Pub Date : 2025-02-26DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102373
Junyi Xiang , Dongmin Kong , Fan Zhang
Labor cost has rapidly increased in the past decades. However, little is known about its effect on the firm-level robot adoption, and evidence about the consequences of robot adoption on firm production is limited. Based on a novel dataset of robot adoption at the firm-level, we use geographic discontinuity design to identify that labor costs significantly increase robot adoption and further improve product quality. Our findings are robust to alternative specifications and particularly pronounced for foreign firms, and firms with low financial constraints, and general trade, and firms more dependence on unskilled labor, and firms in higher position in the value chain. When adopting robots to substitute labor, firms tend to employ (layoff) skilled (unskilled) labors, which increases expenses on employee training.
{"title":"Labor cost, robots, and product quality","authors":"Junyi Xiang , Dongmin Kong , Fan Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102373","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102373","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Labor cost has rapidly increased in the past decades. However, little is known about its effect on the firm-level robot adoption, and evidence about the consequences of robot adoption on firm production is limited. Based on a novel dataset of robot adoption at the firm-level, we use geographic discontinuity design to identify that labor costs significantly increase robot adoption and further improve product quality. Our findings are robust to alternative specifications and particularly pronounced for foreign firms, and firms with low financial constraints, and general trade, and firms more dependence on unskilled labor, and firms in higher position in the value chain. When adopting robots to substitute labor, firms tend to employ (layoff) skilled (unskilled) labors, which increases expenses on employee training.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48285,"journal":{"name":"中国经济评论","volume":"90 ","pages":"Article 102373"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143534967","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-02-25DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102376
Zesu Hua, Shuning Kong, Yihua Yu
This study examines the impact of local talent attraction policies on enterprise digital transformation using a quasi-experimental design and data from A-share listed companies in China (2012–2019). Employing a difference-in-differences approach, we find that these policies significantly enhance digital transformation by improving human capital and expanding external digital resources. The effects are more pronounced in enterprises with large external executive compensation gaps, newly-appointed executive teams, younger leaders, better reputations, weaker financing constraints, and those in technology-intensive operations. Moreover, our analysis reveals that greater policy intensity, including more substantial housing or monetary subsidies, significantly promotes digital transformation. The findings highlight the importance of governmental talent management in fostering digital innovation and provide evidence for policies aimed at attracting skilled talent to boost industrial competitiveness.
{"title":"Talent magnets in China: Can talent attraction policies catalyze digital transformation in enterprises?","authors":"Zesu Hua, Shuning Kong, Yihua Yu","doi":"10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102376","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102376","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study examines the impact of local talent attraction policies on enterprise digital transformation using a quasi-experimental design and data from A-share listed companies in China (2012–2019). Employing a difference-in-differences approach, we find that these policies significantly enhance digital transformation by improving human capital and expanding external digital resources. The effects are more pronounced in enterprises with large external executive compensation gaps, newly-appointed executive teams, younger leaders, better reputations, weaker financing constraints, and those in technology-intensive operations. Moreover, our analysis reveals that greater policy intensity, including more substantial housing or monetary subsidies, significantly promotes digital transformation. The findings highlight the importance of governmental talent management in fostering digital innovation and provide evidence for policies aimed at attracting skilled talent to boost industrial competitiveness.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48285,"journal":{"name":"中国经济评论","volume":"90 ","pages":"Article 102376"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143552970","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-02-19DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102372
Zhiyuan Li , Yichun Lin , Guanghua Wan , Ruochen Wu
When labor is released from agriculture, he may seek employment in manufacturing and earn a potentially higher income. This transition, however, will not occur without manufacturing demand for excessive agricultural labor. This paper examines the role of foreign direct investments in facilitating such transition. We develop a theoretical model to show that, capital (and technology embedded) provided by foreign investments is essential for released agricultural labor to be absorbed by manufacturing in developing countries. To empirically capture the causal impacts of foreign investments on manufacturing employment of transiting rural labor in China, we use shocks of natural disasters to agricultural production as instruments for the supply of rural labor, and a “leave-out-push-pull” technique to develop instruments for foreign investments. Our findings suggest that foreign investments have significant and crucial impacts on manufacturing employment of transiting rural labor, providing opportunities for them to participate in global production and rise above poverty.
