Guojun He
Prof. Guojun He
经济学
管理及商业策略
Professor in Economics
Director, HKU Jockey Club Enterprise Sustainability Global Research Institute
Associate Director, Institute of China Economy

3917 7729

KK 903

Academic & Professional Qualification
  • Ph.D. UC Berkeley
  • B.A. Peking University
Biography

Guojun HE is an economist working on environmental, development, and governance issues. Currently, he is a professor in Economics at the University of Hong Kong (HKU). He serves as the director of HKU’s ESG Research Institute and the associate director of HKU’s Institute of China Economy. He holds a concurrent appointment at the Energy Policy Institute of the University of Chicago (EPIC) and leads research activities of its China center (EPIC-China).

HE’s research tries to address some of the most challenging problems faced by developing countries and seeks to produce empirically grounded estimates for optimal policy design. The majority of his work focuses on understanding the benefits and costs of environmental policies, while he also has a broader research interest in development and governance issues.

He has won multiple academic awards, including the Zhang Pei-Gang Award for Outstanding Achievement in Development Economics (the highest award in China for development economics research) and the Gregory Chow Best Paper Award from the Chinese Economists Society. In addition, He is also a Fellow of the Asian Bureau of Financial Economic Research, an external research affiliate of the Institute of Sustainable and Green Finance at the National University of Singapore, a visiting scholar at the University of Chicago, and a consultant to the Asian Development Bank, CICC Research Institute and other institutions.

Teaching
  • Environmental Economics
  • Applied Econometrics (Causal Inference)
Selected Publications
  • Mark Buntaine, Michael Greenstone, Guojun He, Shaoda Wang, Mengdi Liu, and Bing Zhang, “Does the Squeaky Wheel Get More Grease? Citizen Participation, Social Media, and Environmental Governance in China,” American Economic Review, forthcoming.
  • He, Guojun, Jeffrey T. LaFrance, Jeffrey M. Perloff, and Richard Volpe, “How Do Everyday-Low-Price Supermarkets Adjust Their Prices?” Review of Industrial Organization, 2023, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11151-023-09922-0.
  • He, Guojun, Yuhang Pan, Albert Park, Yasuyuku Sawada, and Elaine S. Tan. “Reducing Single-Use Cutlery with Green Nudges: Evidence from China’s Food Delivery Industry,” Science, 8 Sep 2023, Vol 381, Issue 6662.
  • He, Guojun and Takanao Tanaka. “Energy Saving May Kill: Evidence from the Fukushima Nuclear Accident,” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 2023, 15(2): 377-414.
  • de Janvry, Alain, Guojun He, Elisabeth Sadoulet, Shaoda Wang, and Qiong Zhang. “Subjective Performance Evaluation, Influence Activities, and Bureaucratic Work Behavior: Evidence from China,” American Economic Review, 2023, 113(3): 766-99.
  • Fan, Maoyong and Guojun He. “Clean Water and Infant Health: Evidence from Piped Water Provision in China,” Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, 2023 10(1), 159-193.
  • He, Guojun and Wenwei Peng. “Guns and Roses: Police Complicity in Organized Prostitution,” Journal of Public Economics, 2022, 207: 104599.
  • Greenstone, Michael, Guojun He, Ruixue Jia, and Tong Liu. “Can Technology Solve the Principal-Agent Problem? Evidence from China’s War on Air Pollution,” ​​American Economic Review: Insights, 2022, 4(1): 54-70.
  • Greenstone, Michael, Guojun He, Shanjun Li, and Eric Yongchen Zou​. “​China’s War on Pollution: Evidence from the First 5 Years,” Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, 2021, 15(2): 281-299.
  • Qi, Jinlei, Dandan Zhang, Xiang Zhang, Tanakao Takana, Yuhang Pan, Peng Yin, Jiangmei Liu, Shuocen Liu, George F. Gao, Guojun He, and Maigeng Zhou, “Short and Medium-Term Impacts of Strict Anti-Contagion Policies on Non-COVID-19 Mortality in China,” Nature Human Behaviour, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-021-01189-3.
  • He, Guojun, Shaoda Wang and Bing Zhang. “Watering Down Environmental Regulation in China,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2020, 135(4): 2135-2185.
  • He, Guojun, Yuhang Pan, and Takanao Tanaka. “The Short-term Impacts of COVID-19 Lockdown on Urban Air Pollution in China,” Nature Sustainability, 2020, 3: 1005-1011.
  • He, Guojun, Yang Xie, and Bing Zhang. “Expressways, GDP, and the Environment: The Case of China,” Journal of Development Economics, 2020, 145: 102485.
  • He, Guojun, Tong Liu, and Maigeng Zhou. “Straw Burning, PM2.5 and Death: Evidence from China,” Journal of Development Economics, 2020, 145: 102468.
  • He, Guojun, Maoyong Fan, and Maigeng Zhou. “The Winter Choke: Coal-Fired Heating, Air Pollution, and Mortality in China,” Journal of Health Economics, 2020, 71: 102316.
  • Cheung, Chun Wai, Guojun He, and Yuhang Pan. “Mitigating the Air Pollution Effect? The Remarkable Decline in the Pollution-Mortality Relationship in Hong Kong,” Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 2020, 101: 102316.
  • He, Guojun and Shaoda Wang. “Do College Graduates Serving as Village Officials Help Rural China?” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 2017, 9(4): 186-215.
  • Ebenstein, Avraham, Maoyong Fan, Michael Greenstone, Guojun He and Maigeng Zhou. “New Evidence on the Impact of Sustained Exposure to Air Pollution on Life Expectancy from China’s Huai River Policy,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2017, 114(39): 10384-10389.
  • He, Guojun, Maoyong Fan, and Maigeng Zhou. “The Effect of Air Pollution on Mortality in China: Evidence from the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games,” Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 2016, 79: 18-39. ​
  • He, Guojun and Jeffrey M. Perloff. “Surface Water Quality and Infant Mortality in China,” Economic Development and Cultural Change, 2016, 65(1): 119-139.
  • Ebenstein, Avraham, Maoyong Fan, Michael Greenstone, Guojun He, Peng Yin, and Maigeng Zhou. “Growth, Pollution, and Life Expectancy: China from 1991-2012,” American Economic Review (P&P), 2015, 105(5): 226-231.
Recent Publications
企业精准落实ESG 物超所值缔双赢

