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Unequal Transition: The Widening Wealth Gap amidst China’s Rapid Growth

Yangtian Jiang, Yu Zheng, Lijun Zhu, Nov 08, 2023

We examine the drivers of rising wealth inequality in urban China since 1995. We highlight the intertwined nature of growth and equity during China’s transition toward a market-oriented economy.

Reluctant Entrepreneurs: Evidence from China’s SOE Reform

Hanming Fang, Ming Li, Zenan Wu, Yapei Zhang, Oct 09, 2023

In this column, we examine how the presence of state-owned enterprises (SOE) affects the private sector by influencing the allocation of skills across SOEs, private sector waged employment and entrepreneurship.

Market Expanding or Market Stealing? Competition with Network Effects in Bike-Sharing

Guangyu Cao, Ginger Zhe Jin, Xi Weng, Li-An Zhou, Jan 16, 2019

Positive network effects may lead to winner-takes-all in some markets. The column analyses dockless bike-sharing in China to show instead how an incumbent can benefit from positive spillovers from a competitor’s entry. In the case of bike-sharing, consumers multi-home, the market exhibits positive network effects, and investment by two firms is more cost-efficient than investment by one.

The Unintended Consequences of Regulation: Evidence from China’s Interbank Market

Xian Gu, Lu Yun, Jun 12, 2019

Financial regulation can have unanticipated consequences in the financial system. The evidence from China’s interbank market shows that banks tend to use newly introduced and lightly regulated financial instruments to get around regulation during their search for funds. Banks facing greater competition or higher liquidity shortages have more incentives to engage in such activities. Such interbank activities are closely associated with banks’ proprietary trading, suggesting the potential risk of financial contagion.

Tax Policy and Lumpy Investment Behavior: Evidence from China’s VAT Reform

Zhao Chen, Xian Jiang, Zhikuo Liu, Juan Carlos Suárez Serrato, Daniel Yi Xu, Apr 01, 2020

To stimulate investment and promote production efficiency, the Chinese government has undertaken a series of value-added tax (VAT) reforms. One of those reforms, in 2009, reduced not only the purchasing price of equipment, but also investment frictions, i.e., the price gap imposed by the pre-reform VAT system between new and used equipment. We find that this reform increased equipment investment by 36%...