{"title":"Participation in globalization and out of poverty: The opportunity provided by foreign investments","authors":"Zhiyuan Li , Yichun Lin , Guanghua Wan , Ruochen Wu","doi":"10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102372","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102372","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>When labor is released from agriculture, he may seek employment in manufacturing and earn a potentially higher income. This transition, however, will not occur without manufacturing demand for excessive agricultural labor. This paper examines the role of foreign direct investments in facilitating such transition. We develop a theoretical model to show that, capital (and technology embedded) provided by foreign investments is essential for released agricultural labor to be absorbed by manufacturing in developing countries. To empirically capture the causal impacts of foreign investments on manufacturing employment of transiting rural labor in China, we use shocks of natural disasters to agricultural production as instruments for the supply of rural labor, and a “leave-out-push-pull” technique to develop instruments for foreign investments. Our findings suggest that foreign investments have significant and crucial impacts on manufacturing employment of transiting rural labor, providing opportunities for them to participate in global production and rise above poverty.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48285,"journal":{"name":"中国经济评论","volume":"91 ","pages":"Article 102372"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143548477","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-02-18DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102375
Yuke Luo , Shiyuan Liu , Yang Zhang , Miao Zeng , Dandi Zhao
Agricultural production, a cornerstone of human activity, is facing mounting challenges from instability and uncertainty. This study examines the impact of digitalization on the resilience of agricultural production in China, developing an innovative probabilistic framework able to assess agricultural resilience at the county level. The proposed model measures resilience as the likelihood of agricultural systems maintaining output above a defined baseline under uncertain conditions. Based on panel data of 1766 counties in China, this study reveals an inverted U-shaped relationship between digitalization and resilience. Specifically, whereas moderate digitalization enhances resilience, excessive digitalization introduces vulnerabilities. Mechanism analysis shows that digitalization drives rural income growth and optimizes factor utilization, but excessive digitalization widens income disparities and triggers resource outflows from agriculture. Results also show that new agricultural operating entities can mitigate the adverse effects of excessive digitalization by fostering collective action. These findings deepen our understanding of the complex mechanisms underlying agricultural digital transformation and offer practical insights for promoting resilience through balanced digitalization.
{"title":"Digital pathways to resilience: Assessing the impact of digitalization on agricultural production resilience in China","authors":"Yuke Luo , Shiyuan Liu , Yang Zhang , Miao Zeng , Dandi Zhao","doi":"10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102375","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102375","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Agricultural production, a cornerstone of human activity, is facing mounting challenges from instability and uncertainty. This study examines the impact of digitalization on the resilience of agricultural production in China, developing an innovative probabilistic framework able to assess agricultural resilience at the county level. The proposed model measures resilience as the likelihood of agricultural systems maintaining output above a defined baseline under uncertain conditions. Based on panel data of 1766 counties in China, this study reveals an inverted U-shaped relationship between digitalization and resilience. Specifically, whereas moderate digitalization enhances resilience, excessive digitalization introduces vulnerabilities. Mechanism analysis shows that digitalization drives rural income growth and optimizes factor utilization, but excessive digitalization widens income disparities and triggers resource outflows from agriculture. Results also show that new agricultural operating entities can mitigate the adverse effects of excessive digitalization by fostering collective action. These findings deepen our understanding of the complex mechanisms underlying agricultural digital transformation and offer practical insights for promoting resilience through balanced digitalization.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48285,"journal":{"name":"中国经济评论","volume":"90 ","pages":"Article 102375"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143478668","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-02-18DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102374
Xu Dong , Shuai Lv , Shilei Wu
In the digital era, whether digital finance contributes to carbon reduction is crucial for achieving global sustainable development goals. This study explores the effects and mechanisms of digital finance on carbon emissions using panel data from Chinese counties during 2014–2022. Findings show that digital finance has a positive impact on carbon reduction at the county level in China. Mechanism analysis reveals that digital finance promotes corporate green technology innovation, accelerates the market exit and clean transformation of enterprises with high pollution, high energy consumption, and high emissions (“three-high”), limits government land concessions for “three-high” industries, and improves local fiscal autonomy. These mechanisms act as important channels for reducing carbon emissions. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that digital finance has a stronger impact on carbon reduction in counties with a high level of fintech, a high degree of carbon lock-in, and low climate risk. Additionally, digital finance facilitates regional synergistic carbon reduction and the synergy between pollution and carbon reduction while enhancing ecological environment quality. Our work contributes to the literature on digital finance and green transition, and provides important implications for China and the world in tapping the potential of carbon reduction from the perspective of digital finance.
