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on China |
| By: | Xue, Xindong; Mo, Erxiao; Reed, W. Robert |
| Abstract: | This paper uses the 2005 and 2006 China General Social Survey (CGSS) to study the relationship between social capital and health in China. It is the most comprehensive analysis of this subject to date, both in the sizes of the samples it analyses, in the number of social capital variables it investigates, and in its treatment of endogeneity. The authors identify social trust, social relationships, and social networks as important determinants of self-reported health. The magnitude of the estimated effects are economically important, in some cases being of the same size or larger than the effects associated with age and income. Their findings suggest that there is scope for social capital to be a significant policy tool for improving health outcomes in China. |
| Keywords: | social capital,trust,self-reported health,China,ordered probit regression,heteroskedastic ordered probit regression,interaction effects,endogeneity |
| JEL: | I1 I18 P25 O53 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ifwedp:201613&r=cna |
| By: | Wang, Xiaobing; Yamauchi, Futoshi; Otsuka, Keijiro; Huang, Jikun |
| Abstract: | This paper aims to examine the dynamics of land transactions, machine investments and the demand for machine services using farm panel data from China. Recently, China’s agriculture has experienced a large expansion of machine rentals and machine services provided by specialized agents, which has contributed to mechanization of agricultural production. The empirical results show that an increase in non-agricultural wage rates leads to expansion of self-cultivated land size. A rise in the proportion of non-agricultural income or the migration rate also increases the size of self-cultivated land. Interestingly, relatively educated farm households, however, decrease the size of self-cultivated land, which suggests that relatively less educated farmers tend to specialize in farming. The demand for machine services has also increased if agricultural wage and migration rate increased over time, especially among relatively large farms. The results on crop income also support complementarities between rented-in land and machine services (demanded), which implies that scale economies are arising in Chinese agriculture with mechanization and active land rental markets. |
| Keywords: | Wage growth, farm size, land rental, machine services, China, Agribusiness, Land Economics/Use, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, J31, Q12, Q15, |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:212618&r=cna |
| By: | Yi Zeng (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany); Linda George; Melanie Sereny; Danan Gu; James W. Vaupel (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany) |
| Abstract: | This study based on analyzing the unique datasets of Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey clearly demonstrate that, compared to having son(s), having daughter(s) is beneficial at older ages, with regards to enjoying greater filial piety from and better relationships with children and satisfaction with care provided by children. The daughter-advantages of enjoying greater filial piety from and better relationships with children are more profound among oldest-old aged 80+ compared to young-old aged 65-79, and surprisingly more profound in rural areas compared to urban areas, while son-preference is much more prevalent among rural residents. We also discuss why the rigorous fertility policy until October 2015 and less-developed pension system in rural areas substantially contribute to the sustentation of the traditional son-preference which resulted in high sex ratio at birth (SRB) when fertility is low. We recommend China to take integrative policy actions of informing the public that having daughter(s) is beneficial for old age care, developing rural pension system and implementing the most recently announced universal two-child policy as soon as possible. We believe that these policy actions would help China to change the traditional son-preference, bringing down the high SRB, and enable more future elderly parents to enjoy their life including better care provided by daughters. |
| Keywords: | China, daughters, parents, sons |
| JEL: | J1 Z0 |
| Date: | 2015–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dem:wpaper:wp-2015-012&r=cna |
| By: | Dong, Yizhe; Girardone, Claudia; Kuo, Jing-Ming |
| Abstract: | We employ a hand-collected unique dataset on banks operating in China between 2003 and 2011 to investigate the impact of board governance features (size, composition and functioning) on bank efficiency and risk taking. Our evidence suggests that board characteristics tend to have a greater influence on banks’ profit and cost efficiency than on loan quality. We find that the proportion of female directors on the board appears not only to be linked to higher profit and cost efficiency but also to lower traditional banking risk. Similarly, board independence is associated with higher profit efficiency of banks; while the opposite is found for executive directors and in the presence of dual leadership of the CEO/chairperson. Among the control variables, we found that liquidity negatively affects profit and cost efficiency, while positively affecting risk. Interestingly, we find some evidence of an incremental effect of specific board characteristics on efficiency for banks with more concentrated ownership structures and state-owned institutions; while for banks with CEO performance-related pay schemes the effect on efficiency when significant is usually negative. Our results offer useful insights to policy makers in China charged with the task of improving the governance mechanisms in banking institutions. |
| Keywords: | Board governance; Bank efficiency; Asset quality; Bank ownership; Performance-related compensation; Chinese banking sector |
