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on China |
| By: | Deng, Tinghe; Chen, Qihui; Bai, Junfei |
| Abstract: | This paper attempts to provide an understanding of the widely-documented retirement-consumption puzzle from the perspective of food consumption. Exploiting urban China's "forced" retirement system, we use the legal retirement age cut-off as an instrumental variable for one's retirement status to estimate the causal impacts of retirement on four major aspects of food consumption for males aged 50-70 in urban China: food expenditure, time spent on food acquisition, the quantity and quality of food consumed. Our fuzzy regression-discontinuity analysis of the China Health and Nutrition Survey data finds that, consistent with the retirement-consumption puzzle, retirement reduces individuals' total food expenditure by 49%. However, retirement barely changes their quantity of food consumed (measure by total calorie intakes). Serving to reconcile the differential retirement impacts on elderly males' food expenditure and consumption, retirees are found to substitute their time for money in food acquisition upon retirement. However, they have to sacrifice some quality for quantity of food consumption while smoothing the latter. Given the criteria provided by the Chinese Nutrition Association, retirement negatively affects retirees' diet balance. They consume significantly less food with animal origins (and thus less fat and protein) and more grains (and thus more carbohydrate) upon retirement. |
| Keywords: | Food expenditure, Food consumption, Resource substitution, Retirement, Urban China, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, E20, J14, J26, |
| Date: | 2016–08–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea16:235535&r=cna |
| By: | Lai, Wangyang |
| Abstract: | This paper provides the first quasi-experimental evidence that pesticides adversely affect health outcomes through drinking water by linking provincial pesticide usage reports from several Chinese statistical yearbooks (1998-2011) with the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (1998-2011). First, we follow a difference-in-difference-in-differences (DDD) framework to compare health outcomes between people who drink surface water and ground water in regions with high and low intensity of rice pesticide use before and after 2004, when China shifted from taxing agriculture to subsidizing agricultural programs. Second, we measure the downstream effect of pesticide use from upstream provinces. Our results indicate that a 10% increase in rice pesticide use unfavorably alters the index of dependence (ADL) by 2.51% and 0.33% for local and downstream residents (65 and older), respectively. This is equivalent to 168.8 and 55.89 million dollars in medical costs and offspring’s human capital losses, respectively (in total, 1.92% of rice production profits). Our results are robust to a variety of robustness checks and falsification tests. |
| Keywords: | Pesticide, Drinking Water, Public Health, Triple Difference Estimator, Medical and Human Capital Costs, China, Environmental Economics and Policy, Health Economics and Policy, Q1, Q5, I1, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea16:235439&r=cna |
| By: | Meng, Bo; Xue, Jinjun |
| Abstract: | This paper proposes an alternative input-output based spatial-structural decomposition analysis to elucidate the role of domestic-regional heterogeneity and interregional spillover effects in determining China's regional CO2 emission growth. Our empirical results based on the 2007 and 2010 Chinese interregional input-output tables show that the changes in most regions' final demand scale, final expenditure structure and export scale give positive spatial spillover effects on other regions' CO2 emission growth, the changes in most regions' consumption and export preference help the reduction of other regions' CO2 emissions, the changes in production technology, and investment preference may give positive or negative impacts on other region's CO2 emission growth through domestic supply chains. For some regions, the aggregate spillover effect from other regions may be larger than the intra-regional effect in determining regional emission growth. All these facts can significantly help better and deeper understanding on the driving forces of China's regional CO2 emission growth, thus can enrich the policy implication concerning a narrow definition of "carbon leakage" through domestic-interregional trade, and relevant political consensus about the responsibility sharing between developed and developing regions inside China. |
| Keywords: | Environmental problems, Global warming, Input-output tables, Regional heterogeneity, Spillover effect, CO2 emissions, Input-output, Supply chain |
| JEL: | C65 Q56 R15 |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jet:dpaper:dpaper576&r=cna |
| By: | Fidrmuc, Jarko; Korhonen, Iikka |
| Abstract: | We summarize previous research on China’s business cycle correlation with other countries with the help of meta-analysis techniques. We survey 71 related papers along with all the characteristics of the estimations as well as those of the authors. We confirm that especially Pacific Rim countries have relatively high business cycle correlation with China. However, it appears that many characteristics of the studies and authors do influence the reported degree of business cycle synchronization. For instance, Chinese-language papers report higher correlation coefficients. Despite of this, we do not detect a robust publication bias in the papers. |
| Keywords: | business cycle synchronization, meta-analysis, China |
| JEL: | E32 F44 |
| Date: | 2015–03–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bof:bofitp:2015_006&r=cna |