时至今日,面对纷繁复杂的环境、社会和治理(ESG)指标和日益丰富的ESG实践,ESG已不再是企业的边缘议题。 以往企业通常根据不同评级机构的标准来提升其ESG评级。然而,全球约有600家不同的ESG评级机构,各自标准不一,导致评级结果不一致,这意味着即使企业在ESG方面投入大量精力,也可能获得不同的评级结果。

企业精准落实ESG 物超所值缔双赢

时至今日,面对纷繁复杂的环境、社会和治理(ESG)指标和日益丰富的ESG实践,ESG已不再是企业的边缘议题。 以往企业通常根据不同评级机构的标准来提升其ESG评级。然而,全球约有600家不同的ESG评级机构,各自标准不一,导致评级结果不一致,这意味着即使企业在ESG方面投入大量精力,也可能获得不同的评级结果。

港大:学界擅长梳理数据助ESG “政商学”合作 提供解决方案帮企业

学术界通过“政商学”有机结合实现对ESG发展的积极影响,并将成果传导至政界和商界。香港大学赛马会环球企业可持续发展研究所所长何国俊认为,跨界合作的模式之一为政府提出相关需求或搭建平台,由学术界针对性承担科研任务,提供解决方案并为企业所用。政府亦适当提供科研资金或行政简化,促使科研成果转化落地以至商品化,帮助企业在市场竞争中不断进步。

企业怎应对气候变化和自然灾害风险

极端天气事件日益频繁,为各行各业带来了前所未有的挑战。除了会增加设备维修和应急措施的成本外,亦可能导致设备损坏,甚至供应链中断,影响企业的生产计划。投资者因担忧极端气候灾害对企业的影响,从而导致其股价波动及融资成本上升等问题。

企业怎应对气候变化和自然灾害风险

极端天气事件日益频繁,为各行各业带来了前所未有的挑战。除了会增加设备维修和应急措施的成本外,亦可能导致设备损坏,甚至供应链中断,影响企业的生产计划。投资者因担忧极端气候灾害对企业的影响,从而导致其股价波动及融资成本上升等问题。

气候变化、自然灾害风险及应对

观察近年来全球气温变化情况,相对于上世纪五、六十年代,赤道周围的温度上升幅度不大,温度上升幅度大的反而是像北极这样的高纬度地区。而这些高纬度地区长期冰雪覆盖,所以温度上升导致冰雪融化,从而导致海平面急剧上升。2017年发表在Science上的一篇文章表明,地表平均温度上升超过2度以后,超额死亡造成的社会经济成本是最主要的一部分,随着温度持续升高,死亡人数就会大幅度上升。

活跃中国碳市场的加减除法

碳排放权交易市场(以下简称「碳市场」)旨在利用市场机制,控制和减少温室气体排放,是实现「碳达峰、碳中和」目标(以下简称「双碳目标」)的重要举措。截至2023年7月16日,中国的全国碳排放权交易市场上线运行已满两周年,累计交易额超过110亿元人民币,碳排放配额累计成交量达2.399亿吨。

活跃中国碳市场的加减除法

碳排放权交易市场(以下简称「碳市场」)旨在利用市场机制,控制和减少温室气体排放,是实现「碳达峰、碳中和」目标(以下简称「双碳目标」)的重要举措。截至2023年7月16日,中国的全国碳排放权交易市场上线运行已满两周年,累计交易额超过110亿元人民币,碳排放配额累计成交量达2.399亿吨。

港大发现如外卖平台预设不提供餐具  每年可减少217亿餐具消耗

国际知名学术期刊《科学》近期以封面论文形式刊发了题为《绿色助推减少即弃餐具:来自中国外卖行业的证据》的研究,主要探讨绿色助推如何有效增加「不需餐具」订单的份额。该研究的第一及通讯作者、港大经管学院经济学及管理与商业策略副教授何国俊表示,是次研究利用在中国收集的数据,发现绿色助推可以显著减少外卖产生的塑料废物。

让阿谀者无用「谀」之地

汉朝宗室大臣兼文学家刘向在《说苑.臣术》篇中将人臣分为十二种类型,六为正,六为邪,其中「谀」便是「六邪」之一。篇中将其描述为「主所言皆曰善,主所为皆曰可,隐而求主之所好而进之,以快主之耳目,偷合苟容,与主为乐,不顾其后害,如此者,谀臣也」,意指那些认为君主说的话都是好的、君主的行为都是对的,只会投其所好、阿谀奉承,助长君主的逸乐而不顾严重后果的马屁精。