A Bridge on Economic Issues between China and the World
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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.
Debt Management and Strategic Interactions in Top-down Bureaucracy: Evidence from China
Xi Qu, Zhiwei Xu, Jinxiang Yu, Apr 30, 2025The Chinese central government implemented a series of measures to establish a top-to-bottom debt ceiling management system starting in 2015. Under this regulatory framework, public debt issuance for a prefecture city is subject to a ceiling (quota) determined through a hierarchical procedure. Based on a comprehensive dataset, we investigate what factors determine the allocations of debt ceiling to prefectural cities in China after the debt management reform. We find that the distributional outcome of the debt ceilings relies on the bilateral interactions of local and their superior governments. We also estimate the effect of ceiling allocation on the real economy, as well as the potential risk associated with implicit debt accumulation.
Trade Policy Uncertainty and New Firm Entry: Evidence from China
Chuantao Cui, Leona Shao Zhi Li, Sep 20, 2023Exploiting China’s WTO accession as a quasi-natural experiment, this study finds that reduced trade policy uncertainty (TPU) in a major destination market promotes domestic entrepreneurial activities in China
China’s Health Insurance Evolution: Unpacking the Monumental Role of the NCMS
Jonathan Gruber, Mengyun Lin, Junjian Yi, Jul 31, 2024This article discusses that the New Cooperative Medical Scheme (NCMS) implemented in China from 2003 to 2008 significantly reduced mortality rates among rural residents and greatly enhanced national health outcomes, serving as a model for developing countries in achieving universal health coverage.
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.
