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on China |
| By: | Kaiji Chen; Tao Zha |
| Abstract: | The Chinese economy has undergone three major phases: the 1978-1997 period marked as the SOE-led economy, the 1998-2015 phase as the investment-driven economy, and the new normal economy since 2016. All three economies have been shaped by the government's financial policies, defined as a set of credit policy, monetary policy, and regulatory policy. We analyze the macroeconomic effects of these financial policies throughout the three phases and provide the stylized facts to substantiate our analysis. The stylized facts differ qualitatively across different phases or economies. We argue that the impacts of China’s financial policies work through transmission channels different from those in developed economies and that a regime switch from one economy to another was driven mainly by regime changes in financial policies. |
| JEL: | E5 G1 G28 O2 |
| Date: | 2018–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:25222&r=cna |
| By: | He, Huajing (University of Essex); Nolen, Patrick J. (University of Essex) |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates the impact of a health insurance reform on health outcomes in urban China. Using the China Health and Nutrition Survey we find that this reform increases the rate of health insurance coverage significantly among workers in Non-State Owned Enterprises. The double difference (DD) estimations show that the reform also leads to better health outcomes: workers are less likely to get sick and more likely to use preventive care. Using an instrumental variable (IV) approach to look at the causal effect of health insurance, we find those with health insurance use more preventive care but do not report significantly better health outcomes, an increase in health care utilisation, or an increase in out-of-pocket medical expenditure. |
| Keywords: | health insurance reform, health outcomes, China |
| JEL: | H51 H43 O2 |
| Date: | 2018–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp11892&r=cna |
| By: | Alicia Garcia-Herrero (Adjunct Professor, Department of Economics, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; Chief Economist for Asia Pacific, NATIXIS; Institute for Emerging Market Studies , Hong Kong University of Science and Technology); Jianwei XU (Associate professor, Beijing Normal University) |
| Abstract: | This paper reviews international measures of the digital economy with those developed by Chinese officials and private sources. Given their lack of comparability, we use Chinaâs input and output and census data to come up with an internationally comparable estimate of Chinaâs size of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector (the core of digital economy), both in terms of value added and employment. Based on the latest available statistics, our measurements indicate that Chinaâs digital economy is not bigger relative to the size of the Chinese economy than the OECD average, especially in terms of ICT employment. This finding, which might look striking based on the current perception of Chinaâs digital economy, masks large differences across regions (with Beijing, Guangdong and Shanghai ahead of the OECD average). |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hku:wpaper:201856&r=cna |
| By: | Shi, X.; Zhou, Y.; Heerink, N.; Ma, X. |
| Abstract: | This study aims to identify the mechanisms through which land tenure governance affects grain efficiency in an integrated framework and to examine the impacts of the public governance, village self-governance, and relational governance of land tenure on the technical efficiency of contracted land and rented-in land. Farm level survey data collected from Liaoning, Jiangxi, and Jiangsu provinces covering the years of 2014 and 2015 is used for the empirical analysis. The findings indicate that (i) public governance associated with land certification significantly increases the technical efficiency of grain production; (ii) village self-governance and administrative land reallocations can serve as substitutes for the land rental market in optimizing the distribution of land resources and improving technical efficiency; and (iii) compared to multi-year transfer contracts, both annual and open-ended transfer contracts have negative impacts on technical efficiency. Keywords: land tenure governance, tenure security, technical efficiency, China Acknowledgement : Financial support for this paper has been gratefully received from the Natural Science Foundation of China (71373127, 71573134, 71773054 and 71603121) and the Postdoctoral Science Foundation of China (2016M601839). |
| Keywords: | Land Economics/Use |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277477&r=cna |
| By: | Shuchen, Liu; Deng, Kent; Shengmin, Sun |
| Abstract: | This study uses data of “Chinese Household Income Project Survey 2002” to investigate long-term impact of Mao’s persistent policy of “forced/involuntary ruralisation of urban youth” (shangshan xiaxiang, literally “re-settlement in mountains and villages”) during the 1950s and 70s on women’s labour market participation and contribution to family incomes. Our results indicate that the impact of Mao’s forced ruralisation on female labour market participation can be positive (despite diminishing in size due to ageing). In addition, a change from positive to negative impact is largely determined by personal hardship under Maoism and its aftermath. Moreover, regarding female contribution to family incomes, our findings suggest that forcefully ruralised urban women have more bargaining power later in family finance. Our conclusion is that against all the odds Mao’s “forced ruralisation of urban youth” has improved family and societal positions of female victims in the post-Mao era as an unintended consequence of Maoism. |
| JEL: | I28 J08 P25 |
| Date: | 2018–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:wpaper:90615&r=cna |
| By: | Sun, S.; Zhang, C.; Hu, R. |
