Welcome
I am Zhi Hao, an economics PhD candidate at Columbia University. I work on topics in behavioral economics, labor and personnel economics, and environmental economics, using field and lab experiments.
Education
Columbia University
Ph.D. in Economics
National University of Singapore
B.Soc.Sci. in Economics, Highest Distinction (Valedictorian)
Working Papers
To Each Their Own: Heterogeneity in Worker Preferences for and Responses to Peer Information
(latest version: Apr 2026)
Revise & resubmit, Management Science
Testing for Spillovers in Resource Conservation: Evidence from a Natural Field Experiment
(with Lorenz Goette; latest version: Apr 2026)
Revise & resubmit, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management
The Dynamics of Goal-Setting: Evidence from a Natural Field Experiment
(with Lorenz Goette and Hua-Jing Han; latest version: Jun 2025)
Selected Work in Progress
Peer Information at Work: Preferences, Responses, and Design
Intergenerational Dilemma: Preference Over Resource Allocation
(with Mark Dean, Jeffrey Guo, and Hayeon Jeong)
Teaching
Columbia University
Teaching Assistant
Intermediate Microeconomics (UG)
Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024
Behavioral Economics (UG)
Spring 2023
Introduction to Econometrics (UG)
Fall 2022
Ph.D. Bridge Program Tutor
Microeconomic Analysis I (PhD)
Summer 2023
National University of Singapore
Teaching Assistant
Introduction to Economic Analysis (UG)
Fall 2017, Fall 2018, Spring 2019
Awards:
- Wueller Fellowship: Best Teaching Fellow for Undergraduate Core Courses (Winner), Columbia, 2022-23
- Undergraduate Student Teaching Excellence Award, NUS, 2017-18 & 2018-19