Research in Progress

No paper, only titles, but you can think that I am working on something

1. Zhang, B. Evaluating the Effects of Value-Based Insurance Design.

   @idea{ZhangVBID,
     author = {Zhang, Bocheng},
     title = {Evaluating the Effects of Value-Based Insurance Design}
   }
   

2. Zhang, B. The Buffering Role of Paid Leave on the Disutility of Parenthood.

   @idea{ZhangHappy,
     author = {Zhang, Bocheng},
     title = {The Buffering Role of Paid Leave on the Disutility of Parenthood}
   }
   

Papers exist but not done yet

1. Zhang, B. How does Language Assimilation Affect School Participation?
   BIB ABSTRACT

   @unpublished{ZhangLanguageonSchool,
     author = {Zhang, Bocheng},
     title = {How does Language Assimilation Affect School Participation?}
   }
   

   I study the causal effect of language assimilation or English literacy on school attendance/enrollment among first- and second-generation immigrant children between ages 10 and 16 from six large language groups using the historical 1910 census data retrieved from IPUMS. Using an instrumental variable approach, it was documented that speaking English significantly increased the probability of school attendance, and the IV estimates are higher than the OLS estimates in most groups. In addition, among all immigrant groups, English literacy as a determinant for school attendance was relative stronger for immigrant children in the Spanish language group. The relationships between English acquisition and the broad demographic context are also examined.

2. Zhang, B., Norman, L., Ellsworth, M., Olsen, P., Ou, I., & Roberts, E. Words on the Street: How Family and Community Factors Influence Youth Language Choice.
   BIB ABSTRACT

   @unpublished{ZhangLanguage,
     author = {Zhang, Bocheng and Norman, Lillian and Ellsworth, Mason and Olsen, Paige and Ou, Isabella and Roberts, Evan},
     title = {Words on the Street: How Family and Community Factors Influence Youth Language Choice}
   }
   

   The adoption of a new language by immigrants is an important mechanism for social and economic integration into a dominant existing community, yet communities of linguistic minorities can persist for many years. A key mechanism in the persistence or decline of language use is the extent to which immigrant children speak the host country language. Prior work has measured the context of children’s language use at the household and municipal levels. We use complete 1910 American census data to measure the local area context of children’s language communities: what languages do adults and children in neighboring households speak? Examining children with German, Yiddish, Polish, Italian, Spanish, or French-speaking parents, we find significant variation in the proximity of speakers of the home language: German and French immigrants were more likely to neighbor English speakers. Neighbors language use was robustly associated with immigrant children remaining fluent in their home language.

Published

1. Zhang, B. (2021). US-Singapore Free Trade Agreement and Trade in Pharmaceuticals. Minnesota Undergraduate Research & Academic Journal, 4(4). https://pubs.lib.umn.edu/index.php/muraj/article/view/3633
   URL BIB ABSTRACT

   @article{Zhang2021Pharmaceuticals,
     title = {US-Singapore Free Trade Agreement and Trade in Pharmaceuticals},
     author = {Zhang, Bocheng},
     year = {2021},
     journal = {Minnesota Undergraduate Research & Academic Journal},
     volume = {4},
     number = {4},
     url = {https://pubs.lib.umn.edu/index.php/muraj/article/view/3633}
   }
   

   As the first free trade agreement between the United States and its Asian trade partners, the US-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (USSFTA) that came into force in 2004 has played a critical role in the bilateral pharmaceutical trade between the US and Singapore. This paper investigates the effects of USSFTA on trade volume between the US and Singapore, domestic employment in the US pharmaceutical industry, and the price of US pharmaceutical goods. The paper also tests how well the estimates match classical and neoclassical trade theories. The effects on trade volume are estimated by Difference-in-Differences (DID) and Ordinary Least Square (OLS), and the effects on employment and price are estimated by OLS. USSFTA increased the US pharmaceutical imports from Singapore but did not meaningfully impact the exports. Although the USSFTA did not lead to a statistically significant reduction in pharmaceuticals’ price in the US, it is associated with higher employment in the US pharmaceutical industry. The estimates on trade volume, especially imports from Singapore, are consistent with the theory of comparative advantage, but the estimate of employment contradicts trade theories. The violation of trade theories implies that demand-side factors may be more important for the employment variable. This paper evaluated the effects of USSFTA on several important economic variables. Further research may be required to fix potential endogeneity threats and to present both the short-term and long-term effects.

2. Zhang, B. (2020). Malnutrition And Nutrition-Related Health Disparities in China. Proceedings of the 2020 3rd International Conference on Humanities Education and Social Sciences (ICHESS 2020), 26–32.
   DOI BIB ABSTRACT

   @article{Zhang2020Malnutrition,
     title = {Malnutrition And Nutrition-Related Health Disparities in China},
     author = {Zhang, Bocheng},
     year = {2020},
     booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2020 3rd International Conference on Humanities Education and Social Sciences (ICHESS 2020)},
     pages = {26-32},
     issn = {2352-5398},
     isbn = {978-94-6239-301-1},
     doi = {10.2991/assehr.k.201214.460},
     publisher = {Atlantis Press}
   }
   

   Does China have problems link to malnutrition? With explicit focuses on the Chinese population, this paper conducts a systematic review of malnutrition and nutrition-related health disparities in China. It was observed that there were remarkable reductions in malnutrition, but most reductions were related to undernutrition. Moreover, China is currently going through a nutrition transition and it is facing more forms of malnutrition than ever before. Undernutrition still sparks concern and overnutrition increases rapidly. In addition, it is the combination of social, economic, political, and environmental factors shaped nutrition-related health disparities among the Chinese population. Some groups, especially the rural poor, are extremely vulnerable. This paper indicates that while current health care and nutrition policies are creditable, they did not play their maximum efficacy. Current nutrition and health-related policies need to be improved and adjusted to reduce malnutrition and to promote equity in nutrition and health. Specifically, controlling the costs of health care, reducing relative poverty, promoting lifestyle education, loosening or abandoning the Hukou system, strictly supervising the implementation of National Nutrition Plan (2017–2030) at local level, and strengthening the vertical coherence within the nutritional governance system should be taken into consideration.