| Abstract: | Despite the contribution of pesticide use to agricultural production, the negative externalities due to pesticide overuse increasingly concern the public. As the largest pesticide user, China aims to reduce its pesticide use in agriculture. However, the empirical analysis on the driving forces of pesticide use and to what extent pesticides are overused across different crops is far from enough. This paper aims to investigate the determinants and overuse of pesticides in grain production in China using provincial data. The results suggest that the prices of pesticides and grain products show a negative and positive relationship with pesticide use, respectively. The public agricultural extension system reform induces an increase in pesticide use. The estimation of a damage-control production function illustrates that pesticides significantly increase grain productivity but are commonly overused in grain production. It implies that the government's policy options with regard to the prices of pesticides and grain products as well as reform of agricultural extension system have played a crucial role in forming pesticide overuse in grain production in China. Acknowledgement : This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 71333006], the Ministry of Science and Technology of China [grant number 2016YFD0201301] and the Beijing Institute of Technology [grant number 20172242001]. |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:276978&r=cna |
| By: | Shi, X. |
| Abstract: | This paper seeks to quantify the role of inequality of opportunity in individual earnings that is associated with family background, gender, ethnic minority status, region of birth and birth cohorts in rural China. Using the China Labour-force Dynamics Survey (CLDS) for 2014, we find that the share of inequality of opportunity in individual earnings in rural China for the full sample is 20.4 percent. A Shapley-value decomposition approach reveals the contribution of each of the circumstances. This result varies across birth cohorts: the youngest cohort 1981-1990 has the lowest total inequality in earnings, but it turns out to be the one with highest circumstantial inequality as well as the partial inequality of opportunities stemming from each of the circumstances, with the only exception of gender. A closer investigation shows that three effort variables own education, off-farm employment and marital status are pivotal in determining income inequality, but migration is not. Circumstances influence individual earnings, not only directly, but also indirectly through these three effort variables. Acknowledgement : The author is most grateful for the technical assistance (sharing related Stata and R codes) provided by Dr. Francisco H. G. Ferreira at the World Bank, Professor Markus J ntti at Stockholm University in Sweden and Dr. Florian Ch vez Ju rez at the National Laboratory for Public Policy in Mexico City,and also for the insightful comments made by Dr. Jane Golley at the Australian National University. |
| Keywords: | Labor and Human Capital |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277016&r=cna |
| By: | Wang, H.; Guan, H.; Boswell, M. |
| Abstract: | More than 60 million children in rural China are left-behind both parents live and work far from rural homes and leave behind their children. This paper explores the variations in how left-behind and non-left-behind families seek health remediation in China's vast but understudied rural areas. We examine this question in the context of a program to provide vision health care to myopic rural students, using data from a randomized controlled trial of 13,100 students in two provinces in China. We find that without a subsidy, uptake of health care services is low, even if individuals are provided with evidence of a potential problem (an eyeglasses prescription). Uptake rises two to three times when this information is paired with a subsidy voucher redeemable for a free pair of prescription eyeglasses. Left-behind children who receive an eyeglasses voucher are not only more likely to redeem it, but also more likely to use the eyeglasses. In other words, in terms of uptake of care and compliance with treatment, the voucher program benefitted left-behind students more than non-left-behind students. The results provide a scientific understanding of differential impacts for guiding effective implementation of health policy to all groups in need in developing countries. Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Health Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:276955&r=cna |
| By: | Peng, Y.; Turvey, C.; Kong, R. |
| Abstract: | This paper aims to determine, how providing the right of collateral to LUR might change farmers investment behavior and incentivize entrepreneurial activity. To achieve this objective, we try to solve two issues. The first issue of economic importance is in understanding the market value of LUR transactions; creating now a tradable asset from one which held value but no market. To examine this we build an argument around the idea of economic and marginal rents from Ricardo. The second issue relates to the extent by which deepening the rural financial landscape by allowing the mortgaging of LUR will promote and advance much needed entrepreneurial activity. To explore this issue we draw on Schumpeter. Then, based on a survey of 1,465 farm households in rural China and an endogenous 2SLS model. We find that a positive and significant relationship between a willingness to mortgage LUR and entrepreneurship, which suggest that the new policy may well meet that objective. However, we do not find that that entrepreneurs alone will have a willingness to mortgage LUR; non-entrepreneurs traditional farmer types- would also be willing to mortgage LUR, but with a caveat that either group already has a disposition or demand for credit. Acknowledgement : Funding for this research from the China National Nature Science Fund with ratification number 71373205. |
| Keywords: | Land Economics/Use |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277308&r=cna |
| By: | Wang, D.; Qian, W. |
| Abstract: | Based on the data of China Household Income Project 2013(CHIP 2013), this paper empirically studies the impact of land expropriation on the objective and subjective welfare of farmers and explores its influence mechanisms. We firstly estimate the net effect of land expropriation on land-lost farmers individual income and happiness. The result shows that although the land expropriation improves their individual income, it significantly reduces their happiness scores. After we use another dataset CFPS2010 to solve endogeneity of geographical selection and apply propensity score matching (PSM) method to solve self-selection bias, the results are also robust. Then, the mechanism analysis shows that off-farm employment plays a mediation effect role so that land expropriation promotes rural labor transfer to non-agricultural employment market and increase their income, but higher occupation switching costs and the lack of social security is one of the important reasons resulting in the decrease of the landless farmers' happiness. To trace the institutional reason, China s splitted land system and its characteristic land expropriation compensation system not only deprived of farmers' land value-added income opportunities, but also failed to fully consider the occupational transformation and long-term security of landless farmers. Acknowledgement : The main funding source for the research is the National Natural Science Foundation of China(71673241).Thanks to Prof. Lu Ming for giving us advice during the research. |