| By: | Chen, Yu-Fu; Funke, Michael; Tao, Kunyu |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the financial distortions – growth nexus in China using a tractable general equilibrium modelling approach in which heterogeneous private and state-owned firms interact. The focal points of the model are financial frictions and reallocations of factors of production across firms. The calibrated version of the model elicits the important message that the adoption of a comprehensive financial market reform package abolishing financial distortions will lead to substantial output gains. Thus, structural policies leading to more efficient allocation of factors of production will remain a key policy challenge in China in the years to come. Publication keywords: financial distortions, financial liberalisation, general equilibrium model, China |
| JEL: | C68 G10 G38 O10 |
| Date: | 2015–02–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bof:bofitp:2015_005&r=cna |
| By: | Zhang, Yu Yvette; Palma, Marco A.; Jin, Shaosheng; Yuan, Xiaotong |
| Abstract: | In 2013, Smithfield Foods Inc., the world’s largest pork processor, was acquired by Shuanghui International Holdings Ltd, China’s largest pork producer. The $4.7 billion acquisition marks the largest Chinese takeover of a U.S. company in history. After the acquisition, Virginia-based Smithfield became a subsidiary of Shuanghui International Holdings. In this study, we investigated how US consumers responded to the Chinese acquisition of Smithfield. We found that US consumers are willing to pay significantly more for the US brands compared to the Chinese brands. The US consumers’ willingness to pay for Smithfield products decreased significantly after they learned about the Smithfield-Shuanghui acquisition, especially for risk averse consumers and those with higher education level. Furthermore, contrasting to the results in the Chinese market, we did not find a negative spillover effect of this acquisition on other US products in the US market. |
| Keywords: | Merging and Acquisition, Multinational business, Chinese acquisition of US company, experimental auctions, meat industry, consumer willingness to pay, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, International Relations/Trade, Marketing, C91, D44, D12, F23, Q13, |
| Date: | 2016–05–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea16:236024&r=cna |
| By: | Nuutilainen, Riikka |
| Abstract: | This paper focuses on monetary policy in China. A set of different specifications for the monetary policy reaction function are empirically evaluated using monthly data for 1999––2012. Variation is allowed both in the policy targets as well as in the monetary policy instrument itself. Overall, the performance of the estimated policy rules is surprisingly good. Chinese monetary policy displays countercyclical reactions to in‡ation and leaning-against-the-wind behaviour. The paper shows that there is a notable increase in the overall responsiveness of Chinese monetary policy over the course of the estimation period. The central bank interest rate is irresponsive to economic conditions during the earlier years of the sample but does respond in the later years. This finding supports the view that the monetary policy settings of the People's Bank of China have come to place more weight on price-based instruments. A time-varying estimation procedure suggests that the two monetary policy objectives are assigned to different instruments. The money supply instrument is utilised to control the price level and (after 2008) the interest rate instrument has been used to achieve the targeted output growth. |
| Keywords: | China, Monetary policy, Taylor rule, McCallum rule |
| JEL: | E52 E58 |
| Date: | 2015–03–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bof:bofitp:2015_010&r=cna |
| By: | Libman, Alexander; Vollan, Björn |
| Abstract: | Anti-Western conspiracies are frequently used by Governments to strengthen their power. We investigate the impact of conspiracy thinking on expectations of collusion among individuals in Russia and China. For this purpose, we conduct a novel laboratory experiment to measure expectations of collusion and several survey items related to conspiracy thinking. Our survey results indicate that anti-Western conspiracy thinking is widespread in both countries and correlates with distrust. We find a significant effect of anti-Western conspiracy thinking in China: Anti-Western conspiracy thinking correlates with lower expectations of collusion. We explain this result by stronger ingroup feeling emanating from the anti-Western sentiment. Our paper provides a first step in analyzing the economic implications of conspiracy thinking for society. |
| Keywords: | conspiracy thinking, Russia, China, trust, collusion experiments |
| JEL: | C91 D83 O17 |
| Date: | 2015–04–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bof:bofitp:2015_014&r=cna |
| By: | Hasan, Iftekhar; Kobeissi, Nada; Wang, Haizhi; Zhou, Mingming |
| Abstract: | This paper provides an empirical examination of the regional banking structures in China and their effects on entrepreneurial activity. Using a panel of 27 provinces and four directly controlled municipalities from 1997 through 2008, we find that the presence of large banking institutions negatively correlates with small business development in local markets and that this negative relation is driven mainly by participation of large banks in the short-term loan market. Rural banking institutions, in contrast, are found to promote regional entrepreneurial activity. Moreover, large state banks facilitate small business development in concentrated markets. When we interact measures of banking financing by state banks and rural banking institutions with a set of provincial level marketization indexes, we find that extensive marketization, factor market development, and sophistication of legal frameworks mitigate the negative effect of large state banks on small business development. In provinces with advanced market development, efficient factor markets, and favorable institutional settings, the positive effect of rural banking institutions on small business growth is even stronger. Finally, we present evidence that banks do a better job of promoting regional entrepreneurship when it occurs in conjunction with policies to foster innovation activity and assure protection of intellectual property rights. |