{"title":"The green promise of digital finance: Exploring its effects and mechanisms on carbon reduction","authors":"Xu Dong , Shuai Lv , Shilei Wu","doi":"10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102374","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102374","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In the digital era, whether digital finance contributes to carbon reduction is crucial for achieving global sustainable development goals. This study explores the effects and mechanisms of digital finance on carbon emissions using panel data from Chinese counties during 2014–2022. Findings show that digital finance has a positive impact on carbon reduction at the county level in China. Mechanism analysis reveals that digital finance promotes corporate green technology innovation, accelerates the market exit and clean transformation of enterprises with high pollution, high energy consumption, and high emissions (“three-high”), limits government land concessions for “three-high” industries, and improves local fiscal autonomy. These mechanisms act as important channels for reducing carbon emissions. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that digital finance has a stronger impact on carbon reduction in counties with a high level of fintech, a high degree of carbon lock-in, and low climate risk. Additionally, digital finance facilitates regional synergistic carbon reduction and the synergy between pollution and carbon reduction while enhancing ecological environment quality. Our work contributes to the literature on digital finance and green transition, and provides important implications for China and the world in tapping the potential of carbon reduction from the perspective of digital finance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48285,"journal":{"name":"中国经济评论","volume":"90 ","pages":"Article 102374"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143453162","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-02-17DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102371
Jing Liu , Xiaohui Zhang , Chunbing Xing
Identifying the determinants and motives of adult children's transfer payments to their parents has important policy implications in a rapidly aging society. Using data from the 2015 and 2018 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), this study analyzes how older adults' housing wealth affects their adult children's upward financial transfer payments. Our results show that an increase in parental housing wealth significantly increases financial transfers from adult children to their parents. This effect of housing wealth is more pronounced for families with multiple adult children, particularly when there is at least one son, compared to families with only one child, suggesting competition for inheritance among adult children. This conclusion is further supported by analyses that separate the sample by the level of financial assets and by the health status of older adults.
{"title":"Housing wealth of older adults and inter-generational transfers in China","authors":"Jing Liu , Xiaohui Zhang , Chunbing Xing","doi":"10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102371","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102371","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Identifying the determinants and motives of adult children's transfer payments to their parents has important policy implications in a rapidly aging society. Using data from the 2015 and 2018 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), this study analyzes how older adults' housing wealth affects their adult children's upward financial transfer payments. Our results show that an increase in parental housing wealth significantly increases financial transfers from adult children to their parents. This effect of housing wealth is more pronounced for families with multiple adult children, particularly when there is at least one son, compared to families with only one child, suggesting competition for inheritance among adult children. This conclusion is further supported by analyses that separate the sample by the level of financial assets and by the health status of older adults.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48285,"journal":{"name":"中国经济评论","volume":"90 ","pages":"Article 102371"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143488064","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-02-16DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102370
Xu Shao , Qicheng Yang , Zhao Liu
The paper focuses on exploring the impact of China's production-oriented aid projects on bilateral trade between China and Africa. By matching data from AidData, Eora Global MRIO, World Development Indicators (WDI), and CEPII Remote Database, regression results indicate that China's aid model significantly promotes sustainable growth in China-Africa bilateral trade. In the mechanism analysis, it is revealed that aid enhances African countries' autonomous trade capabilities across national, industrial, and product dimensions, thereby fostering the growth of bilateral trade between China and Africa, highlighting China's aid to Africa as development-oriented. Heterogeneity test results demonstrate that the positive effects of aid are more pronounced in African countries with high political stability, convergent values, and strong cooperative consensus. Unlike previous studies that overlook production-oriented aid projects, this paper delves into this dimension, offering novel insights into the effectiveness of non-standardized aid forms.