| Keywords: | Research Methods/ Statistical Methods |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277301&r=cna |
| By: | Hou, L.; Min, S.; Huang, Q.; Huang, J. |
| Abstract: | With a large-scale household survey data of maize farmers in China, this study examines how farmers perceptions of drought severity influence their adaptation strategies using endogenous switching probit models. Both ex ante and ex post adaptations are modeled. The empirical results first suggest that the impacts of farmers perceptions of drought severity on their ex ante and ex post adaptive behaviors are different. A farmer perceiving an increasing trend of drought severity has a 7.3% higher probability to use drought tolerant variety as ex ante adaptation, while a 4.8% higher probability of irrigation than those of other farmers. On average, farmers who use drought tolerant maize variety have a 18% lower probability to irrigate, which indicates that the ex-ante adaptation, using drought tolerant maize variety, reduces the need to irrigate as ex-post reaction to drought. Our results lend more support to the importance of farmers perceptions of drought severity to their adaptations. Our results also the importance in considering both ex ante and ex post adaptations in policy making. Acknowledgement : This work was supported by the National Natural Sciences Foundation of China (71773003, 71303226, 71742002), the Ministry of Science and Technology, China (2012CB955700). |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277208&r=cna |
| By: | Fang, Y.; Zhao, Q. |
| Abstract: | The main goal of this paper is to identify what will affect a child s decision of choosing someone as a good friend, and further, to identify why some children have been chosen as others best friends more than once, which means popularity. We draw on a dataset with 11889 observations by conducting a series of standard tests in 2017 spanning 4 provinces in China. We use cognitive (standard math score) and non-cognitive performance (esteem, depression, and grit) and appearance (HAZ and whether the student is overweight) as our key explanatory variables, and we standardized these key variables to identify which factor contributes to the decision of choosing friends and which contributes more while choosing friends. Our first finding shows that math score, depression and whether the student is overweight significantly contribute to the decision of choosing friends. The children who do better in math, have lower tendency to depression and not overweight will have 4.9%, 2.2% and 2.4% higher possibility to be chosen as friends than their counterparts, respectively. Furthermore, when considering popularity of children, we find the similar results. The two main findings show that one may become more popular if he has higher cognitive ability and good appearance. Acknowledgement : We gratefully acknowledge the financial support by National Science Foundation of China (Grants: 71603261); The Ministry of education of Humanities and Social Science project (Grants: 16YJC880107). |
| Keywords: | Labor and Human Capital |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277188&r=cna |
| By: | Bai, Y.; Wang, W.; Zhang, L. |
| Abstract: | Return migration is an important part of rural labor mobility in China, and has been given growing concern recently by governments. However, research covering the duration of stay in their home county, a basic question of labor mobility and a precondition for policy making, is far from enough. The aim of this paper is to analyze the period of return for these migrants based on employment history data among rural laborers. The data was collected from a random, nationally representative sample of 100 rural villages in five provinces of China. We find that 22.3 percent of migrants returned from 1998 to 2015, and most returning migrants stay for a long time. Using the OLS, Tobit, and Heckman two-step methods, the results show that returning migrants who are old, more educated, unmarried, and with school-age children are more likely to stay longer in their home county. From a development perspective, returning migrants are expected to play an important role in the process of rural revitalization. Most importantly, the government should still gradually eliminate institutional limitations facing rural people and promote the free flow of labor resources in the process of realizing the integration of urban and rural areas. Acknowledgement : The authors acknowledge the financial assistance of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number 713300132). |
| Keywords: | Labor and Human Capital |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277380&r=cna |
| By: | Lam, J.; Cheung, L.; Han, Y.; Wang, S. |
| Abstract: | The Fukushima crisis has brought the nuclear safety problem to the world’s attention. China is the most ambitious country in the world in nuclear power development. How China perceives and responds to nuclear safety issues carries significant implications on its citizens’ safety and security. This paper examines the Chinese government’s promised and actual response to nuclear safety following the Fukushima crisis, based on (1) statistical analysis of newspaper coverage on nuclear energy, and (2) review of nuclear safety performance and safety governance. Our analysis shows that (i) the Chinese government’s concern over nuclear accidents and safety has surged significantly after Fukushima, (ii) China has displayed strengths in reactor technology design and safety operation, and (iii) China’s safety governance has been continuously challenged by institutional fragmentation, inadequate transparency, inadequate safety professionals, weak safety culture, and ambition to increase nuclear capacity by three-fold by 2050. We suggest that China should improve its nuclear safety standards, as well as safety management and monitoring, reform institutional arrangements to reduce fragmentation, improve information transparency, and public trust and participation, strengthen the safety culture, introduce process-based safety regulations, and promote international collaboration to ensure that China’s response to nuclear safety can be fully implemented in real-life. |
