Research Summary
I study the design of trust mechanisms and the economics of technology. My latest research focuses on designing quality certification and rating systems for digital platforms, and analyzing the economic and policy implications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and blockchain. I elaborate on my research streams below. (click to expand)
Working Papers
18. How Effective Are Reactivation Referral Programs? Evidence from A Major Social Media Platform with Meng Liu (WashU), Cheng Lu (WashU) and Dennis Zhang (WashU), R&R, Journal of Marketing Research
17. Learning from Online Ratings with Tobias Klein (Tilburg U) and Konrad Stahl (U Mannheim),
CEPR Discussion Paper 17006, CRC TR 224 Discussion Paper No. 267
CEPR Discussion Paper 17006, CRC TR 224 Discussion Paper No. 267
16. The Effect of Intellectual Protection Policies on Online Retail Platforms with Shuo Zhang (SJTU), Meng Liu (WashU), Tat Chan (WashU), Tianjun Feng (Fudan) and Fuqiang Zhang (WashU),
15. Quality Certificates Alleviate Consumer Aversion to Sponsored Search Advertising with Meng Liu (WashU) and Raphael Thomadsen (WashU), CESifo Working Paper No. 9886, R&R, Marketing Science
Peer-Reviewed Publications
14. Syndicated Equity Crowdfunding: How Do Investors Evaluate Experts and What Are the Consequences? with Christian Catalini (MIT), NBER working paper 24777, Accepted, Research Policy
13. Decentralization, Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence (AI): Challenges and Opportunities with Catherine Tucker (MIT), Accepted, Journal of Product Innovation Management
12. The Short-Term Effects of Generative Artificial Intelligence on Employment: Evidence from an Online Labor Market with Oren Reshef (WashU) and Luofeng Zhou (NYU), Organization Science, 2024
Media Coverage: Financial Times, The Economist, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Marginal Revolution, Causal Inference Blog, VoxEU, Medium
Media Coverage: Financial Times, The Economist, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Marginal Revolution, Causal Inference Blog, VoxEU, Medium
11. Designing Quality Certificates: Insights from eBay with Ginger Zhe Jin (Maryland) and Meng Liu (WashU),
NBER working paper 29674, [Online Appendix] , Journal of Marketing Research, 2025
NBER working paper 29674, [Online Appendix] , Journal of Marketing Research, 2025
10. Scaling Smart Contracts via Layer-2 Technologies: Some Empirical Evidence with Lin William Cong (Cornell), Catherine Tucker (MIT), Luofeng Zhou (Columbia) [Online Appendix] Management Science, 2023
Media Coverage: Duke Finreg blog
Media Coverage: Duke Finreg blog
9. Targeted Incentives, Broad Impacts: Evidence from A Large Digital Platform with Meng Liu (WashU) and Tat Chan (WashU), CESifo Working Paper No. 9894, Quantitative Marketing and Economics, 2023
8. From High Bar to Uneven Bars: The Impact of Information Granularity in Quality Certification with Zekun Liu (NYU) and Weiqing Zhang(NYU), Management Science, 2023
7. Raising the Bar: Certification Thresholds and Market Outcomes with Maryam Saeedi (CMU), Giancarlo Spagnolo (SITE) and Steve Tadelis (Berkeley) [Online Appendix] American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, 2023
Media Coverage: AEA Research Highlights
Media Coverage: AEA Research Highlights
6. The Value of Verified Employment Data for Consumer Lending: Evidence from Equifax with Tat Chan (WashU), Naser Hamdi (Equifax), and Zhenling Jiang (Penn), Marketing Science, 2022
5. The Geography of Ridesharing: A Case Study of New York City with Chungsang Lam (Clemson) and Meng Liu (WashU), Information Economics and Policy, 2021
4. Facilitating Inclusive Global Trade: Evidence from a Field Experiment Management Science, 2020
Media Coverage: World Bank blog
Media Coverage: World Bank blog
3. Does Machine Translation Affect International Trade? Evidence from A Large Digital Platform with Erik Brynjolfsson (MIT) and Meng Liu (Washington University) [Online Appendix] Management Science, 2019
Media Coverage: World Economic Forum, Brookings Institute, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, NBER Digest, VoxEu, Sloan News, Slator, Livemint, The Verge, Engadget, The Source, MarketWatch
Media Coverage: World Economic Forum, Brookings Institute, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, NBER Digest, VoxEu, Sloan News, Slator, Livemint, The Verge, Engadget, The Source, MarketWatch
2. Adverse Selection or Moral Hazard: An Empirical Study with Maryam Saeedi (CMU) and Neel Sundaresan (Microsoft),
Journal of Industrial Economics, 2019
Journal of Industrial Economics, 2019
1. Reputation & Regulation: Evidence from eBay with Maryam Saeedi (OSU), Zeqian Shen (eBay), and Neel Sundaresan (eBay), Management Science, 2016
Other Publications
Is Generative AI a Job Killer? Evidence from the Freelance Market with Oren Reshef (WashU), Brookings Institution, July, 2025.
Artificial Intelligence Can Transform the Economy--with Erik Brynjolfsson (MIT and NBER) and Meng Liu (WashU), Op-Ed, The Washington Post, September 2018.