A Bridge on Economic Issues between China and the World
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A Tale of Tier 3 Cities
Kenneth Rogoff, Yuanchen Yang, Mar 29, 2023This paper provides new estimates of the housing stock, construction rates, and price developments by city tier in China.
Clean Air as an Experience Good in Urban China
Matthew E. Kahn, Weizeng Sun, Siqi Zheng, Oct 14, 2020If clean air is a valued experience good, then the short-term reduction in pollution in the spring of 2020 due to the COVID-19 shutdown could have persistent medium-term effects on reducing urban pollution levels as cities adopt new “blue sky” regulations to maintain recent pollution progress. Using data from 144 cities in China, we find that the largest experience good effect should take place for cities featuring a high pollution-sensitive population and where air quality has sharply improved during the pandemic. The residents...
The Impact of Migration Controls on Urban Fiscal Policies and the Intergenerational Transmission of Human Capital in China
Holger Sieg, Chamna Yoon, Jipeng Zhang, Oct 07, 2020The study explores the impact of migration controls on urban fiscal policies and the intergenerational transmission of human capital accumulation in China. It shows that migrants provide large positive fiscal externalities to major cities. The study evaluates the feasibility and effectiveness of alternative migration policies that offer the potential of decreasing inequality within China, while at the same time promoting growth via increasing the aggregate level of human capital in the economy.
Does ESG Travel around the World? Evidence from Multinational Firms in China
Dongxu Li, Xiaoxue Hu, Oct 20, 2021Using a sample of 3,770 Chinese listed firms during 2015–2020, we find that firms’ ESG ratings increase with foreign sales ratios. The higher-rated multinationals have more foreign subsidiaries located in countries with better ESG conditions, and their equity shares are held to a greater extent by institutional investors, especially by foreign institutions. The multinationals’ higher ESG ratings can be justified by...
Special Deals from Special Investors: The Rise of State-Connected Private Owners in China
Chong-En Bai, Chang-Tai Hsieh, Michael Zheng Song, Xin Wang, Feb 10, 2021We document a hierarchy of private owners connected to the state through equity investment and a rapid expansion of this hierarchy over the past two decades. We build a model to show how the effects of a special deal from a state investor can be transmitted and amplified through the hierarchy. Our estimation suggests that the expansion in the span of state-connected private owners may have increased aggregate output of the private sector by 4.2% a year between 2000 and 2019.