| Keywords: | nuclear safety, media focus, computational text analysis, regulatory governance, safety management |
| JEL: | C89 Q42 Q48 |
| Date: | 2018–11–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cam:camdae:1866&r=cna |
| By: | Li, X.; Guo, H.; Li, L. |
| Abstract: | The rise of contract farming is one of the most important changes in modern agriculture. Yet the adoption of these new forms of organization has varied widely across commodities. Vegetable, with more rich varieties compared with other agricultural sections, as the representative of high value agricultural products plays an important role in the development of agricultural economics and the improvement of farmers' income. With the rapid emergence of contract farming in recent decades, China is leading the developing world in vegetable production. By using household survey data, this study aimed to explore the linkage between production attributes of different vegetables and 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 propensity score matching (PSM) method is employed to estimate the impact of contract farming on net returns of vegetable production, and find out the effect is insignificant. Acknowledgement : The paper is funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.71333011; Grant 71473218). |
| Keywords: | Land Economics/Use |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277154&r=cna |
| By: | Hou, J.; Huo, X. |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of using computer to obtain information on the farm household s production and consumption, based on a field survey of farm households in northern China. The most important methods applied are instrumental variable (IV) method and propensity score matching (PSM). Estimators of IV, PSM and NNM(nearest neighborhood matching approaches are considered together to check the robustness of empirical results. This article carful impact evaluation results suggest that computer usages improves the size of arable land rented-in, but reduces family labor input intensity and the probability of selling agricultural outputs at farm-gate market. They also stimulated transportation, garment, housing and insurance expenditure per capita. First, we directly estimate computer usage impacts on a broader range of production and consumption indicators by including land-relative investments, variable investments, labor input and households expenditure and provide rigorous impact evaluations on the impact of access to computer. Second, we use IV method PSM method to correct self-selection bias, going beyond the single equation approach in other studies. This enables us to identify the causal relationship between computer usage and farmer s production and consumption decisions. Acknowledgement : We are grateftul to the financial support of the China agricultural research system. |
| Keywords: | Labor and Human Capital |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:276943&r=cna |
| By: | Jiang, Y.; Wang, H.H.; Jin, S. |
| Abstract: | With the booming of e-commerce, consumers are turning to online markets for food. Among all countries, China has the largest food online buyers with 0.541 billion consumers shopping for food online. Thanks to the free services provided by multiple e-commerce and social platforms and to the developed delivery networks, farmers can sell their products online at low transition cost in China. Meanwhile, the capacities of online stores to highlight traceablity and production process and of platforms to reveal quality signals through consumer s reviewing and scoring systems, can decrease asymmetric information about food product quality and safety compared with offline markets. Thus, those special features of online market may in return to encourage farmers to change their marketing plans to sell more safe food online. Our paper uses choice experiment method to solicit farmers different production and marketing preferences, and finds that farmers perceive higher rewards selling safer products than conventional products when using e-commerce platforms, an evidence supporting the positive impact of online market channel on the supply of safer food. Acknowledgement : Acknowledgments The authors would like to thank China Rural Household Panel Survey (CRHPS) for their helpful support. We also gratefully acknowledge the support from China Academy for Rural Development, Zhejiang University. |
| Keywords: | Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277200&r=cna |
| By: | Wang, X.; Min, S.; Junfei, B. |
| Abstract: | This paper constructs a simple model of matrilocal residence with the heterogeneities in family labor and resource endowments of the wives households. Using the data collected from a comprehensive household survey of small-scale rubber farmers in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture in Southwest China, the empirical results suggest that the economic factors go beyond the traditional custom of the Dai women and determine a woman's decision to be a matrilocal residence. The labor shortage of a woman s household may foster the incidence of matrilocal residence, while a woman whose natal household possesses more rubber plantations has a higher probability of matrilocal residence. The results confirm that in the presence of labor constraint and resource heterogeneity, a higher labor demand of a household and possessing more location-specific resource may increase the likelihood of matrilocal residence of female family members after marriage. The findings complement the literature regarding matrilocal residence in a community with disequilibrium distribution of the location-specific resources. Acknowledgement : Acknowledgements: This study is conducted in the framework of the Sino-German SURUMER Project , funded by the Bundesministerium f r Wissenschaft, Technologie und Forschung (BMBF), FKZ: 01LL0919. We also acknowledge funding supports provided by National Natural Sciences of China (71673008; 71742002). |
| Keywords: | Labor and Human Capital |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277494&r=cna |
| By: | Lu, H. |