| Date: | 2016–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esy:uefcwp:16588&r=cna |
| By: | Yu, Wusheng; Cao, Lijuan |
| Abstract: | This paper provides a review on China’s meat trade for the 2000-2012 period and discusses its future development, with reference to China’s grain trade. With marginal decreases in meat exports and slight increases in their imports, China’s net imports of major meat products (including pork, beef, mutton and poultry but excluding meat offal) were just below one million tons in 2012, dwarfed by China’s net imports of grains which reached 66.7 million tons in the same year. This slow growth in meat trade seems to contradict earlier expectations on increasing meat demand and imports, based upon projected shifts in consumption patterns driven by rapid per capita income growth. Several plausible explanations of this paradoxical trade pattern are offered, including mass imports of feed grains, persistent (but shrinking) gaps between Chinese and international meat prices, tariff barriers, and non-tariff measures. In the near future China may not be able to maintain such a lower profile on the world meat markets, as per capita income is projected to continue to rise and domestic production cost advantages erode due to rising labor costs. A model-based projection exercise indicates that under plausible assumptions China’s meat imports may rise sharply by 2030. |
| Keywords: | meat trade, grain trade, China, projection, Crop Production/Industries, International Relations/Trade, Livestock Production/Industries, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:212719&r=cna |
| By: | Mo, Di; Zhang, Linxiu; Luo, Renfu; Qu, Qinghe; Huang, Weiming; Wang, Jiafu; Qiao, Yajie; Boswell, Matthew; Rozelle, Scott |
| Abstract: | Recent attention has been placed on whether computer assisted learning (CAL) can effectively improve learning outcomes. However, the empirical evidence of its impact is mixed. Previous studies suggest that the lack of an impact in developed countries may be attributable to substitution of effort/time away from productive, in-school activities. However, there is little empirical evidence on how effective an in-school program may be in developing countries. In order to explore the impact of an in-school CAL program, we conducted a clustered randomized experiment involving over 4000 third and fifth grade students in 72 rural schools in China. Our results indicate that the in-school CAL program has significantly improved the overall math scores by 0.16 standard deviations. Both the third graders and the fifth graders benefited from the program. |
| Keywords: | Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:212473&r=cna |
| By: | Li, Zongzhang; Ma, Yanan |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the impacts of rural education on agricultural productivity in China. The approach we take involves two-stage process. First, we use DEA_Malmquist method to measure total factor productivity change, technical change and efficiency change in China over the period 1985 to 2011. We find that China has experienced an increase in total factor productivity, and that productivity growth was mostly attributed to technical progress, rather than to improvement in efficiency. And then, with a panel dataset covering 30 provinces, we investigate the impact of rural education on productivity growth of China. The results indicated that the development of rural education plays positive role on China’s agricultural productivity growth. Moreover, empirical results of regression models show that rural education enhances agricultural total factor productivity through technological progress rather than by promoting technical efficiency. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:212048&r=cna |
| By: | Lyu, Kaiyu; Zhang, Xuemei; Xing, Li; Zhang, Chongshang |
| Abstract: | Using unique rural household panel data in 2005–2010, this study estimates nutrient elasticity for rural households by income group and evaluates the impacts of rising food prices on food consumption and nutrition of the rural poor. The results show that the shocks of income and rising food prices have adverse impacts on the nutrition of rural households, especially for low-income groups, purely poor farming groups, and minorities who are not capable of self-adjustment and are more vulnerable to rising food prices. Interestingly, we found that the rural poor could consciously adjust food consumption structure to adapt to rising food prices. In this regard, future research would help to provide effective policy implications for preventing shocks to the rural poor. |
| Keywords: | Rural household, Rural poverty, Food consumption, Nutrition, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, International Development, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:211861&r=cna |
| By: | Zanxin Wang (School of Development Studies, Yunnan University); Jin Wan (Zhejiang Agriculture & Forestry University) |
| Keywords: | Water Hyacinth, Pollution, China |
| Date: | 2016–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eep:pbrief:pb20160443&r=cna |
| By: | Hussain, Safdar; Ahmed, Wasim; Rabnawaz, Ambar; Jafar, Rana Muhammad Sohail; Akhtar, Haseeb; GuangJu, Wang; Ullah, Sana; JianZhou, Yang |
