Inference and Diffusion in Networks ABSTRACT Networks provide a powerful and unified framework to study complex systems. By abstracting systems down to entities and their connections, network models provide insight into the structure and dynamics of critical systems across multiple domains. In this thesis, we study diffusion in social networks. Diffusion through networked systems corresponds to numerous consequential processes, and we focus on epidemic spread and information diffusion. We study these processes by applying and extending ideas from statistical inference.…

Essays on Measuring Climate Change Damages and Adaptation ABSTRACT Through changes in average temperature, precipitation patterns, and extreme weather events, climate change is already causing severe ecological and economic damages. Further warming is expected to have a profound effect on the functioning of ecological and human systems worldwide. While it is a top priority to limit carbon emissions and mitigate future climate change, it is also essential to prepare for damages from climate change in the remainder of this century.…

Local official and polluter accountability in China’s environmental inspections ABSTRACT Poor environmental practices can lead to high levels of ambient pollution that damage human health and cause premature death. Even if environmental regulations are well designed, incomplete implementation at the local level carries high social costs. Although widely documented, solutions to inadequate enforcement have not been comprehensively studied. Here I use the setting of China’s environmental inspections to study what interventions effectively overcome the enforcement gap and reduce air pollution…

Algorithmic Fairness in Sequential Decision Making ABSTRACT Machine learning algorithms have been used on a wide range of applications, and there are growing concerns about potential biases of those algorithms. While many solutions have been proposed for addressing biases in predictions from an algorithm, there is still a gap in translating predictions to a justified decision. Moreover, even a justified and fair decision could lead to undesirable consequences with decisions create a feedback effect. While numerous solutions have been proposed…