| Abstract: | The relationship between farmers and land has always been the main concept behind rural reforms in China, and continues to be so even at present. Land fragmentation management as one of the basic characteristics of agricultural production in our country, not only related to agricultural production, but also related to the use of labor. Using household survey data collected from the Jiangsu province in China, this study analyzes the theoretical mechanism, and empirically tests the direction and degree of the impact of land fragmentation on non-agricultural labor supply. The results reveal that land fragmentation decreases the marginal productivity of agricultural labor and increases the non-agricultural labor supply. This effect is especially more obvious for young workers. The government should provide timely policy support to spontaneously transfer adjacent land or the whole village among farmers, promote land consolidation, optimize the agricultural management system, complement agricultural modernization with new urbanization, and propel the integration of the agriculture, manufacturing, and service industries in rural areas Acknowledgement : This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41561040); the Key Projects of the National Social Science Fund of China (No. 15AZD075); the Sixty-second Batch of China Postdoctoral Science Foundation Funding (No. 2017M622097); the Technology Foundation of Jiangxi Education Department of China (No. KJLD14033 & No. GJJ160431), and the Fok Ying-Tung Fund (No. 141084). |
| Keywords: | Land Economics/Use |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277097&r=cna |
| By: | Tan, S.; Liu, B.; Hannaway, D. |
| Abstract: | The land rental market is critical for herders to obtain access to land resources. However, in contrast to the numerous studies on the farmland rental market, few studies have focused on the grassland rental market, and analyses of younger herders land renting behaviors from the perspective of social capital are even more rare. This paper addresses three questions: First, what is the current situation regarding younger herders participation? Second, does social capital influence herders renting decisions? Third, is there a difference of herder age on the influence of social capital on grassland renting decisions? Probit model was conducted with data collected from 422 herder households in Inner Mongolia, P.R. China. Findings suggested that 1) Younger herders grassland rental behaviors presented the coexistence of high participation rate and high rental price . 2) An inverse U-shape relationship existed between age and herders land rental decisions; 3) Compared with older herders, social capital played a relatively weak role in promoting the ability of younger herders to rent grassland. Acknowledgement : The authors thank the Foundation of Renmin University of China (16XNI004) for its support and thank colleagues and students from Renmin University of China and Inner Mongolia University for their participation in the field surveys. |
| Keywords: | Land Economics/Use |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277034&r=cna |
| By: | Kuhn, L.; Hou, L.; Chen, X.; Huang, J. |
| Abstract: | The burning of agricultural residue is one large contributor to poor air quality in China. Due to technical requirements and adverse incentives, farmers are however still reluctant to give up this traditional form of residue management. Current policies are aiming at improving the spread of innovation by both coercive measures penalizing residue burning and programs supporting more sustainable alternatives. The current paper employs a fixed-effect model along farm-level and village level panel data collected in 2013 to assess trends in residue management and analyze the impact of three different policies on residue management choices of farmers in North-East China. Our data reveals that the 2008 residue burning ban could not achieve any significant reduction of residue burning. Instead we found that policies that focus on enabling farmers to comply with regulations, for instance machinery subsidies and demonstration sites, had a significant positive effect on sustainable residue management. While burning bans are still a necessary component of environmental policy, we therefore recommend placing highest priority on policies providing economic incentives to achieve long-term changes in farmers management strategies. Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277374&r=cna |
| By: | Li, Yanan (Beijing Normal University); Kanbur, Ravi (Cornell University); Lin, Carl (Bucknell University) |
| Abstract: | The theory of fiscal and regulatory competition between jurisdictions is more advanced than its empirical testing. This is particularly true of labor regulation in general, and minimum wage regulation in particular, and especially so for developing countries. This paper utilizes the spatial lag methodology to study city-level strategic interactions in setting and enforcing minimum wage standards during 2004-2012 in China. We manually collect a panel data set of city-level minimum wage standards from China's government websites. This analysis finds strong evidence of spatial interdependence in minimum wage standards and enforcement among main cities in China. If other cities decrease minimum wage standards by 1 RMB, the host city will decrease its standard by about 0.7-3.2 RMB. If the violation rate in other cities increases by 1 percent, the host city will respond by an increase of roughly 0.4-1.0 percentage points. The results are robust to using three estimation methods, Maximum Likelihood, IV/GMM and a dynamic panel data model. Our findings of strategic interactions suggest the need for policy coordination in labor regulation in China. |
| Keywords: | minimum wage, enforcement, race to the bottom, strategic interactions, China |
| JEL: | J38 |
| Date: | 2018–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp11893&r=cna |
| By: | Yi, Q. |
| Abstract: | The separation of agricultural mechanization services from the production processes of agriculture represents the division of labor in agriculture and is a kind of innovation in the organization of agricultural production. This study explores the adoption of agricultural mechanization services among maize farmers in China and particularly examines the impacts of population aging and off-farm employment. Based on a cross-sectional data of some 600 maize farmers in 7 provinces of China , the results show that the mechanization rate of maize farming in China is about 61%, wherein over Over 46% adopt agricultural mechanization services, but while less than 15% use own agricultural machines. The proportion of family members aged?60 years old in the household negatively affects the off-farm employment of family members and the adoption of agricultural mechanization services. Also, the percent of family members engaging in off-farm work has a positive effect on maize farmers' agricultural mechanization services adoption. The findings reveal that the increasing population aging and the rising wages in China would foster the demand for agricultural mechanization services in future. This study not only complements the empirical evidence on agricultural mechanization services but also provides a better understanding of the transformation of agriculture in China. Acknowledgement : Thanks to China Center for Agricultural Policy , my coauther Min Shi and my tutor professor Huang jikun |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277541&r=cna |
