Yu-Hsin (Bobby) Ho
何雨忻
Yu-Hsin Ho is an incoming PhD student in Economics at Harvard University. He is interested in International Trade, Spatial Economics, and Political Economy.
Working Papers
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Zoning: Externalities or Misallocation?
2026
with Chang-Tai Hsieh, Wen-Tai Hsu, and Yu-Jhih Luo
Abstract
We study how residential-commercial zoning affects the allocation of urban space. Using property-level data from Taipei and 34 U.S. metropolitan areas, we infer neighborhood-level zoning wedges from the allocation of residents, workers, and floor space. We find substantially greater dispersion in these wedges in U.S. cities than in Taipei, where mixed-use development is pervasive. The inferred wedges increase neighborhood specialization and reduce welfare. We then evaluate whether zoning is aligned with the neighborhood characteristics that would justify intervention. Although zoning is systematically related to comparative advantage, comparative advantage explains only a small fraction of the variation in zoning. The dominant effect of zoning in American cities is therefore not to promote efficient land use, but to increase the segregation of residential and commercial activity across neighborhoods.
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Closing the Gender Gap in Willingness to Contribute Ideas: A Lean-in Intervention
2024
with Josie I Chen
Abstract
Individuals contribute fewer ideas when questions conflict with gender stereotypes, generating gender gaps in idea contributions and hurting group performance. We develop two “lean-in” interventions aimed at bridging such gender gap and mitigating its adverse effects on group dynamics. These interventions give precedence to either men’s or women’s ideas while allowing participants to opt out costlessly to effectively neutralize the preferential treatment. In a pre-registered lab experiment, we find that these interventions successfully foster idea contributions, especially for men in female-typed questions, without compromising group performance. Additionally, men do not attempt to block the preferentially treated women, and women shy away further when men are favored. Due to the interventions, individuals benefit from higher-quality insights and get recognized in counterstereotypical fields. We find no evidence of backlash against those favored by the preferential treatment.
Manuscript available upon request
Publications
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The Impact of Female Political Leadership on Gender Attitudes: Evidence from Taiwan's Local Councils
2025, Journal of Development Economics
with Yen-Chien Chen, Elliott Fan, Matthew Yi-Hsiu Lee, and Jin-Tan Liu
Abstract
Despite the shared Confucian culture and economic development trajectories, women in Taiwan currently enjoy a much greater socio-economic status than their counterparts in South Korea and Japan. This study investigates a potential factor contributing to this striking difference: the reserved seats for women in Taiwan’s local councils. The quota assignment rule creates a ‘zigzag’ proportional function of female councilors, providing a unique estimation opportunity. We find that exposure to female political leadership decreases the likelihood of mothers with two daughters opting for a third child, whereas no such an effect is observed among mothers with two children of other sex compositions, indicating attenuation in son preference. Additionally, we find that the gender quota encourages married women to take on a more active role in household decisions, and motivates female students to pursue a college major in law and political science, fields conducive to political involvement. These gender-specific effects lend support to the hypothesis that female political leaders serve as role models, enticing more egalitarian gender attitudes among women.