{"title":"China's aid-giving modalities: Impacts on sustainable growth in China-Africa trade","authors":"Xu Shao , Qicheng Yang , Zhao Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102370","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102370","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The paper focuses on exploring the impact of China's production-oriented aid projects on bilateral trade between China and Africa. By matching data from AidData, Eora Global MRIO, World Development Indicators (WDI), and CEPII Remote Database, regression results indicate that China's aid model significantly promotes sustainable growth in China-Africa bilateral trade. In the mechanism analysis, it is revealed that aid enhances African countries' autonomous trade capabilities across national, industrial, and product dimensions, thereby fostering the growth of bilateral trade between China and Africa, highlighting China's aid to Africa as development-oriented. Heterogeneity test results demonstrate that the positive effects of aid are more pronounced in African countries with high political stability, convergent values, and strong cooperative consensus. Unlike previous studies that overlook production-oriented aid projects, this paper delves into this dimension, offering novel insights into the effectiveness of non-standardized aid forms.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48285,"journal":{"name":"中国经济评论","volume":"90 ","pages":"Article 102370"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143437655","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-02-15DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102362
Jing Hang , Miaojun Wang , Mohan Zhou
Inefficient environmental regulations can lead to a misallocation of abatement efforts among firms, resulting in a loss of aggregate productivity. Beginning in 2006, the Chinese central government adopted a top-down approach to incentivize local officials to combat pollution through the “cadre evaluation system”, resulting in a significant emission reduction. This paper assesses the productivity implications stemming from the misallocation of abatement efforts due to this drastic regulation tightening. Utilizing data from Chinese manufacturing firms spanning the years 2000 to 2009, we document a significant increase in the dispersion of regulation intensity across firms. Through a structural accounting framework, we find that the misallocation of abatement efforts among firms (holding total emission constant) resulted in a 1.8% decrease in manufacturing total factor productivity (TFP) during the years 2006 to 2009, compared to the period before the regulation tightening.
{"title":"Productivity implications of inefficient environmental regulation: Evidence from China","authors":"Jing Hang , Miaojun Wang , Mohan Zhou","doi":"10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102362","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102362","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Inefficient environmental regulations can lead to a misallocation of abatement efforts among firms, resulting in a loss of aggregate productivity. Beginning in 2006, the Chinese central government adopted a top-down approach to incentivize local officials to combat pollution through the “cadre evaluation system”, resulting in a significant emission reduction. This paper assesses the productivity implications stemming from the misallocation of abatement efforts due to this drastic regulation tightening. Utilizing data from Chinese manufacturing firms spanning the years 2000 to 2009, we document a significant increase in the dispersion of regulation intensity across firms. Through a structural accounting framework, we find that the misallocation of abatement efforts among firms (holding total emission constant) resulted in a 1.8% decrease in manufacturing total factor productivity (TFP) during the years 2006 to 2009, compared to the period before the regulation tightening.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48285,"journal":{"name":"中国经济评论","volume":"90 ","pages":"Article 102362"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143430084","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-02-14DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102367
Lei Li , Bocong Liu , Bin Sheng , Tianyu Wang
Identifying the pure technology spillover effect of foreign investment is an academic problem. The academic community also knows little about the role of transportation infrastructure in it. For the first time, this article uses the special event of R&D center foreign firms entering to explore how two completely different transportation infrastructures, high-speed rail, and subway, promote technology spillover from foreign investment within the same empirical framework. Based on city-industry-year panel data in China from 2004 to 2020, this article empirically proves that both high-speed rail and subway can promote R&D center foreign firms' technology spillover. Further analysis found that transportation infrastructure and R&D center foreign firms can jointly promote the development of China's key industries, that is, the core effect is stronger for high-tech and strategic emerging industries. This article also provides evidence about cross-city technology spillover from R&D center foreign firms. First, this article takes advantage of the special nature of R&D center foreign firms to provide new ideas for subsequent related research. Second, it empirically confirms that transportation infrastructure can promote foreign investment technology spillovers.