| By: | Liu, H.; Deng, H.; Xu, Z.; Lu, W. |
| Abstract: | With the rapid development of agricultural cooperatives in China, a substantial number of them exist without any operation or service. To identify the true impact of agricultural cooperatives on crop production, we ought to parse out cooperatives that were registered but do not function properly. This paper analyzes the role of agricultural cooperatives in changing crop production structure in rural China, focusing on their status of activity. The data are from village surveys in three provinces (Jiangsu, Jilin, Sichuan) collected by the authors in years 2003, 2009 and 2014. Results show that agricultural cooperatives do not affect the production of grain crops, but do increase the size and share of farmland allocated to high-value crops. The effect only manifests in villages with well-functioning cooperatives. This indicates that strict monitoring system and incentive mechanisms need to be implemented to improve the performance of the cooperatives. Acknowledgement : The authors are grateful to Xuyuan Zheng, Xiaojing Liao, Zheyi Zhu,Yufeng Luo, Zixi Feng and other team members who helped collect the data. We would like to thank the financial support from National Natural Science Foundation (71361140370&71573133) and National Social Science Foundation (13ZD160&14ZDA038). |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277324&r=cna |
| By: | Isabella M Weber; Gregor Semieniuk (Institute of Management Studies, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK) |
| Abstract: | American radical economists in the 1960s perceived China under Maoism as an important experiment in creating a new society, aspects of which they hoped could serve as a model for the developing world. But the knowledge of ‘actually existing Maoism’ was very limited due to the mutual isolation between China and the US. This paper analyses the First Friendship Delegation of American Radical Political Economists (FFDARPE) to the People’s Republic of China in 1972, consisting mainly of Union for Radical Political Economics (URPE) members, which was the first visit of a group of American economists to China since 1949. Based on interviews with trip participants as well as archival and published material, this paper studies what we can learn about the engagement with Maoism by American radical economists from their dialogues with Chinese hosts, from their on-the-ground observations, and their reflection upon return. We show how the visitors’ own ideas conflicted and intersected with their perception of the Maoist practice on gender relations; workers’ management and life in the communes. We also shed light on the diverging conceptions of the role for economic expertise between URPE and late Maoism. As the first in-depth study on the FFDARPE we provide rich empirical insights into an ice-breaking event in the larger process of normalization in the Sino- U.S relations, that ultimately led to the disillusionment of the Left with China. |
| Keywords: | China; socialism and capitalism; transition economics; Maoism |
| JEL: | B24 N15 N45 O10 P21 P32 |
| Date: | 2018–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:soa:wpaper:212&r=cna |
| By: | Xie, H. |
| Abstract: | Farmers' response to the winter wheat cropping policy in groundwater funnel areas is the key factor in promoting fallow plans. Therefore, this paper discusses the farmers responses and the influencing factors for the winter wheat policy in the Hebei groundwater funnel area by using an ordered multivariate logistic model; it aims to provide a theoretical basis for scientifically and rationally developing a rotation policy in the groundwater funnel area. The results revealed that cultivated land has a negative impact on the fallow policy. The number of households, the proportion of farmers, the per capita area of cultivated land, and machinery use have a negative impact on support for the fallow policy. The dependency ratio and land fragmentation have a significant positive impact on support for the fallow policy. Occupation has the greatest marginal effect on understanding of the fallow policy and satisfaction with fallow policy compensation, dependency ratio has the greatest marginal effect on support for the fallow policy. Finally, this paper proposes some policy and other recommendations such as the transfer of the surplus labor force, stronger government supervision of fallow policy compensation, stronger cultural education and greater promotion of the fallow policy. Acknowledgement : This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41561040); the Technology Foundation of Jiangxi Education Department of China (No. KJLD14033 & No. GJJ160431) and the Fok Ying-Tung Fund (No. 141084). |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277185&r=cna |
| By: | Zhao, Q.; Sun, X.; Guo, P.; Liu, X. |
| Abstract: | With rapid urbanization, millions of people from rural areas have migrated to major cities for employment, leaving their young children at home or bringing their children to urban areas. Whether this labor migration creates substantial mental, physical and educational challenges for these left-behind and migrant children should be considered. This paper uses data from a 9824 students sample from a survey conducted by the authors in Beijing, Suzhou, Anhui and Henan. This study establishes OLS models for identifying the correlation of non-left-behind children, left-behind children and migrant children on health, cognitive and non-cognitive performance. Our empirical findings reveal that the migration of adult household members negatively affects the health status, cognitive and non-cognitive performances of left-behind children and only cognitive performance for migrant children. The effects are particularly prominent for rural children, when the mother migrates out of province. Acknowledgement : We gratefully acknowledge the financial support by National Science Foundation of China (Grants: 71603261); The Ministry of education of Humanities and Social Science project (Grants: 16YJC880107); Chinese Universities Scientific Fund (Grants: 2017RW005, 2017QC043); China Agricultural Foundation Da Bei Nong Education Fund . |