| Keywords: | banking structure, marketization, small business development, China |
| JEL: | G21 O16 P23 P25 |
| Date: | 2015–03–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bof:bofitp:2015_011&r=cna |
| By: | Jin, Yanhong; Hu, Yahong; Pray, Carl; Hu, Ruifa |
| Abstract: | Employing the count data analysis based on survey data of 1355 firms in China’s 29 provinces collected in 2007, this study analyzes the impact of public and private agricultural R&D investments on research productivity measured by the number of patents granted to agricultural firms. We find that private R&D investments and having an own R&D research center increase the number of patents granted. However, the public R&D investments do not have a statistically significant effects on the number of patents granted. We also find that the number of research staff, especially of doctoral research staff, has a positive and statistically significant effect on the number of patents granted. Multi-national firms and firms located in central China have fewer patents than their counterparts. The main findings suggest that it is more efficient for Chinese government to improve research productivity if it encourages private agricultural R&D investments and helps agricultural firms to build their own R&D centers. Chinese government may also need to strengthen the legal framework and institutional resources for the protection and enforcement of intellectual properties to encourage domestic and international firms patent their new technologies. |
| Keywords: | Research and Development Investment, Agricultural Research Productivity, Public R&D, Private R&D, International Development, Productivity Analysis, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea16:236125&r=cna |
| By: | Yiqiu, Wang; Maria, Porter; Songqing, Jin |
| Abstract: | This research estimates the impact of the New Cooperative Medical Scheme (NCMS), a public health insurance program in rural China, on health service use, healthcare costs, and health outcomes. Using difference-in-difference and propensity score matching methods, we address county and household selection bias with panel data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey. By comparing various methods used in prior studies of NCMS to define treatment and comparison groups, we find evidence of county selection bias. Taking a new sampling approach after controlling for county selection issues, we find that while NCMS does not improve health, use of both preventive services and township hospitals increases, as do costs for treating the common cold. In particular, we find that relatively vulnerable households – those with lower incomes and older members participating in NCMS–travel greater distances to access healthcare services, incurring higher travel and treatment costs, yet with no measurable health benefits. |
| Keywords: | China, Health insurance, Medical service utilization, Health, Health Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2016–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea16:235470&r=cna |
| By: | Michael, Bryane; Zhao, Simon |
| Abstract: | How far do China’s property prices need to drop in order to send the country into a recession? What does this question tell us about the way Bubble Economies work? In this paper, we develop a theory of Bubble Economics – non-linear and often “systemic” (in the mathematical sense of the word) forces which cause significant misallocations of resources. Our theory draws on the standard elements of most stories of Bubble Economics, looking at the way banking, construction, savings/investment, local government and equities sectors interact. We find that Bubble Economies’ GDP growth can depend on property prices changes differently at different times -- depending on risks building up in the economy. We argue that a tacit, implicit Bubble Risk Factor might provide a way of understanding a key variable academics and practitioners omit when they try to explain how economies (mis)allocate resources during bubbles. A 15%-20% property price drop could cause recession, if China’s economy resembles other large economies having already experienced property-related asset crises. However, a 40% decline would not be out of the question. |
| Keywords: | China recession,bubble economics,fragility,housing bubble |
| JEL: | D58 N15 L85 G01 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:esprep:141314&r=cna |
| By: | Lai, John; Wang, H. Holly |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, |
| Date: | 2016–05–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea16:236054&r=cna |
| By: | Li, Xiaokang; Guo, Hongdong; Li, Lin |
| Abstract: | Contract farming in development countries has become popular, and this is the same for vegetable production in China. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of production attributes of different vegetables on farmers’ decision of contract farming participation, as well as examine the impact of marketing contracts on net returns. The results revealed that the harvest and marketing times, perishability, certification of the vegetables, and price fluctuation have significantly positive effect on vegetable farmers’ contract farming participation, respectively. A PSM method is employed to estimate the impact of contract farming on net returns of vegetable production, and find out the effect is insignificant. |
