Ding Ma is a lecturer (assistant professor) at School of Economics and Management, Nanjing Agricultural University. Her research:
[1] Hot and Cold Choices: The Role of Extreme Temperatures in Shaping Industrial Geographical Distribution (by Ding Ma, Min Wang, Shuo Li, and Xiumei Yu)
Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 2026
Abstract: This paper examines how extreme temperatures shape firm entry decisions and industrial geography. Leveraging comprehensive firm registration data from China, we identify an inverted U-shaped relationship between temperature and firm entry, while firm exit remains largely unresponsive. Sector analyses reveal that temperature extremes suppress firm entry in agriculture and industry through production shocks, and in services through demand-side spillovers. Firms also adapt by shifting equity investments toward new firm establishments in regions with milder climates. Climate projections indicate that ongoing warming will significantly reshape industrial geography, with warmer regions experiencing greater losses. These findings highlight firm location choice as a critical channel of climate adaptation and underscore the role of temperature risk in driving long-term spatial economic change.
Abstract: China's rapid surge in urban greening over the past decade presents a puzzling deviation from global patterns. We document three stylized facts. Urban greening was stable from 2001 to 2013 but expanded rapidly afterward, coinciding with China's air pollution control efforts. More polluted cities experienced faster greening growth, and greening disproportionately occurred near air quality monitoring stations. These patterns suggest that urban greening partly reflects a strategic response by local governments to air pollution control mandates. The economic benefits of urban greening amount to approximately 1.16 trillion CNY per year, exceeding program costs. Our results suggest that top-down air pollution control reshaped local government incentives, improving the provision of environmental public goods and social welfare.
[3] Extreme Temperatures Promote High-Fat Diets (by Xi Chen, Shuo Li, Ding Ma, and Jintao Xu)
NBER Working Paper 34609
Abstract: Extreme temperatures threaten agriculture and exacerbate global food insecurity, yet their direct impact on dietary choices remains poorly understood. We provide novel evidence of how short-term exposures to extreme temperatures affect macronutrient intake in China. We show that both hot and cold weather elevate high-fat diet risks. In particular, hot weather reduces carbohydrate and protein consumption but not fat intake, while cold weather increases all nutrient intake, particularly fats. Temperature-induced dietary changes are shaped primarily by physiological responses to thermal stress, whereas physical activities demonstrate little effect. Technologies that improve indoor thermal comfort (via fans, air conditioners, and heating systems) substantially mitigate high-fat diet risks. Socioeconomic disparities are evident, with rural and poor individuals more likely to adopt high-fat diets under hot or cold weather. Projections indicate that more extreme temperatures due to climate change may increase the prevalence of high-fat diets nationally, while substantial regional heterogeneity emerges, with declines in northeast China and increases in southern China. These results highlight a crucial but overlooked pathway linking climate change to dietary health inequality.