报告题目：Minimum Performance Target as a Response to Multitasking Problems: Theory and Evidence from China's Air Quality Controls（应对多任务问题的最低绩效目标：来自中国空气质量控制的理论和证据）

报告人：翁翕（北京大学 教授）

报告时间：2022年3月22日（星期二）下午12:15-13:30

报告地点：线上（腾讯会议865-371-705）

邀请部门：经济学系

报告人简介：

翁翕，现为北京大学光华管理学院应用经济系教授，“日出东方”光华研究学者。他目前主要研究领域为博弈论，应用微观经济理论和信息经济学。他本科、硕士均毕业于北京大学，博士毕业于美国宾夕法尼亚大学。他的研究成果发表或即将发表于国外顶级学术期刊，如Journal of Finance, Management Science, Economic Journal, American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, Journal of Economic Theory (两篇), International Economic Review (两篇), Economic Theory, Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 和Journal of Economics & Management Strategy. 他主持国家自然科学基金面上项目“组织经济学理论与应用”。翁博士曾获奖项有：2020第八届高校科学研究优秀成果奖（人文社会科学）青年成果奖，2019中国信息经济学优秀成果奖，2019厉以宁科研奖，2017中国信息经济学青年创新奖，2017北京大学教学优秀奖，2017第十三届北京大学人文社会科学研究优秀成果一等奖，2016北京大学北京银行奖教金，2016中国信息经济学乌家培奖，2015及2016台新金控最佳研究新人奖，2011 David Cass Memorial Prize in Economics, 2010 CES Gregory Chow Best Paper Awards。

报告摘要：

This paper examines how local Chinese officials respond strategically to minimum air quality control targets when they have to pursue both economic development and environmental protection. Using a novel prefecture-day level dataset on air quality and applying a regression discontinuity design, we find strong evidence that air quality tends to improve when the air quality target is doomed to fail, but deteriorates significantly after the early fulfillment of the target is guaranteed. These ``asymmetric'' strategic responses are mainly driven by ``outsiders'' – local officials with no previous exposure to the regions to which they are assigned. Greater pressure to promote local economic development reinforces outsiders’ asymmetric responses. For ``non-outsiders'' who have been promoted from the local area and who are more likely to intrinsically value the local environment, air quality performance is stable in both statuses of target fulfillment. We build a simple theoretical model to rationalize these key findings. Our study sheds light on how minimum air quality targets have functioned in China’s context and highlights the role of intrinsic motivations in mitigating strategic responses to minimum performance targets in a multitasking environment.