| Keywords: | contract farming, vegetable production, transaction cost, China, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea16:235573&r=cna |
| By: | LV, Jie; Tang, Zhong |
| Keywords: | Agricultural Finance, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea16:235758&r=cna |
| By: | Niu, Chiyu |
| Keywords: | Community/Rural/Urban Development, Consumer/Household Economics, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, International Development, Public Economics, |
| Date: | 2016–05–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea16:236033&r=cna |
| By: | Guojun He (Department of Economics, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; Division of Social Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; Division of Environment, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; Institute for Emerging Market Studies, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology); Jeffrey Perloff (Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, UC Berkeley) |
| Abstract: | Surface water pollution has a significant, non-monotonic effect on the infant mortality rate in China. As surface water quality deteriorates, the infant mortality rate first increases and then decreases. Thus, moderate levels of pollution are the most dangerous. |
| Keywords: | water quality; water pollution; infant mortality |
| JEL: | Q53 I1 |
| Date: | 2016–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hku:wpaper:201632&r=cna |
| By: | Thorsten Chmura (Nottingham University, Business School); Sebastian J. Goerg (Department of Economics, Florida State University); Pia Weiss (Nottingham University, Business School) |
| Abstract: | We investigate whether the origin of an employee provides different motives for wage discrimination in gift-exchange experiments with students and migrant workers in China. In a lab and an internet experiment, subjects in the role of employers can condition their wages on the employees? home provinces. The resulting systematic differences in wages can be linked to natural groups and economic characteristics of the provinces. In-group favoritism increases wages for employees who share the same origin as the employer, while an increased probability of being matched with an employee with a different ethnicity reduces wages. Furthermore, wages in the laboratory increase with the actual wage level in the employees? home province. Nevertheless, employees? effort is not influenced by these variables; only the wage paid in the experiment influences effort. |
| Keywords: | wages, discrimination, social identity, natural groups, lab experiment, gift-exchange, migrant-workers, China |
| JEL: | C91 J31 J71 M52 |
| Date: | 2016–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fsu:wpaper:wp2016_04_01&r=cna |
| By: | Paul Hubbard (Crawford School of Public Policy) |
| Abstract: | China’s National Bureau of Statistics releases data for China’s industrial sector, fixed asset investment and real estate investment both according to the enterprise’s official registration status, and according to whether the controller of the enterprise is the state. For most applications data for ‘state owned and state-holding companies’ based on the control concept is appropriate, as this includes coverage of SOEs’ listed- and unlisted-subsidiaries. These data show that less than a third of Chinese industrial output, fixed asset investment, and less than twenty per cent of Chinese real estate investment is carried on by companies that are controlled by the state. A broader definition to cover all state ownership would include enterprises that are not ‘state controlled’ but nevertheless include state capital or investment from SOEs. This would capture some additional proportion of the limited liability companies, joint-ventures and shareholding corporations that are in mixed ownership. |
| Keywords: | China state owned Enterprises, industrial output, fixed asset investment, real estate investment, Chinese economic statistics |
| JEL: | E01 L32 H83 C82 |
| Date: | 2016–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eab:govern:25575&r=cna |
| By: | Watanabe, Mariko; Kojima, Michikazu |
| Abstract: | Improving energy efficiency is an unarguable emergent issue in developing economies and an energy efficiency standard and labeling program is an ideal mechanism to achieve this target. However, there is concern regarding whether the consumers will choose the highly energy efficient appliances because of its high price in consequence of the high cost. This paper estimates how the consumer responds to introduction of the energy efficiency standard and labeling program in China. To quantify evaluation by consumers, we estimated their consumer surplus and the benefits of products based on the estimated parameters of demand function. We found the following points. First, evaluation of energy efficiency labeling by the consumer is not monotonically correlated with the number of grades. The highest efficiency label (Label 1) is not evaluated to be no less higher than labels 2 and 3, and is sometimes lower than the least energy efficient label (Label UI). This goes against the design of policy intervention. Second, several governmental policies affects in mixed directions: the subsidies for energy saving policies to the highest degree of the labels contribute to expanding consumer welfare as the program was designed. However, the replacement for new appliances policies decreased the welfare. |
| Keywords: | Energy, Consumers, Consumer surplus, Energy efficiency standard and labeling, Promotion policies |
| JEL: | F15 O14 O30 |
| Date: | 2016–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jet:dpaper:dpaper602&r=cna |