| Abstract: | Agriculture is likely to require further strengthening ties between farmers and citizens to improve the efficiency of market systems and their saturation with modern technology. Increasing globalization of agriculture and the ensuing hegemony of supermarkets have brought significant profits and losses. Those on whom the state of the global market of the 21st century, should strive for a just distribution of its burdens, without encroaching on the real fruits of progress, through which millions of people have access to a healthy, diverse and affordable food. Supply chain management can be defined as the integration of key business processes from end user to the original suppliers that provide products, services and information that add value for customers and stakeholders. The integration of all business processes with all stakeholders in the supply chain seems to make no sense apart from being, of course, a major waste of resources. In fact, in certain cases, the enormity of the task may make it impossible to overcome for a company whose supply chain presents a great complexity. Thus, it seems important that companies of all sizes find a way to manage more easily and effectively chains in which they operate. However, particularly in agricultural sector, integration of supply chain process has really brought significant impact on the efficiency of the overall procedures. |
| Keywords: | Supply Chain; Efficiency Measurement; Globalization; Agriculture Sector |
| JEL: | O3 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:70380&r=cna |
| By: | Li, Fan; Phillips, Michelle |
| Abstract: | China is currently facing water scarcity issues, which can partially be relieved with improvements in efficiency in its urban water supply sector. Using a manually collected utility-level dataset for 2009-2013, we examine the regulatory context and performance of Chinese urban water utilities, taking into account their operational environment. Our main findings are that: (1) an increase in the number of non-technical staff does not increase output levels, while an increase in the number of technical staff, length of pipe or electricity usage can increase output; (2) customer density and non-household user rates are associated with lower levels of inefficiency (or higher levels of measured efficiency), while outsourcing staff rate, non-revenue water rate, and average piped water pressure do not significantly affect efficiency. These results suggest that Chinese urban water utilities can be improved through performance-based regulation and incentives that take into account the operational environment of utilities. |
| Keywords: | Chinese water utilities, Stochastic frontier analysis, Operational environment, regulation, performance, Industrial Organization, Production Economics, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, L95, L51, D24, |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea16:235160&r=cna |
| By: | Hans Koster (VU University Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and London School of Economics, United Kingdom); Fang Fang Cheng (Utrecht University, the Netherlands); Michiel Gerritse (University of Groningen, the Netherlands); Frank van Oort (Erasmus School of Economics, Erasmus University Rotterdam, and Utrecht University, the Netherlands) |
| Abstract: | We analyse the economic impacts of place-based policies that aim to enhance economic development by stimulating growth and productivity of firms in designated areas. We use unique panel data from China with information on manufacturing firms’ production factors, productivity and location, and we exploit temporal and spatial variation in place-based interventions due to the opening of science parks in the metropolitan area of Shenzhen. The identification strategy enables us to address the issues that (i) science parks are located in favourable locations and that (ii) high-productivity firms sort themselves in science parks. We find that productivity is approximately 15-25 per cent higher due to the policies. The results also show that local wages have increased in science parks. Weaker evidence suggests that displacement effects are sizeable. |
| Keywords: | place-based policies; transitional economies; science parks; productivity |
| JEL: | H2 R3 R5 |
| Date: | 2016–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tin:wpaper:20160021&r=cna |
| By: | Jin, Shaosheng; Guo, Haiyue; Delgado, Michael; Wang, H. |
| Abstract: | This paper systematically investigated the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on Chinese food firms’ total factor productivity (TFP) by using the firm-level census data between 1998 and 2007 (174,539 sample food firms). We tested for “own-plant” effects, intra-industry effects, regional effects and vertical effects. The results show that food firms’ foreign ownership has weakly positive or no impact on the productivity of invested firms. At the industry level, FDI generates adverse influences on domestic firms productivity in some sub food sectors. Further, mixed regional effects are observed in different sub food sectors and across investment with different origins. Finally, both positive backward and forward spillovers generated by FDI originating outside Hong Kong, Macaw and Taiwan (HMT) are observed, while HMT investment has negative vertical spillovers. |
| Keywords: | food industry, foreign direct investment (FDI), China, productivity, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, Q13 Q17 Q18, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:211813&r=cna |
| By: | Kyle Handley (University of Michigan); Nuno Limao (University of Marylan and NBER) |
| Abstract: | We examine the impact of policy uncertainty on trade, prices and real income through firm entry investments in general equilibrium. We estimate and quantify the impact of trade policy on China's export boom to the U.S. following its 2001 WTO accession. We find the accession reduced the U.S. threat of a trade war, which can account for over 1/3 of that export growth in 2000-2005. Reduced policy uncertainty lowered U.S. prices and increased its consumers' income by the equivalent of a 13 percentage point permanent tariff decrease. These findings provide evidence of large effects of policy uncertainty on economic activity and the importance of agreements for reducing it. |
| Keywords: | China, World Trade Organization, Policy Uncertainty, Welfare |
| JEL: | F12 F13 F14 G31 D8 |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mie:wpaper:650&r=cna |