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Industrial Policy: Lessons from China

Panle Jia Barwick, Myrto Kalouptsidi, Nahim Bin Zahur, Sep 18, 2019

This paper examines an important industrial policy in China in the 2000s that aims to propel the country's shipbuilding industry to the largest globally. Using comprehensive data on shipyards worldwide and a dynamic model of firm entry, exit, investment, and production, we find that the scale of the policy was massive and boosted China's domestic investment, entry, and world market share dramatically. On the other hand, it created sizable distortions and led to increased industry fragmentation and idleness.

Combating Cross-Border Externalities

Shiyi Chen, Joshua Graff-Zivin, Huanhuan Wang, Jiaxin Xiong, Sep 21, 2022

China implemented a pioneering policy in 2011, the Ecological Compensation Initiative (ECI), which establishes side payments between upstream and downstream provinces in the Xin’an River Basin.

The Data Privacy Paradox of Alipay Users

Long Chen, Yadong Huang, Shumiao Ouyang, Wei Xiong, Jul 07, 2021

We find that there is no relationship between the self-stated privacy concerns of a sample of Alipay users and their number of data-sharing authorizations with third-party mini-programs on Alipay. We explain this data privacy paradox by a curious finding that users with stronger privacy concerns tend to benefit more from using mini-programs, which further suggests that consumers may develop data privacy concerns as a by-product of the process of using digital applications, not because such concerns are innate.

Stabilizing China’s Housing Market

Richard Koss, Xinrui Shi, Jul 25, 2018

The sharp rise of house prices in China’s Tier-1 cities has fostered a great deal of commentary about the possibility of bubbles forming there. However, China’s unique housing market characteristics make it difficult to assess the macroeconomic severity of bursting bubbles, even if they exist. These characteristics include the setting of land supply and prices by the government, among many others. This paper looks at proposals to shore up the mortgage underwriting and legal infrastructure to help China withstand the impact of falling prices, should this occur.

A Summary of Retail Investors and Momentum

Jun Du, Dashan Huang, Jane Yu Liu, Yushui Shi, Avanidhar Subrahmanyam, Huacheng Zhang, Oct 26, 2022

We explore the link between momentum and retail investing via an identification strategy in China, where retail investors dominate. We propose that due to a round lot restriction, small retail investors are less likely to hold and trade stocks with high nominal prices, and find supporting evidence.