What Lies Beneath the Haze? Wildfire Smoke and Industrial Pollution
Release time：16 October 2025
Oct
17
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Time & Date
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10:30 am
-
12:00 pm,
October
17,
2025
(Friday)
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Venue
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Room 501, Teaching Complex A
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| TOPIC | What Lies Beneath the Haze? Wildfire Smoke and Industrial Pollution |
| TIME&DATE | 10:30 am - 12:00 pm, October 17, 2025 (Friday) |
| Venue | Room 501, Teaching Complex A |
| Speaker |
Michael Shen City University of Hong Kong |
| Abstract | We study whether industrial plants exploit wildfire smoke episodes as cover to increase emissions. Using a difference-in-differences approach, we find that relative to air quality monitors without proximate industrial plants, those located near industrial plants record a significantly larger increase in SO₂ concentrations from non-smoke to smoke days, consistent with plants strategically timing emissions to coincide with wildfire smoke. At the same time, satellite-based thermal infrared radiation indicates intensified plant activity, pointing to opportunistic increases in production rather than coincidental factors. The emission response to wildfire smoke vanishes on weekends and holidays but is stronger among plants with more flexible production capacity or operating in financially distressed industries, reinforcing the role of deliberate operational choices under economic incentives. Moreover, the extent of the response is affected by local regulatory monitoring, suggesting that enforcement capacities moderate firms’ incentives to pollute strategically. Overall, our findings reveal that wildfires not only degrade air quality directly but also create opportunities for industrial polluters to conceal emissions, underscoring the need for regulatory frameworks that anticipate and deter such opportunistic behavior. |
| Biography | Michael Shen is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Accountancy at City University of Hong Kong. He received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Accounting from Renmin University of China and Ph.D. in Accounting from Michigan State University. His research focuses on three areas: how firms’ human capital investments (e.g., AI, ESG) influence operating performance and management behavior, how social and environmental policies shape corporate and individual decisions, and how misconduct and financial misreporting affect both organizations and employees’ labor market outcomes. His work has been published or conditionally accepted in Management Science, Review of Accounting Studies, and Contemporary Accounting Research. |
