Lin Yang (杨琳)
Hello! I am an Assistant Professor of Urban Governance and Design at the Society Hub of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou). I received my Ph.D. in Applied Economics and Management from Cornell University.
My research focuses on environmental and urban challenges in China using high-resolution and high-frequency data.
I lead the City Environment and Climate Economics Lab (The CECE Lab). Click here to see my team and follow our WeChat official account：城市环境与气候经济学
I can be contacted at yangl@ust.hk .
Please download my CV here.
Research
Publications
- Environmental benefits of renewable energy: Evidence from coal mining-induced deforestation and air pollution emissions
(With Wenjie Luo) Journal of Environmental Economics and Management , 2026, Forthcoming.
- The Global Diffusion of Electric Vehicles: The First Decade in Review
(With Shanjun Li, Ha Pham and Yuerong Wang) Review of Environmental Economics and Policy , 2026, Forthcoming.
- Achieving Air Pollution Control Targets with Technology-aided Monitoring: Better Enforcement or Localized Efforts?
(With Yatang Lin, Jin Wang, and Fangyuan Peng) American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 2024, 16 (4): 280–315.
Media Coverage: VoxDev
- Does Subway Expansion Improve Air Quality?
(With Shanjun Li, Yanyan Liu, and Avralt-Od Purevjav) Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 2019, 96: 213-235
- Transportation and the Environment in Developing Countries.
(With Shanjun Li, Jianwei Xing, and Fan Zhang) Annual Review of Resource Economics, 2020, 12: 389-409
- The Impact of Air Pollution on Outpatient Medical Service Utilization and Medical Expenditure in a Clean City.
(With Xiaoting Zheng and Yumeng Liu) Social Science and Medicine, 2023, 338, 116301
Work in Progress
- Powering Gender Equality: Electrification and Women Empowerment in the Renewable Energy Transition of the Global South.
(with Ye Lyu, Under Review)
- Pollution in the Administrative Calculus: Land Use, Environmental Quality, and Local Governance.
(with Deyu Rao, Zuyu Chen, and Mengwei Lin)
- Passenger Travel Costs and the Spatial Organization of Economic Activity.
(with Zuyu Chen, Deyu Rao, Wen Wang, and Yatang Lin)
- The Feasible Cost of Carbon: Evidence from Economic Stimulus.
(with Xiangmeng Liu, Jianwei Xing, and Eric Zou)
- Feeling the Heat: How CEO Climate Imprinting Drives Corporate Green Innovation.
(with Qianping Ren and Qingxiu Zhan)
- Efficiency through Targeting: Evidence from an Energy-saving Program in China.
(with Wenjie Luo and Binglin Wang)
- Passenger Travel Costs and the Spatial Organization of Economic Activity.
(with Zuyu Chen, Deyu Rao, Wen Wang, and Yatang Lin)
- Distributional Environmental Justice of Air Pollution Monitoring Network in Beijing, China.
(with Ye Lyu, Under Review)
- Climate-induced Citizen Noncompliance Undermines State Capacity in Africa.
(with Ye Lyu)
- Evaluating the Impacts of Climate Shocks on Power Outages Through Energy Transition.
(with Yatang Lin and Xuan Zhu)
Book Chapters
- The rise of electric vehicles in China: Growth, challenges and future prospects
(With Shanjun Li, Ha Pham and Yuerong Wang) The Great Energy Transformation in China, China Update Series, ANU Press, 2025
Teaching
Economics Analysis of Cities and the Environment (Graduate, Fall 2021 - 2024)
Empirical Strategy for Urban Research (Graduate,Spring 2023)
Principles of Microeconomics (Undergraduate,Spring 2022)
Post-Doc/PhD/RA Recruitment
Ideal candidates should be trained in economics or related fields with strong analytical skills.
Students proficient in R, Stata, ArcGIS, Python, machine learning, and experience with spatial remote sensing data will be given priorities.
Please email me your CV and a two-page research proposal if you are interested: yangl@ust.hk.
Proposal requirements:
For Post-Doc applications, please also send me your Job Market Paper.