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The Financing of Local Government in China: Stimulus Loans Wane and Shadow Banking Waxes

Zhuo Chen, Zhiguo He, Chun Liu, Jinyu Liu, Jul 05, 2017

The shadow banking activities in China surged in 2012-2013. Prof. Zhuo Chen and Prof. Chun Liu from Tsinghua University, Prof. Zhiguo He from Chicago Booth and Prof. Jinyu Liu from the University of International Business and Economics provide empirical evidence showing that the “barbarian growth” of China’s shadow banking during this period constitute a “hangover effect” from the four trillion RMB stimulus package in 2009.

Trade Liberalization and the Performance of China’s Manufacturing Sector

Loren Brandt, Johannes Van Biesebroeck, Luhang Wang, Yifan Zhang, Dec 27, 2017

China’s entry into WTO resulted in a significant reduction in tariffs on imported manufactured goods into China. We examine the effects of market liberalization on firm and industry performance. Tariff cuts on outputs and intermediates had highly complementary effects on productivity, and explain in upwards of forty per cent of the productivity gains between 1998-2007. The effects on mark-ups were largely offsetting, however lower tariffs on inputs helped to provide additional resources for productivity-enhancing investments.

How Do Earthquakes Shape Economic Behavior?

Kevin Chen, Mateusz Filipski, Xiaobo Zhang, Oct 30, 2019

Research shows how a disaster can impact an economy beyond the simple rebuilding process. The Sichuan earthquake induced a lifestyle shift in households toward greater spending and a structural shift of the economy away from industrial production.

Long-run Trends in China’s Urban Unemployment and Labor Force Participation

Shuaizhang Feng, Yingyao Hu, Robert Moffitt, Jul 19, 2017

Official unemployment rate in China is based on registered unemployment figures, but the official figures are likely underestimates of the true unemployment rates because many unemployed people are not qualified to register with government agencies and even those who are qualified may choose not to for various reasons. Shuaizhang Feng of Jinan University, and Yingyao Hu and Robert Moffitt, both of Johns Hopkins University, discuss their new effort to provide the first comprehensive picture of China’s labor market for the period 1988-2009 using Urban Household Survey (UHS) data administered by the National Bureau of Statistics of China.

E-Commerce Development and Household Consumption Growth in China

Xubei Luo, Yue Wang, Xiaobo Zhang, Sep 04, 2019

China has quickly become the largest e-commerce market in the world. E-commerce has reshaped consumption patterns in recent years. This paper examines how e-commerce development has shaped household consumption growth in China. It finds that e-commerce development is associated with higher consumption growth, that the link is stronger for the rural sample, inland regions, and poor households...