Publications

Under review papers and working drafts from the lab.

Publications are organized by research stage and presented with short abstracts, advisor information where relevant, and links to public working-paper versions.

Under Review

Papers currently under editorial or conference review

Under Review

Heikichi Hayashi, Karl Yu, Huanxi Zhang, and Weiyu Qi (2025). Kilts Center at Chicago Booth Marketing Data Center Paper; NBER Working Paper forthcoming.

Smart Contracts, Dumb Money: Open Source Lemons

The project examines information quality, adverse selection, and investor behavior in open-source smart-contract environments and digital asset markets.

Advisor: Rahul Deb (Boston College and NBER)

SSRN

Under Review

Heikichi Hayashi, Karl Yu, Huanxi Zhang, and Weiyu Qi (2025). Chicago Booth Microeconomics Working Paper; revisions requested by the editor at Theoretical Economics.

Smoothing the Cliff: Fair and Incentive-Compatible Priority Allocation via Randomized Mechanisms

This paper studies randomized allocation mechanisms designed to smooth cliff effects while preserving fairness and incentive compatibility in priority-based environments.

SSRN

Working Paper

Current drafts and circulating working papers

Working Paper

Heikichi Hayashi (2026). Working Paper.

A Blessing in Disguise? DeFi Exploits and Short-Horizon Responses in U.S. Commercial Paper Spreads

DeFi exploits generate short-run spillovers into traditional financial markets via money market fund reallocations, creating a measurable cross-market transmission channel.

SSRN

Working Paper

Heikichi Hayashi, Karl Yu, Ruoran Lai, and Weiyu Qi (2025). Working Paper.

The Private Enforcer: Algorithmic Deterrence and the Shadow Tax on Insider Trading

In DeFi markets, MEV acts as a private enforcement mechanism that penalizes informed trading and creates a shadow tax on strategic trading behavior.

SSRN

Work in Progress

Projects that are still being actively developed into papers

Work in Progress

Heikichi Hayashi (2026). Work in Progress.

Carbon vs. Silicon: Can AI Outperform Top-Tier Economists in Scientific Knowledge Production?

An AI-and-economics project examining whether advanced AI systems can match or outperform top-tier economists in originality, technical rigor, and heuristic value.

Work in Progress

Heikichi Hayashi (2026). Work in Progress.

Connection Is All You Need? Pedigree, Placement, and Publication in Elite Academic Markets

An ongoing project on how pedigree, placement, and network connections shape publication outcomes in elite academic markets.

Advisor: Panle Jia Barwick (University of Wisconsin-Madison and NBER)

Work in Progress

Heikichi Hayashi (2026). Work in Progress.

Killer Referees: Competition, Signaling, and Editorial Assignment

An in-progress study of editorial assignment, referee competition, and signaling dynamics in top academic journal review processes.