| Keywords: | Health Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277164&r=cna |
| By: | Zhigang, X.; Zongli, Z.; Funing, Z.; Junfei, B. |
| Abstract: | With household disposable income increase, the proportion of food away from home (FAFH) consumption rises rapidly in the total household food consumption. Consumer s plate waste has attracted increasing public, academic, and political attention in recent years. In order to understand the reason that cause plate clearly, this empirical study sheds light on the effect of preference for food variety and average portion size on the plate waste using survey data from 1340 tables of 161 restaurants in Beijing and Lhasa. The key finding suggests that income increase leads more preference for food variety when consumer dining out; and we verify that a consumer is more likely to waste food when variety preference increase by using dining reason as an instrument and average portion size of restaurant increase. Our result implys that the restaurant should reduce the average portion size of dish with residents' income increases, which can reduce the consumer s plate waste. This paper introduces the preference for food variety into the utility function, which makes the utility function of residents FAFH more perfect and more realistic, and we introduce an order decision into the analysis framework, which constitutes a two-step decision to plate waste. Acknowledgement : |
| Keywords: | Research Methods/ Statistical Methods |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:276951&r=cna |
| By: | Chen, Y.; Chen, K.; Zhong, F. |
| Abstract: | Individual farmers have been entitled to lease farmland in China since 2003. During the same period, China has undergone a rapid urbanization, causing farmers to leave their lands. In 2004, the government introduced farm subsidies nationwide to encourage farming. This paper represents the very first attempt to examine the impact of farm subsidies on farmland cash rents in China. We construct a farmland rental model to account for imperfect competitions due to insecure property rights. This model is estimated using information from 5,041 households in China over the 2004-2013 period. Estimation results show that farm subsidies have a positive and statistically significant impact on farmland rents. The incidence of farm subsidies on farmland rents is estimated to be 0.45, which suggests that farmland tenants capture 55 percent of the subsidy, leaving 45 percent for landlords. This implies that farm subsidy policies exhibit substantial distributional effects. In addition, urbanization and market returns are also found to have a positive relationship with farmland rents, which is consistent with previous literature. Acknowledgement : Financial support of the NSFC (National Natural Science Foundation of China)-CGIAR (Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research) Program is gratefully acknowledged. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277513&r=cna |
| By: | Pamela Lenton (Department of Economics, University of Sheffield, UK); Lu Yin (School of Public Administration, Nanjing University of Finance and Economics, China) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the role of generalised self-efficacy and work values, on employee reports of overall job satisfaction in China from 2012 to 2014. This paper is novel in two ways. The first is that different aspects of job satisfaction in China are examined in addition to overall satisfaction and the second is that we examine self-efficacy and work values after controlling for occupation and income. The evidence presented supports our various hypotheses that self-efficacy and perceived work values play a large role in determining both reported overall job satisfaction and job satisfaction with various aspects of the job in China. In particular, we find a strong link between the National Vocational Qualification system in China and generalised self-efficacy, which we believe enhances workers sense of capability. The implication for Chinese employers is that it is imperative for their worker productivity that they look after their employees’ perceived self-efficacy, possibly by encouraging access to the National Qualification system and that they also facilitate a good working environment where worker relations or ‘guanxi’ can flourish. |
| Keywords: | Generalised self-efficacy; Work values; Job satisfaction; Ordered-probit |
| JEL: | D8 J28 J81 |
| Date: | 2018–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:shf:wpaper:2018017&r=cna |
| By: | Xiang, C.; Huang, J. |
| Abstract: | Wheat is the second most important food crop in China. Its yield has increased significant due to modern breeding program since early 1980s. This study examines the contribution of exotic wheat germplasm to wheat varieties and production in China. Using a unique dataset on major wheat varieties adopted by farmers and their pedigree in 17 major wheat production provinces in the past three decades, the results show that exotic germplasm from CIMMYT and other countries as a whole made a significant part of wheat varieties in China. Compared with the varieties with only Chinese germplasm that have increased by 111% in 1982-2014, varieties with exotic germplasm normally had higher yield, particularly for those with both local and exotic germplasm. The econometric analysis further confirms that, compared with the varieties with Chinese germplasm only, the varieties with exotic germplasm have contributed higher yield. While additional increase in wheat yield from CIMMYT and other countries germplasm were 2% and 0.2%, respectively, in 1982-2014, their contributions to average annual actual yield were 63 kg/ha from CIMMYT and 323 kg/ha from other countries in past three decades. The paper concludes with policy implications for plant breeding and policy makers in China. Acknowledgement : This research was supported by a grant from the CGIAR Research Program on Wheat (A4031.09.25), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (71333013 and 71303228), and National Platform for Sharing S&T Resources -- Crop Germplasm Resource (NICGR2017-97). |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277017&r=cna |
| By: | Funke, Michael; Tsang, Andrew; Zhu, Linxu |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the implementation of regionally differentiated macro-prudential policies in China. To assess the relative intensity of the city-level macro-prudential policies over time, we construct a time-varying city-level macro-prudential policy intensity indicator for 70 Chinese cities from 2010-2017. The empirical evidence shows China’s macro-prudential toolbox has gradually evolved toward city-level policies tailored to granular local conditions to mitigate risks. |
