Associate professor

School of Statistics

Beijing Normal University

19 Xinjiekouwai Street

Beijing, China 100875

E-mail: xin.zhang614@bnu.edu.cn

Education

Ph.D. in Economics, Peking University 2012-2017

Visiting Scholar, Yale University 2014-2015

B.A. in Economics with distinction, Nankai University 2008-2012

Work Experience

Associate Professor, Beijing Normal University, China 2020-Present

Assistant Professor, Beijing Normal University, China 2017-2020

Research Fields

Environmental Economics, Health Economics

Publications

In English

Shiwen Liu, Xin Zhang* (corresponding author) and Caiyi Zhao, 2025, “Happiness in the sky: The effect of sunshine exposure on subjective well-being”, Biodemography and Social Biology, 70(2): 1-15.

Jiaowei Gong, Xiangyu Shi, Chang Wang and Xin Zhang* (corresponding author), 2025, “Extreme high temperatures and adaptation by social dynamics: Theory and evidence from China”, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 234: 106989.

Caiyi Zhao, Xin Zhang* (corresponding author), Chao Ma and Wei Xu, 2025, “The impact of extreme high temperatures on ADRD hospitalization in Guangdong, China, 2017–2019”, Economics & Human Biology, 57: 101485.

Chih Ming Tan, Xiaobo Zhang and Xin Zhang* (corresponding author), 2025, “The long-run and intergenerational impact of early exposure to the Great Chinese Famine of 1959–61 on mental health”, Economics & Human Biology, 56: 101461.

Lyuxiu Li and Xin Zhang* (corresponding author), 2024, “The causal impact of fetal exposure to PM2.5 on birth outcomes: Evidence from rural China”, Economics & Human Biology, 53: 101380.

Lyuxiu Li, Chao Ma, Wei Xu and Xin Zhang* (corresponding author), 2024, “The impact of ozone pollution on stroke hospitalization”, China Economic Journal, 17(1): 97-115.

Xin Zhang, Xi Chen and Xiaobo Zhang, 2024, “Temperature and Low-stakes Cognitive Performance”, Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, 11(1): 75-96.

Xin Zhang, Xun Zhang, Yuehua Liu, Xintong Zhao and Xi Chen, 2023, “The Morbidity Costs of Air Pollution through the Lens of Health Spending in China”, Journal of Population Economics, 36: 1269–1292.

Mengyao Li, Susana Ferreira, Travis A. Smith and Xin Zhang, 2021, “Air pollution and noncognitive traits among Chinese adolescents”, Health Economics, 30(2): 478-488.

Xi Chen, Chih Ming Tan, Xiaobo Zhang and Xin Zhang* (corresponding author), 2020, “The Effects of Prenatal Exposure to Temperature Extremes on Birth Outcomes: The Case of China”, Journal of Population Economics, 33: 1263-1302.

Xin Zhang, Yixuan Wang, Xi Chen and Xun Zhang, 2020, “Associations between prenatal sunshine exposure and birth outcomes in China”, Science of The Total Environment, 713: 136472.

Xin Zhang, Xi Chen and Xiaobo Zhang, 2018, “The Impact of Exposure to Air Pollution on Cognitive Performance”, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), 115(37): 9193-9197.

Weina Liu, Hong Sun, Xin Zhang, Qi Chen, Yan Xu, Xi Chen and Zhen Ding, 2018, “Air Pollution Associated with Non-Suicidal Self-Injury in Chinese Adolescent Students: A Cross-Sectional Study,” Chemosphere, 209: 944-949.

Xin Zhang, Xiaobo Zhang and Xi Chen, 2017, “Happiness in the Air: How Does a Dirty Sky Affect Mental Health and Subjective Well-being?” Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 85: 81-94.

Xin Zhang, Xiaobo Zhang and Xi Chen, 2017, “Valuing Air Quality Using Happiness Data: The Case of China,” Ecological Economics, 137: 29-36.

In Chinese

Xun Zhang, Jinghan Kou, Xin Zhang and Guangming Lv, “The Determinants of School District Housing Price Premiums from the Perspective of School Quality” Journal of Financial Research, 2021, 11: 97-116.

Xiaonan Qiao and Xin Zhang, “The Environmental Tax of the Host Country and Cross-border Transfer of Low-carbon Technologies,” China Economic Quarterly, 2012, 11(3): 853-872.

Book Chapters

In English

“The Effect of Exposure to Air Pollution on Subjective Wellbeing in China”, with Xi Chen and Xiaobo Zhang, Chapter 10 in Handbook on Wellbeing, Happiness and the Environment, edited by David Maddison, Katrin Rehdanz and Heinz Welsch, Elgar Press, 2020.

In Chinese

“Air Quality and Subjective Well-being”, with Xiaobo Zhang, Chapter 8 in China Livelihood Development Report 2020-2021, edited by Yu Xie et al., Peking University Press, 2024.

“Income Distribution”, with Xiaobo Zhang, Chapter 2 in China Livelihood Development Report 2016, edited by Yu Xie et al., Peking University Press, 2016.

“Household Management and Self-employment”, with Xiaobo Zhang, Chapter 5 in China Livelihood Development Report 2014, edited by Yu Xie et al., Peking University Press, 2014.

Working Papers

“Gender Disparities in Parental Investment Responses to Fetal Air Pollution Exposure and Its Long-Term Impact on Cognitive Performance”, with Yixuan Wang, Xingyi Hu and Xi Chen.

“Extreme High Temperatures, Firm Dynamics and Heterogeneity, and Aggregate Productivity: The Case of Chinese Manufacturing”, with Xiangyu Shi.

“Blowin’ in the Wind: Smog and Suicidal Ideation among School-Age Children”, with Xi Chen, Hong Sun and Yuanjian Yang.

“The dilemma of pollution information disclosure: Evidence from a new data set”, with Jiaowei Gong, Xiangyu Shi and Chang Wang.

Academic Appointments

Co-Editor of Economic Change and Restructuring (SSCI Q1)

Research Grants

National Natural Science Foundation of China, 72473011, 2024

National Natural Science Foundation of China, 72003014, 2020

The Statistical Science Research Fund, 2019LY51, 2019

The China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, 2018T110057, 2018

The China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, 2017M620653, 2017

The Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, 2017

Honors and Awards

2024  Beijing Normal University Pengnian Outstanding Young Faculty Award

2024  High-Quality Undergraduate Course, Beijing Normal University

2024  Second Prize, Young Faculty Teaching Skills Competition, Beijing Normal University

2023  PKU Award Program for Young Scholars in Global Health and Development

2021  Outstanding advisor award, 7th National Statistical Modeling Contest for College Students

2020  Outstanding Freshman Advisor, Beijing Normal University (2019-2020 Academic Year)

2020  Third Prize, 8th academy award for outstanding achievements in scientific research (social sciences)

2020  Outstanding Counselor, Beijing Normal University

2019  Second Prize, 5th China education finance academic seminar youth outstanding paper

2018  Second Prize and Best Teaching Attitude Award, Young Faculty Teaching Skills Competition, Beijing Normal University

2016  Best Abstract Award, The China Health Policy and Management Society

Updated May, 2025