nep-cna New Economics Papers
on China
Issue of 2022‒02‒21
nine papers chosen by
Zheng Fang
Ohio State University

  1. New evidence on the soft budget constraint: Chinese environmental policy effectiveness in SOE-dominated cities * By Mathilde Maurel; Thomas Pernet
  2. The Rise of China and Contestation in Global Tax Governance By Christensen, Rasmus Corlin; Hearson, Martin
  3. Symmetric and asymmetric relationships between renewable energy, oil imports, arms exports, military spending, and economic growth in China By Ben Youssef, Slim
  4. Labor-related knowledge transfers from Chinese foreign direct investment in Ethiopia and Tanzania By Ellis, Mia; McMillan, Margaret S.; Sovani, Manali
  5. Cross-Border Activities as a Source of Information: Evidence from Insider Trading during the COVID-19 Crisis By Sanz, Leandro
  6. Mergers and Acquisitions by Chinese Multinationals in Europe: The Effect on the Innovation Performance of Acquiring Firms By Tian Xiong
  7. Compensating for academic loss: Online learning and student performance during the COVID-19 pandemic By Andrew E. Clark; Huifu Nong; Hongjia Zhu; Rong Zhu
  8. The US–China phase one trade deal : An economic analysis of the managed trade agreement By Funke, Michael; Wende, Adrian
  9. Wealth Inequality and Social Mobility: A Simulation-Based Modelling Approach By Yang, Xiaoliang; Zhou, Peng