| JEL: | O18 E52 C38 |
| Date: | 2018–11–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bof:bofitp:2018_018&r=cna |
| By: | Tomoyuki Iida (Bank of Japan); Kanako Shoji (Bank of Japan); Shunichi Yoneyama (Bank of Japan) |
| Abstract: | This paper discusses the sustainability of China fs rapid growth mainly based on the estimation of the corporate-level total factor productivity of Chinese listed firms. Since the 1980s, both capital accumulation and rapid technological progress -- measured as total factor productivity (TFP) -- have contributed to the high growth of the Chinese aggregate output. Should the prediction of the standard growth theory be correct, however, economic growth led by capital accumulation is not likely to be long lasting, hence we mainly focus on firm level TFP growth. As a result, we identify four channels that would continue to promote the TFP growth of the Chinese corporate sector at an aggregate level: (i) declining proportion of low-productivity state-owned enterprises, (ii) continuous influx of highly competent new start-ups, (iii) broad catching up trend among the laggards in the firm distribution, and (iv) innovation spawning R&D activities. These four channels would underpin the medium-term economic growth of the Chinese economy. |
| Keywords: | China; Total Factor Productivity; Catching up; R&D |
| JEL: | N15 O30 O47 |
| Date: | 2018–11–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:boj:bojwps:wp18e19&r=cna |
| By: | Yujiao Xian; Ke Wang; Yi-Ming Wei; Zhimin Huang |
| Abstract: | The nationwide carbon emission permit trading scheme has been launched in China¡¯s power industry sector by the end of 2017. The estimation of abatement costs savings from carbon emission permit trading can provide valuable guidelines and support to environmental regulatory policies on controlling CO2 emissions. By applying a parametric and nonparametric integrating approach and conducting an ex post analysis in two scenarios (i.e., with and without carbon emission permit trading simulation), this study provides a simulative calculation of the opportunity abatement cost savings and the marginal abatement cost savings from carbon emission permit trading in China¡¯s power industry of 30 provinces. The simulation results show that: i) A 13% annually average potential on the opportunity abatement cost savings (i.e., 1024 billion yuan) would be realized if introducing a nationwide emission permit trading system in China¡¯s power industry during 2011-2015. ii) Meanwhile, the marginal abatement cost savings that range from 39 to 47 yuan/ton would be realized through emission permit trading. iii) Provinces of Xinjiang and Henan show the largest absolute opportunity abatement cost savings from trading, while Qinghai province shows the highest percentage increase in opportunity abatement cost savings. iv) Although there is significant difference in the marginal abatement cost among provinces, the marginal abatement cost savings from trading would occur for most China¡¯s provinces. |
| Keywords: | By-production approach; Data Envelopment Analysis; Directional Distance Function; Emission Trading System; Opportunity abatement cost; Marginal abatement cost |
| JEL: | Q54 Q40 |
| Date: | 2018–11–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:biw:wpaper:121&r=cna |
| By: | Xiaorong, Z.; Yumeng, W.; Xiangzhi, K. |
| Abstract: | China is the largest producer of tea in the world. In recent years, the primary activities and support activities of the Chinese tea value chain have undergone changes, such as the higher demand for raw materials with strict quality standards, the diversification of procurement methods and the cross-regionalization of procurement. Small farmers face more serious difficulties, such as financing problem, production input problem, lack of market information and so on. These problems make it easier for them to be squeezed out of the market, and the status of farmers in the market would be lower than before. In this paper, we draw on data from tea farmers in northern, eastern and southern Fujian Province China in July 2017. We found that the participation of tea farmers in the value chain helps to increase their economic performance. And tea farmers participate in different value chain organizations to different extent to their economic performance. Among them, only the participation of tea growers is more conducive to increase their economic performance than joining and setting up the tea value chain organization; tea growers join enterprises more favorably and increase their economic performance than joining cooperatives. Acknowledgement : We gratefully acknowledge financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China No.71361140369. |
| Keywords: | Marketing |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277292&r=cna |
| By: | Li, H.; Wang, X.; Ren, Y. |
| Abstract: | With the substantial increase in family income, the prevalence of overweight has risen and become a serious threat to individual health and major health challenges in many developing countries. From the perspective of food consumption, this study attempts to shed light on the effect of family income on adults health outcomes of BMI and being overweight through three potential channels of nutrition intakes, dietary knowledge, and health insurance. Using data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS), the empirical estimations show adults BMI and the propensity of being overweight tend to increase with rising income in China. After identifying significant correlations between family income and potential channels considered, we conclude that approximately 34.14% and 33.75% of income effect on BMI and overweight could be explained by these three channels, especially, nutrition intakes taking the largest proportion is responsible for 26.96% and 28.08% of income effect on BMI and overweight, respectively. Additionally, we observe that there exists a significant heterogeneity in income-BMI gradients across various income quantiles and sub-samples, showing that income has higher effect on adults health for male and urban samples but it is not responsible for female sample. Acknowledgement : The authors acknowledge funding supports provided by National Natural Sciences of China (71742002; 71673008). |
| Keywords: | Health Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae18:277074&r=cna |