Joonseok Yang’s research while affiliated with Sungkyunkwan University and other places

Earlier policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. have often treated natural gas as a clean fuel due to its higher energy output per unit of carbon dioxide emitted compared to other fuels. However, recent local decarbonization initiatives seek to restrict residential uses of natural gas. Public support for such policies could be a key factor in determining whether local governments implement natural gas restrictions. It may also indicate the potential for state and federal governments to adopt similar measures. In this study, we conduct an online survey with 2,623 U.S. adults to demonstrate how public support for natural gas restrictions varies based on policy framing. These framings include (1) household economic costs, (2) industry positions, (3) health impacts, (4) contribution to climate change, and (5) political support. Our results show that public support for policies to ban natural gas in new construction is significantly influenced by the health impact of these policies. This finding suggests that U.S. citizens are sensitive to non-economic health frames when evaluating a policy proposal to phase out natural gas use. Meanwhile, factors such as monthly energy costs, industry support, climate effects, and political backing show only a weak influence on public opinion regarding these policies. Word Count: 10,700

Governments often reform financial policies, such as industrial subsidies taxes and currency exchange rates, during times of fiscal distress. Existing studies suggest that information campaigns can improve popular support for policy reforms that promise longer term macroeconomic growth but come with short‐term financial costs to people's livelihoods. This article assesses the effects of information campaigns on the acceptance of fossil fuel subsidy reforms in Nigeria, a type of fiscal reform that many developing countries may adopt in the coming years. A randomized survey experiment imbedded in a nationally representative survey of Nigerian households investigates whether information interventions lead Nigerians to change their opinion on fossil fuel subsidy reforms. We find that merely providing factual information does not affect whether or not people support fossil fuel subsidy reforms. Moreover, we find that factual information helps supporters articulate their preferences and weakens the propensity of opponents to use wrongful information to justify their position.

Protectionist measures often have target countries, and public support for such measures depends on who the targets are. We identify such target effects on protectionist sentiments and examine the effects of information in tempering protectionist sentiments in East Asia. Using an original survey experiment in China, Japan, and South Korea, we test how providing information about the costs of protectionism changes public attitudes toward targeted protectionist measures. We found that providing a target country identity increased public support for protectionism by 8.6%. Providing cost information, on the other hand, reduces support for protectionism by 10%. We also found that information and target effects persist in the presence of the other: Receiving cost information reduces support for both general and targeted protectionism but does not necessarily mute the target effect. Similarly, when reputation and retaliation costs are associated with protectionism, knowing a target country identity still increases public support for protectionism.

Policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the US have largely treated natural gas as a clean fuel due to its lower dioxide-to-energy content than other fuels. However, recent local decarbonization initiatives seek to ban residential uses of natural gas. Public support for such policies will determine whether other localities adopt natural gas bans and whether state and federal policies may follow. At the same time, several states adopted policies prohibiting natural gas bans. In this study, we show that public support for gas bans depends on policy design. Our survey experiment shows that health effects of proposed policies are associated with public support, whereas monthly energy costs, industry support, and information about climate effects and political support for the proposed policy do not influence public opinion.

Motivation The need to tax small firms for revenue generation and the objective to have a sustainable tax system for such firms that encourages economic growth has long been a challenge for Low- and Middle-income Countries, especially those with large informal economies such as Nigeria. This article explores the drivers of tax morale of small firms in low- and middle-income countries. Purpose This paper investigates what determines the attitudes of small firms on their potential evasion of taxes on profits, defined here as tax morale. Our objective is to use a new, dedicated small firm survey in Nigeria with high power to construct regressions that can help explore, and contribute to, hypotheses about tax evasion attitudes of small firms Methods and approach We use a new nationally representative dataset of 8,000 small firms in Africa’s largest economy, Nigeria, based on in-person interviews conducted in the summer of 2018. To investigate key factors shaping tax morale of small firms in Nigeria, we estimate an ordinary least squares (OLS) regression model using a comprehensive set of explanatory variables based on the large-N power of our survey. Findings We find that in Nigeria the normative dimension and business development dimension appear more important. Small firms that have a higher trust in the government seem to have better tax morale. But firms that believe corruption is relatively frequent have notably worse morale. Firms that are registered and have positive expectations of their own growth also appear to have better tax morale. Policy implications Small companies play an important role in Nigerian society as both an employer and drivers of economic growth. Yet, tax compliance among small companies in Nigeria remains very low, as evidenced through our survey. Investigating tax morale and compliance of small firms is critical to design strategies to incorporate them in the tax base to the benefit of the entire country. In particular, the findings suggest that building trust in government and business development policies is important to improve tax morale.