{"title":"“A tale of two rails”: Transportation infrastructure and technological spillovers from R&D center foreign firms","authors":"Lei Li , Bocong Liu , Bin Sheng , Tianyu Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102367","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102367","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Identifying the pure technology spillover effect of foreign investment is an academic problem. The academic community also knows little about the role of transportation infrastructure in it. For the first time, this article uses the special event of R&D center foreign firms entering to explore how two completely different transportation infrastructures, high-speed rail, and subway, promote technology spillover from foreign investment within the same empirical framework. Based on city-industry-year panel data in China from 2004 to 2020, this article empirically proves that both high-speed rail and subway can promote R&D center foreign firms' technology spillover. Further analysis found that transportation infrastructure and R&D center foreign firms can jointly promote the development of China's key industries, that is, the core effect is stronger for high-tech and strategic emerging industries. This article also provides evidence about cross-city technology spillover from R&D center foreign firms. First, this article takes advantage of the special nature of R&D center foreign firms to provide new ideas for subsequent related research. Second, it empirically confirms that transportation infrastructure can promote foreign investment technology spillovers.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48285,"journal":{"name":"中国经济评论","volume":"90 ","pages":"Article 102367"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143464439","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-02-13DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102369
Qingfeng Cao , Pengfei Ni , Jing Guo
Using the “Broadband China” strategy as a quasi-natural experiment, we employ the difference-in-differences model to examine the impact of broadband internet on the income inequality among the floating population based on the panel data of 35 major cities in China from 2011 to 2018. We find that broadband internet significantly widens the income inequality among the floating population. This conclusion still holds after robust tests including parallel trends, placebo, endogeneity, and treatment effects heterogeneity. The mechanism analysis indicates that broadband internet widens income gap between the high-skilled and low-skilled floating population, as well as between the urban and non-urban registered household floating population, but does not substitute for labor. Further analysis shows that broadband internet leads to skill-biased technological progress rather than routine-biased technological progress, has a greater effect on widening the income inequality among the inter-province, established and young floating population, and represents a Pareto improvement for the floating population's welfare.
{"title":"Broadband internet and income inequality among the floating population: Evidence from the “broadband China” strategy in China","authors":"Qingfeng Cao , Pengfei Ni , Jing Guo","doi":"10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102369","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102369","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Using the “Broadband China” strategy as a quasi-natural experiment, we employ the difference-in-differences model to examine the impact of broadband internet on the income inequality among the floating population based on the panel data of 35 major cities in China from 2011 to 2018. We find that broadband internet significantly widens the income inequality among the floating population. This conclusion still holds after robust tests including parallel trends, placebo, endogeneity, and treatment effects heterogeneity. The mechanism analysis indicates that broadband internet widens income gap between the high-skilled and low-skilled floating population, as well as between the urban and non-urban registered household floating population, but does not substitute for labor. Further analysis shows that broadband internet leads to skill-biased technological progress rather than routine-biased technological progress, has a greater effect on widening the income inequality among the inter-province, established and young floating population, and represents a Pareto improvement for the floating population's welfare.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48285,"journal":{"name":"中国经济评论","volume":"90 ","pages":"Article 102369"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143421764","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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