Journal of Asian Economics最新文献

Clan culture plays a pivotal role in shaping gender disparities in individual choices. This paper, utilizing data from Chinese General Social Survey 2013, employs genealogy density as a proxy variable for clan culture. The results suggest that clan culture significantly promotes an increase in male wage, while no significant impact on female wage, consequently widening the gender wage gap. Notably, patrilineal clan exacerbates gender differences in human capital investment, reinforces gender identity, and intensifies social trust disparities, thereby perpetuating the escalation of gender wage inequality. Conversely, the internet, serving as a primary vehicle for modern gender equality ideas, mitigates the positive effect of clan on gender wage disparity. Further investigation reveals that the positive impact of clan culture on gender wage gap diminishes with an upward shift in wage distribution and narrows with generational transitions. These findings extend the cultural explanation pathway for gender wage gap.

In the pursuit of sustainable economic development, many cities have initiated the relocation of government offices as a strategy to optimize resource allocation. This study examines the environmental impacts of local government relocations in China between 1999 and 2016, with a focus on PM2.5 concentration data in the areas surrounding the relocation sites. Utilizing a difference-in-differences estimation approach, our findings indicate that (1) relocating local government offices significantly reduces pollution levels in nearby areas, with more pronounced effects closer to the relocation site; (2) environmental quality improvements intensify over time before stabilizing; (3) the relocation reform enhances the overall environmental quality of the entire city; and (4) government site relocations ultimately lead to regional environmental quality improvements by fostering the development of clean industries and reducing industrial pollution emissions. These results underscore the policy significance of green development principles and the spatial optimization of public resources.

Foreign direct investments (FDI) in developing countries are found to affect local domestic firms by introducing competition and spillover effects. This study investigates the effect of FDI on domestic firms’ social security contributions. It exploits China’s 2002 FDI liberalization and applies the difference-in-differences strategy for a causal identification. Using a Chinese firm-level dataset of the manufacturing industry, the estimates show that foreign investments have a positive effect on domestic firms’ social security contributions as a share of the wage base. The estimated effects are more pronounced in private firms, higher-wage firms, and firms facing lower contribution costs. Evidence also indicates that the increase in firms’ propensity to contribute plays an important role in explaining the overall increase in social security contribution rates. The promotion of social security compliance among domestic firms by FDI inflow suggests that market competition could be an attractive and effective approach to combating non-compliance with social insurance regulations.

Tax authority leaders have a significant impact on organizational efficiency, which is mainly manifested in tax collection efficiency. Based on provincial tax administrative data and data on listed companies from 1998 to 2017, we examine the impact of the capabilities of leaders of the National Taxation Bureaucracy (NTB) on tax collection efficiency. We adopt the fixed effects approach and isolate the individual effects of NTB directors as a proxy of leaders’ capabilities. We find that directors with stronger capabilities enhance tax revenue growth and complete tax revenue tasks by affecting corporate income taxes. The findings suggest that more capable directors are found to severely combat tax evasion and avoidance. Specifically, taxable income approved by the NTB, preferential tax policies and tax auditing have been used to combat tax evasion. We also clarify the boundaries of leaders’ capabilities. We provide supportive evidence for leaders’ individual impact on tax collection efficiency and enrich the study of tax collection and administration.

This study investigates the impact of the improved social credit environment on entrepreneurial activity. We conduct the time-varying difference-in-differences model based on the quasi-natural experiment of constructing China’s Social Credit System (SCS) and find that the implementation of this institution significantly improves entrepreneurial activity, which remains robust to a series of tests. Mechanism tests reveal that the SCS influences entrepreneurial activity through material, human, and social capital agglomeration effects, as well as by alleviating information asymmetry. Heterogeneity analysis demonstrates that the positive impact of SCS is more obvious in promoting entrepreneurial activity within private enterprises, high-tech, and manufacturing industries. Furthermore, this entrepreneurial effect is more pronounced in cities with lower administrative levels and on the southeast side of the Hu Huanyong Line.

The provision of safe and clean drinking water is a key component of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. This paper examines the long-term economic benefit to rural residents in China from a major water treatment program started in the 1980s. By employing a data set covering almost three decades and utilizing Difference-in-Difference (DID) approach, we find that, on average, the program led to a 28.4 % increase in individual gross income. Residents with access to treated water in early life experienced significantly higher gains in income. Villages that are poorer and more remote also benefit more. Mechanically, the program has saved time spent on fetching water, spent more time on agricultural activities, improved health status, and alleviated the negative impacts of drought, through which it helps raise individual gross income.

To explore the relationship between flexible tax enforcement and enterprises’ business decisions, we use a difference-in-differences (DID) model to investigate the impact of flexible tax enforcement on enterprises’ TFP through China’s tax credit grading system. The findings of the study are as follows: Firstly, flexible tax enforcement will enhance the TFP of A-grade taxpayers. Secondly, two mechanisms exist to improve firms’ TFP through flexible tax enforcement. One is to stimulate enterprises to carry out R&D and innovation, and the other is to enhance the long-term awareness of managers. Finally, the promotion effect of flexible tax enforcement on non-state-owned enterprises is greater than on state-owned enterprises, and the effect on total factor productivity is more pronounced in areas of high fiscal pressure.