  1. By: Mathilde Maurel (FERDI - Fondation pour les Etudes et Recherches sur le Développement International, CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Thomas Pernet
    Abstract: This paper analyses the efficiency of a set of environmental measures introduced by the 11th Five Years Plan (FYP) in China in 2006, using a rich and unique dataset borrowed from the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) and the State Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA). By exploiting plausibly exogenous variation in regulatory stringency generated by the targets' system in China across provinces in 2006, we find evidence that pollution-intensive cities substantially decreased the emission of SO2, whereas cities where the presence of SOEs (State Owned Enterprises) is large did not. We interpret these results as pointing to the evidence of a still ongoing SBC (Soft Budget Constraints) surrounding Chinese SOEs. The findings are robust to the inclusion of different specifications of fixed effects, and other key determinants of firm pollution. Moreover, we investigate what are the main factors behind the no-compliance to the regulations: the overlapping (or not) with TCZ (SPZ, Coastal) cities where the environmental (growth) policies are prioritized, * The authors are grateful to William F. Shughart II and two anonymous reviewers, whose comments improved the manuscript considerably. We are also very greatful to Zhao Ruili and Zhou Ling for their precious help in collecting the data from the China Environment Statistics Yearbook.
    Keywords: Differencein-Difference estimation Q53,Soft Budget Constraint,Kornai,China,Environmental regulation
    Date: 2021–04
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:cesptp:hal-03511874&r=
  2. By: Christensen, Rasmus Corlin; Hearson, Martin
    Abstract: This paper examines the relationship between China’s changing economy and its global business tax diplomacy. Three trends dominate: China is becoming a net capital exporter, emerging as a major consumer market, and is home to digital giant firms including Baidu, Tencent and Alibaba. The resulting drive to promote both ‘going out’ and ‘bringing in’ foreign direct investment has led China to engage selectively and strategically with Western-led institutions. We show how China variously challenges, defends, and develops alternatives to global tax standards in three cases: global efforts to tackle corporate tax avoidance, bilateral tax treaty negotiations, and administrative tax cooperation.
    Date: 2022
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idq:ictduk:17075&r=
  3. By: Ben Youssef, Slim
    Abstract: This paper evaluates the symmetric and asymmetric relationships between military spending (MS) and oil imports (OIM) in China. For this purpose, we use the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) and the non-linear ARDL approaches, with annual data ranging from 1989 to 2016. In the long-run, MS increases OIM, renewable energy (RE) consumption, and gross domestic product (GDP). RE consumption increases arms exports (AE) and GDP but reduces OIM. Interestingly, OIM reduces AE and AE harm GDP. OIM seem to have a non-linear and asymmetric impact on MS both in the short- and long-run. In the long-run, an increase in OIM by 1% increases MS by 0.853%, while a reduction of OIM by 1% reduces MS by 1.467%. The cumulative dynamic multiplier effects indicate that China reacts very rapidly to positive shocks, but is very cautious about reducing its MS in the event of a negative shock. It appears that China is prompt to reduce considerably its MS whenever it is assured about its energy security. This could be partially achieved by increasing its RE consumption, and the military sector is invited to contribute especially through its R&D activities. This could lead to a cleaner environment and a more peaceful world.
    Keywords: Renewable energy; oil imports; arms exports; military spending; non-linear and linear autoregressive distributed lag; China.
    JEL: C32 H56 O53 Q42
    Date: 2021–07–01
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:111413&r=
  4. By: Ellis, Mia; McMillan, Margaret S.; Sovani, Manali
    Abstract: We examine worker training by Chinese manufacturing firms using nationally representative firm-level data from both Ethiopia and Tanzania. While Chinese firms make up a relatively small portion of the manufacturing industry in both Ethiopia and Tanzania, at the firm-level they contribute significantly to both domestic employment and labor training. In both countries more than 85 percent of the workers employed by Chinese firms are local, and Chinese firms (and other foreign firms) are more likely to offer labor training than their domestic counterparts. However, we find evidence that Chinese firms underperform relative to other foreign firms in the share of local workers employed, and in Tanzania the difference is especially large for managerial positions.
    Keywords: ETHIOPIA; EAST AFRICA; AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA; AFRICA; TANZANIA; labour; training; knowledge; investment; manufacturing; foreign investment; Foreign Direct Investment (FDI); Chinese FDI; labour training; local employment
    Date: 2021
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:2078&r=
  5. By: Sanz, Leandro (Ohio State University)
    Abstract: Insider trading during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic provides a unique opportunity to study how corporate insiders benefit from information flows in their network of business contacts. I find that insiders at firms with activities in China sell more shares of their companies than other insiders and do so earlier. Consistent with an information channel, I show that firms with supply-chain relationships and subsidiaries in China, more local assets and employees, and insiders overseeing global operations drive these effects. Insiders' private information seems to have been forward-looking, which allowed them to avoid significant losses during the period.
    JEL: D83 D85 F23 G14
    Date: 2021–12
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecl:ohidic:2021-20&r=
  6. By: Tian Xiong (Europäisches Institut für Internationale Wirtschaftsbeziehungen (EIIW))
    Abstract: This study aims to investigate the effects of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) by Chinese multinational firm in the EU28 on the subsequent innovation performance of acquiring firms with different technological intensities and types of corporate ownership The study does so by applying the Zero-Inflated Negative Binomial estimation to analyze novel longitudinal firm-level data covering the period from 2010 to 2018. The empirical evidence suggests that Chinese acquiring firms are generally able to enhance their innovation performance after merging or acquiring firms from the EU28 countries. Furthermore, this study reveals that medium low- and low-tech firms significantly improved their innovation performance after undertaking M&As, but the same effect cannot be identified for firms in the high- and medium high-tech groups. Finally, strong evidence confirms the significant increase in innovation output of private-owned enterprises in the post-acquisition era compared with state-owned or -controlled enterprises.
    Keywords: mergers and acquisitions, M&A, innovation performance, emerging market multinationals (EMNEs), learning, China, EU
    JEL: O1 O3 F23
    Date: 2022–01
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bwu:eiiwdp:disbei310&r=
  7. By: Andrew E. Clark (PSE - Paris School of Economics - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - ENS Paris - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, PJSE - Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS Paris - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement); Huifu Nong (Guangdong University of Finance & Economics); Hongjia Zhu (Jinan University [Guangzhou]); Rong Zhu (Flinders University [Adelaide, Australia])
    Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to widespread school shutdowns, with many continuing distance education via online-learning platforms. We here estimate the causal effects of online education on student exam performance using administrative data from Chinese Middle Schools. Taking a difference-in-differences approach, we find that receiving online education during the COVID-19 lockdown improved student academic results by 0.22 of a standard deviation, relative to pupils without learning support from their school. Not all online education was equal: students who were given recorded online lessons from external higher-quality teachers had higher exam scores than those whose lessons were recorded by teachers from their own school. The educational benefits of distance learning were the same for rural and urban students, but the exam performance of students who used a computer for online education was better than those who used a smartphone. Last, while everyone except the very-best students performed better with online learning, it was low achievers who benefited from teacher quality.
    Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic,Online education,Student performance,Teacher quality
    Date: 2021–08
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-03467128&r=
  8. By: Funke, Michael; Wende, Adrian
    Abstract: In light of the recent tit-for-tat trade dispute between China and the US, interest in quantifying the effects of the so-called phase one agreement has risen. To this end, the paper quantifies the impact of the asymmetric managed trade agreement using a multi-country open-economy dynamic general quilibrium model. Besides assessing the direct implications for China and the US, trade diversion effects are also analyzed. The model-based analysis finds noticeable positive (negative) impacts of the agreement for the US (China) as well as negative spillover effects for countries not directly affected by the managed trade deal due to trade diversion. The impact of possible future trade agreements is also examined.
    JEL: F13 F41 F42
    Date: 2022–01–20
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bof:bofitp:2022_001&r=
  9. By: Yang, Xiaoliang (Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Wuhan, China); Zhou, Peng (Cardiff Business School)
    Abstract: We design a series of simulation-based thought experiments to deductively evaluate the causal effects of various factors on wealth inequality (the distribution) and social mobility (dynamics of the distribution). We find that uncertainty per se can lead to a “natural” degree of inequality and returns-related factors contribute more than earnings-related factors. Based on these identified factors, we construct an empirical, hybrid agent-based model to match the observed wealth inequality measures of the G7 countries and China. The estimated model can generate a power-law wealth distribution for the rich and a positively sloped intra-generational Great Gatsby curve. We also demonstrate how this hybrid model can be extended to a wide range of questions such as redistributive effects of tax and finance.
    Keywords: Wealth Inequality; Social Mobility; Agent-Based Model
    JEL: D31 E21 J60
    Date: 2022–02
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdf:wpaper:2022/3&r=

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