Yang Gao

Yang Gao

  yang_gao at ucsb dot edu

  2041 North Hall, UCSB

  CV

Welcome! I am a final year Ph.D. candidate in Economics at the University of California, Santa Barbara. My research interests lie in Macroeconomics and Environmental Economics, with related interests in Firm Dynamics and Finance.

My research investigates the macroeconomic and welfare implications of climate change and climate policies. In particular, I examine how climate policies interact with frictions in the production sector and financial markets, aiming to uncover their true efficiency, distributional, and aggregate impacts. My methodological approach combines econometric analysis of micro- and macro-level data with theoretical investigations and quantitative macroeconomic modeling.

I will be joining the University of Auckland Business School as a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in July 2026.

Education

University of California, Santa Barbara
Ph.D. in Economics, Expected 2026
Committee: Peter Rupert (Chair), Yueyuan Ma, Gregory Casey

Renmin University of China
B.A. in Economics, 2019

University of California, Davis
Undergraduate Exchange Student, Sep 2017 - June 2018

Publications

"Some Macroeconomic Evidence on Substitution between Clean and Dirty Energy," AEA Papers and Proceedings (2026) 116: 522-526.
(with Gregory Casey and Peter Kruse-Andersen)

"Energy Efficiency Dynamics and Climate Policy," Forthcoming in the Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists
(with Gregory Casey and Peter Kruse-Andersen)

Working Paper

Beyond Emissions: The Implications of Capital Misallocation on Optimal Carbon Tax (job market paper)
(Solo Authored)

Work in Progress

Second-Best Climate Policy with Realistic Transition Dynamics
(with Gregory Casey and Peter Kruse-Andersen)

The Effects of Price Deregulation in Ghana's Oil Sector
(with Alexander Abajian and Flavio Malagutti)

Research Experience

Research Assistant for Prof. Tamma Carleton, Prof. Ishan Nath, Prof. Levi Crews, Feb 2021 - Sep 2022
Research Assistant for Prof. Christopher M. Meissner, Apr 2018 - Jul 2018

Selected Awards and Honors

  • Dissertation Summer Fellowship, UCSB 2024
  • Economics Graduate Research Quarter Fellowship, UCSB 2024
  • Best Second-Year Research Paper Award, UCSB 2022
  • Gretler Foundation Fellowship, UCSB 2022
  • Distinction in Ph.D. Preliminary Qualifying Examination - Macroeconomics, UCSB 2020
  • National Scholarship (Top 0.2% Nationwide - Highest Honor for Chinese Undergraduates), RUC 2018
  • Academic Perfection Recognition (All A+'s in 9 Courses), UCD 2018
  • Chancellor's Exchange Student Scholarship, RUC 2017
  • Academic Scholarship, RUC 2016, 2017

Teaching Assistant Experience

  • ECON 204C. Macroeconomic Theory III (Ph.D. Level), S2021
  • ECON 101. Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory (Head TA), W2022, S2022, W2023, S2023
  • ECON 101. Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory, W2021, W2025, S2025, F2025
  • ECON 180. International Trade, F2021, F2022, F2023
  • ECON 181. International Finance, W2024, W2026
  • ECON 135. Monetary Economics, S2026
  • ECON 2. Principles of Economics (Macro), W2020, S2020
  • ECON 10A. Intermediate Microeconomic Theory, F2019
  • PSTAT 109. Statistics for Econ, F2020