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Selective Default by Local Governments in China

Haoyu Gao, Hong Ru, Dragon Yongjun Tang, Jan 10, 2018

We identify bank loans to China’s local government financing vehicles and find that 1.7% of the loans that matured during the sample period failed to make the due payments. The LGFV loan default rate is much higher for commercial banks than for the China Development Bank, which provides more comprehensive financing for local governments than typical commercial banks. This selective default pattern is weaker during the ¥4-trillion stimulus period but stronger after 2010 when commercial banks exited the LGFV market.

Economic Growth — in the World and in China

Robert J. Barro, Jul 12, 2017

Convergence forces suggest that China’s per capita GDP growth rate will decline gradually from around 7% per year to the world’s historical average of 2%. In the past, this convergence tendency was more than offset by China’s opening to markets, improved legal institutions and business regulations, increased investment rates, higher life expectancy, and reduced fertility—but the convergence force will ultimately dominate.

Brain Drain: The Impact of Air Pollution on Firm Performance

Shuyu Xue, Bohui Zhang, Xiaofeng Zhao, Feb 12, 2020

By exploiting the exogenous variation in air pollution caused by China’s central heating policy, we find that air pollution reduces the accumulation of executive talent and high-quality employees. We also find that firms located in polluted areas have poorer performance, especially for firms with greater dependence on human capital.

Credit Expansion and Allocation Dynamics under Economic Stimulus

Lin William Cong, Jacopo Ponticelli, Sep 13, 2017

We study credit allocation across firms and its real effects during China’s economic stimulus plan of 2009-2010 using loan-level data from the 19 largest Chinese banks matched with firm-level data on manufacturing firms. We find that the stimulus-driven credit expansion significantly affected firm borrowing, investment, and employment. The plan disproportionately favored state-owned firms and firms with a lower marginal product of capital, reversing the process of capital reallocation that characterized China’s high growth before 2008.

Industry/Policy View How Does Monetary Policy Affect the Asset Management Industry? Evidence from China’s Fund Managers

John Ammer, John Rogers, Gang Wang, Yang Yu, Jul 15, 2020

We conduct a novel systematic textual analysis of the discussion in the quarterly reports of China fund managers, from which we infer their near-term expectations for Chinese monetary policy. We show that this aggregate index of manager expectations performs well as a forecast of Chinese monetary policy, that fund managers act on these expectations, and that correctly anticipating shifts in policy improves fund...