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Jun Wong
PhD Candidate at University of Chicago
junwong [at] uchicago [dot] edu

I am a PhD candidate in the Economics department at the University of Chicago. My research focuses on environmental & energy and development economics.

I am on the 2026-2027 job market.

Job Market Paper

Do informal markets expand electricity access?
with Zach Kuloszewski
Draft coming soon • AEA RCT Registry • STEG Policy Brief

Working Papers

Reallocation under rationing: Evidence from electricity outages in South Africa
with Rowan Clarke, Chris Eaglin, and Zach Kuloszewski · Updated April 2026
abstract pdf
Urban Expansion, Drought Risk, and Willingness-to-pay for Piped Water
with Ashton Pallottini and Emma Zhang · Updated August 2025
abstract pdf

Publications

Opening up military innovation: Causal effects of reforms to U.S. defense research, Journal of Political Economy, 2025.
with Sabrina Howell, Jason Rathje, and John Van Reenen
WRDS Award for Best Empirical Finance Paper, 2021
abstract pdf
Lender automation and racial disparities in credit access, Journal of Finance, 2024.
with Sabrina Howell, Theresa Kuchler, David Snitkof, and Johannes Stroebel
Brattle Group Distinguished Paper, 2024 • NBER Digest • New York Times • Washington Post
abstract pdf
Market potential for CO2 removal and sequestration from renewable natural gas production in California, ES&T, 2022.
with Jonathan Santoso, Marjorie Went, and Daniel Sanchez
abstract pdf
Innovative wood use can enable carbon-beneficial forest management in California, PNAS, 2021.
with Bodie Cabiyo, Brandon Collins, Jeremy Fried, William Steward, and Daniel Sanchez
abstract pdf

Selected Work in Progress

The urban electrification frontier in sub-Saharan Africa
with Jessica Kersey and Bryan Bonsuk Koo (Data collection ongoing)
Methane mitigation and the informal waste sector: Experimental evidence from Hyderabad
with Ashton Pallottini and Emma Zhang (Pilot ongoing)
EPIC India
Adapting to climate change in informal labor markets
with Varun Kapoor (Funding received)