar Venkataramani). 2018 May.

“Multigenerational Transmission of Child Quantity” (with Won-tak Joo). 2018 Apr.

“Trends and Spatial Patterns in Educational Mobility.” 2015 Aug.

Completed Working Papers

“Heterogeneity in Peer Effects of Obesity” (with Kiersten Strombotne, Kevin Konty, and Sophia Day). 2020 Aug. IZA Discussion Paper 2024: https://docs.iza.org/dp17292.pdf

“Associations between body mass index and telomere length at older ages: Evidence from polygenic risk scores, Mendelian randomization and within-twin designs (with Vikesh Amin, Yiqiang Zhan, Ida Karlsson, Nancy L Pedersen, Anna Dahl Aslan, Sara Hägg, Dan TA Eisenberg, David Rehkopf, and Qiongshi Lu). 2021 Jun.

“Mental Health, Schooling Attainment and Polygenic Scores: Are There Significant Gene-Environment Associations?” (with Vikesh Amin, Jere Behrman, Carlos A. Flores, Alfonso Flores-Lagunes, and Hans-Peter Kohler). 2020 Feb.
SocArXiv

“Associations of physical activity and air pollution with incident dementia: a population-based prospective cohort study” (with Wei Xu, Kristen Malecki, and Ozioma Okonkwo). 2022 Jul.

“Inter-state migration and mortality inequalities between U.S. states” (with Wei Xu and Michal Engelman). 2022 Jul.

“Adults Behaving Badly: The Effects of Own and Peer Parents’ Incarceration on Adolescent Criminal Activities.” 2017 May.
IZA Discussion Paper

*“Spousal Matching” (with Norma Padron). 2016 Dec.
IZA Discussion Paper

“Moving Contexts: The Impact of Changes in Neighborhood Characteristics on Mental and Physical Health” (with Julia Goodwin and Katherine Curtis). 2020 Mar.

*“Estimating Causal Effects between Number of Children and Older Parents’ Cognitive Function Using HRS Data and IV Approach.” (Boyan Zheng, Yan Zhang, and Jason Fletcher), 2023 Feb.
SocArXiv

“Leveraging Machine Learning to Estimate Effect Modification” (with Ang Yu, Hyunseung Kang, and Chan Park). 2021 Aug.
OSF

“Impacts of Access to Contraception and Abortion Services on Men’s Life Course Outcomes: Results of Add Health Analyses.” 2021 Jun.
SocArXiv 

“Differential Susceptibility to Peer Influences.” 2017 Mar.
SocArXiv

*“Pregnancies and Risky Outcomes” (with Sebastian Daza). 2016 Feb.

*“The Effects of Academic Probation on College Success” (with Mansur Tokmouline). 2016 Jan.
IZA Discussion Paper

“Estimating Physician ‘Value Added’ on Patient Outcomes” (with Betsy Bradley and Leora Horwitz). 2016 Jan.
Modern Healthcare
NBER

*“Sibling Spillover Effects for Developmental Disabilities and Externalizing Behavior” with Nicole Hair and Barbara Wolfe). 2015 Aug.
NBER

“Benefits from University Level Diversity?” (with Barbara Wolfe). 2014 Apr.
Discussion Paper
NBER
Daily Californian
The Economist

“Self Control and Health Outcomes” (with Nick Torseillo). 2014 Aug.

“Hierarchical Influences on the Diffusion of Health and Delinquency Behaviors in Adolescent Social Networks” (with Olga Yakusheva). 2013 Jun.

“Tobacco Use, Taxation, and Self Control in Adolescence” (with Jody Sindelar and Partha Deb). 2013 Apr.
NBER
The Economist Mention

“The ‘Bluest Eye’ and Pathways to Success: Eurocentric Standards of Beauty” (with Arthur GoldsmithDarrick Hamilton, and William Darity). 2012 Feb.

“The Effects of Early Occupation on Health” (with Jody Sindelar). 2011 Aug.
NBER

Uncovering the Pathways Linking Local Economic Conditions, Occupation, and Health” (with Shintaro Yamaguchi). 2010 Nov.

“Achievement Effects of the Inclusion of Students with Special Needs: Evidence from North Carolina” 2010 Feb.

“High School Course Content and College Choices” 2010 Feb.

“The Impact of First Occupation on Health at Older Ages” (with Jody Sindelar, Patricia KeenanWilliam Gallo, and Tracy Falba). 2009 Feb.
NBER