A Bridge on Economic Issues between China and the World
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Superstition Everywhere
Jinfan Zhang, Huancheng Du, Mar 09, 2022In Chinese culture, digit 8 (4) is taken as lucky (unlucky). We find that the numerological superstition has a profound impact across China’s stock, bond and foreign exchange markets, affecting asset prices in both the primary and secondary markets. The superstition effect, i.e., the probability of asset price ending with a lucky (unlucky) digit far exceeds (falls short of) what would be expected by chance, is everywhere.
Discounting Chinese Industrial Policy
Andrew J.Sinclair, Chuyi Zhang, Jan 31, 2024The Chinese government supports the development of dozens of industries today, but the long-run sustainability of this model depends crucially on policy efficiency.
Local Government Financial Constraint and Spending Multiplier in China
Yang Su, Dec 28, 2022Local fiscal policies have been very effective in China since 2000.
The Value of Big Data in a Pandemic
Kairong Xiao, May 05, 2021This article summarizes a study of the economic and public health effects of the Health Code app in China. By exploiting the staggered implementation of this technology across 322 Chinese cities, this study finds that the Health Code app significantly reduced virus transmission and facilitated economic recovery during the COVID-19 pandemic. A macroeconomic susceptible-infectious-recovered (SIR) model calibrated to the micro-level estimates shows...
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.
