查看更多>>摘要：The research paradigm of economics in China is facing great changes. In this article, we analyzed that dilemma of China's current major economics paradigms was inability to analyze and solve the economic problems for the neglect the importance of problem-oriented. The analysis on the two great flourishes of economics shows that theoretical innovation based on the problemoriented approach in these two periods provide economic explanation for China's historical transformation. Chinese economists should adhere to the problem-oriented approach by generalizing typical facts, analyzing system characteristics, using modern economic analysis tools and producing original economic theories formed with uniqueness refined from major issues.
查看更多>>摘要：The unpegging of China's currency in 2005 creates positive wealth effects that trigger Chinese foreign buyers' responses to pay 3.42% more in housing prices relative to other foreign buyers. We find evidence of a higher propensity to purchase housing units with more visible features among Chinese foreign buyers after the policy shock relative to other foreign buyers. Chinese foreign buyers pay 11.0% premiums for high-floor units, 7.25% premiums for large units and 4.61% for luxury (more expensive) units after experiencing positive incomrtde shocks. We find that conspicuous consumption motives are augmented in high-income neighborhoods and neighborhoods with strong enclaves and social networks comprising residents from China. We show that conspicuous consumption motives are more significant for Chinese foreign buyers who are owner occupiers than for those who are investors. The results survive a slew of robustness and falsification tests, and we cannot reject the finding of wealth-induced conspicuous consumption by Chinese foreign buyers in Singapore's private housing market.
查看更多>>摘要：The health risks from indoor and ambient air pollution create a considerable burden to global economic development and health, especially in economies within an aging society. Previous research has established the adverse effects of air pollution on health. However, most studies do not focus on the simultaneous effect of indoor and ambient air pollution nor its health risks to the older population. This study examines the impact of exposure to both indoor and ambient air pollution for the same individuals over time on mental health by using a nationally representative longitudinal survey for middle-aged and elderly individuals in China. We find that both indoor and ambient air pollution have an adverse effect on elderly mental health and significantly increases the likelihood of having depressive symptoms. We provide evidence that the effect of indoor and ambient air pollution is associated more with less educated and females.
查看更多>>摘要：We examine the relation between local political corruption and firms' cross-province M&As using provincial-level data on corruption in China. The results show that firms in more corrupt regions are less likely to engage in cross-province M&As. Further analyses reveal that the effects of local corruption on the probability of cross-province M&As are stronger when corrupt officers have greater impeding benefits or lower impeding costs. Meanwhile, Both ex-ante intervention and ex post punishment are important channels through which corrupt officers hinder firms' cross province M&As. Moreover, informal institutions, such as social capital and informal networks can help to alleviate the negative impact of political corruption on firms' cross-province M&As. Our findings show that in the context of highly government intervention, cross-province M&As not only cannot be an effective channel to shield from expropriation, but are themselves highly distorted and lead to significant economic efficiency losses.
查看更多>>摘要：The tax incentives designed to stimulate firm investment may have a large and unexpected impact on labor market outcomes. Using a comprehensive data set on Chinese manufacturing firms during the period 1998-2007 with a difference-in-differences approach, we examine the impact of the value-added tax reform in 2004 on the firm-level labor market outcomes. We find that firms in eligible industries and pilot regions (treated firms) enjoying lower costs of purchasing fixed assets under the reform tended to increase capital investment and reduce employment simultaneously relative to firms that did not have tax incentives (the control firms). Compared with the control firms, the treated firms became more capital intensive but had declines in labor share in value added and average wage. We also find that the employment adjustment is associated with increase in the share of skilled workers in terms of engineers and technicians, but not workers with a college degree or higher.
查看更多>>摘要：We test how crop insurance participation affects the intensity of pesticide use in China using data on staple crop production from eight provinces. Our preferred specification instruments farmers' decisions of participation in insurance by village-level intensities of promotional activities and controls for province fixed effects. We find crop insurance participation significantly reduces pesticide use intensity. The reduction effect is greater for smaller plots, older farmers, and farmers who are more risk averse.
查看更多>>摘要：Developing agricultural mechanization services (AMS) is commonly regarded as an important step in the modernization of smallholder farmers in China. However, given the increase in the opportunity costs of agriculture and the high cost of AMS, further study is needed to determine the relationship between AMS and smallholder farmers' exit from agricultural production. In this paper, data from the China Family Panel Survey collected in 2017 and 2019 are used to investigate this issue. Our findings show that the development of AMS reduces the probability that smallholder farmers exit from agricultural production though land abandonment, but increases the probability through land renting-out. Further analysis shows that with the emergence of large farm operators and the increase in land size rented by large farm operators, the development of AMS induces smallholder farmers' exit from agricultural production through both land abandonment and land renting-out. We also find that AMS can increase the market demand for land transfers and the marketization of land rentals, and as land markets develop, AMS induce smallholder farmers' exit through the abandonment of fragmented and distant land plots.
查看更多>>摘要：This paper studies the effect of environmental regulations on border pollution reduction in developing countries' rural areas by taking livestock environmental regulations (LERs) in China as a quasi-natural experiment. Applying the generalized difference-in-difference-in-differences (DDD) method, we find that LERs are effective in reducing border pollution: the chemical oxygen demand (COD) and ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) of the border counties are 21.78% and 39.51%, less than that of the interior counties. We document that the effectiveness of LERs in reducing border pollution can be attributed to the fact that LERs require local governments to make collective decisions in fighting livestock pollution. Further heterogeneity analysis finds that the reduction effect of LERs on border pollution is greater in the downstream border and underdeveloped areas. Our paper implies that the externality of border pollution can be internalized through collective decision-making between local governments.
查看更多>>摘要：The Rosen-Roback spatial equilibrium theory states that cross-city variations in wages and housing prices reflect urban residents' willingness to pay for urban amenities or quality of life. This paper is the first to quantify and rank the quality of life in Chinese cities based on the RosenRoback model. Using the 2005 1% Population Intercensus Survey data, we estimate the wage and housing hedonic models. The coefficients of urban amenity variables in both hedonic models are considered the implicit prices of amenities and are used as the weights to compute the quality of life for each prefecture-level city in China. In general, provincial capital cities and cities with nice weather, good air quality, and accessible public transit have high quality of life. We also find that urban quality of life is positively associated with the subjective well-being of urban residents.
查看更多>>摘要：A quality promotion of neighborhood primary schools no doubt elevates nearby housing price. But which houses benefit from the public policy is important to improve educational equity. Accurate identification of such capitalization effects will help policymakers optimize the allocation of scarce public goods. Previous studies on this issue have been biased due to endogeneity and overlooking the impacts of facility quality change. Based on the Hangzhou's school district adjustment in 2012, the current work contributes to housing price effects of policies and education quality changes, rather than a static educational facility. The difference-in-differences model with quantile regression is constructed to obtain a more precise and detailed estimation among the different sub-markets. Results show that the average price effect estimated by the difference-in-differences is up to nearly 800 yuan/m2, higher than cross-sectional estimation. Only housing with better schools after reassignment witness a price premium. Low-priced and small houses earn more than 1000 yuan/m2, whereas high-priced and large houses are not significantly affected. The results demonstrate that future policies should ensure the rights of lowincome groups to attend high quality primary school and guard against the gentrification of lowpriced houses.
NSTL
Elsevier