A Bridge on Economic Issues between China and the World
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Boosting Pension Enrollment and Household Consumption by Example: A field Experiment on Information Provision
Chong-En Bai, Wei Chi, Tracy Xiao Liu, Chao Tang, Jian Xu, Aug 18, 2021We conduct a large-scale field experiment in the Guangdong province of China to examine the effect of informing individuals about government pension programs on their pension enrollment decisions and household consumption. Our experimental findings show the effectiveness of combining concrete and personalized information in designing informational material as well as the importance of targeting the most responsive population during information delivery.
The Fertility Consequences of Air Pollution in China
Xuwen Gao, Ran Song, Christopher Timmins, Sep 07, 2022We incorporate pollution exposure into Becker’s Quantity-Quality (Q-Q) model of fertility and evaluate how air pollution distorts individuals’ fertility behaviors in China. We find that increased pollution over time negatively affects the fertility of ethnic Han people, but does not affect the fertility of ethnic minorities. China’s One-Child Policy increased Han people’s demand for child quality (e.g., health status and education achievement), which can explain the negative association between pollution and fertility for Han people.
Digital Distractions with Peer Influence: The Impact of Mobile App Usage on Academic and Labor Market Outcomes
Panle Jia Barwick, Siyu Chen, Chao Fu, Teng Li, Jan 08, 2025We present the first comprehensive evidence of how app usage affects academic performance and early career outcomes. App usage is contagious: a one standard deviation (around 3.5 hours per day) increase in roommates’ app usage raises an individual’s own app usage by 5.8%, with substantial heterogeneity across students. A one standard deviation increase in app usage reduces GPAs by 36.2% of a within-cohort-major standard deviation and lowers wages by 2.3%. The effect of roommates’ app usage is over half the size of an individual’s own usage effect. High-frequency GPS data reveal that high app usage crowds out time in study halls and increases late arrivals at and absences from lectures.
Do Multinationals Transfer Culture? Evidence on Female Employment in China
Heiwai Tang, Yifan Zhang, Nov 10, 2021In our recent paper (Tang and Zhang 2021), we investigate the global diffusion of culture through multinationals. We study specifically how foreign affiliates serve as a vehicle to diffuse gender norms from their countries of origin to China. Based on Chinese manufacturing firm-level data, we find that foreign affiliates in China tend to employ proportionally more female workers than local Chinese firms within the same industry...
Government Deleveraging and Non-SOE Liquidity Squeeze: Evidence from Subnational Debt and Government Contractors
Jiayin Hu, Songrui Liu, Yang Yao, Zhu Zong, May 15, 2024China's deleveraging policies have inadvertently exacerbated the financial liquidity pressure on non-state-owned enterprise (non-SOE) contractors, revealing the potential adverse impact of government fiscal consolidation on private enterprises.
