Pub Date : 2025-04-19DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102409
Guohua Peng , Xiaoling Zhao
This paper examines the interregional migration responses to the export shocks in a middle-income country. We present the evidence that the export growth in China has significant impacts on interregional migration. Using 2005 Chinese Population Census data, we estimate the impacts of export growth on the location choices of the migrant workers across prefectures. The results imply that for a 1000 USD increase in export growth per worker in a prefecture, the probability of migrant workers choosing the prefecture increases significantly by 0.77 percentage points. The effects of export growth have heterogeneity on different education and hukou type groups of migrant workers. We show that the effects are driven by the increases in the mean wage rates and the improvements of job opportunities for migrant workers. Our estimates reveal important trade-offs for prefecture attributes related to the probability of migration.
{"title":"Effects of export growth on the location choices of migrant workers: Evidence from China","authors":"Guohua Peng , Xiaoling Zhao","doi":"10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102409","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102409","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper examines the interregional migration responses to the export shocks in a middle-income country. We present the evidence that the export growth in China has significant impacts on interregional migration. Using 2005 Chinese Population Census data, we estimate the impacts of export growth on the location choices of the migrant workers across prefectures. The results imply that for a 1000 USD increase in export growth per worker in a prefecture, the probability of migrant workers choosing the prefecture increases significantly by 0.77 percentage points. The effects of export growth have heterogeneity on different education and hukou type groups of migrant workers. We show that the effects are driven by the increases in the mean wage rates and the improvements of job opportunities for migrant workers. Our estimates reveal important trade-offs for prefecture attributes related to the probability of migration.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48285,"journal":{"name":"中国经济评论","volume":"92 ","pages":"Article 102409"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143874408","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 : 2025-04-17DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102419
Liu Xiuyan , Zhang Fan , Wang Qiao
This paper examines the impact of university spatial expansion on local innovation activities, focusing on the construction of new campuses in China. By treating new campus establishment as a quasi-experiment, we construct a unique geocoded dataset at both county-firm and ring-firm levels, and employ the difference-in-difference approach for causal inference. The relevant results confirm that the establishment of new campuses has a growth effect on local innovation. This positive impact is the result of knowledge spillover from the new campus through collaborative innovation and patent citation, and it decays with geographic distance. These findings suggest that the establishment of new campuses creates an emerging innovation cluster and have extensive policy implications.
{"title":"More than a new campus: University's spatial expansion, emerging knowledge cluster, and innovation growth","authors":"Liu Xiuyan , Zhang Fan , Wang Qiao","doi":"10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102419","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102419","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper examines the impact of university spatial expansion on local innovation activities, focusing on the construction of new campuses in China. By treating new campus establishment as a quasi-experiment, we construct a unique geocoded dataset at both county-firm and ring-firm levels, and employ the difference-in-difference approach for causal inference. The relevant results confirm that the establishment of new campuses has a growth effect on local innovation. This positive impact is the result of knowledge spillover from the new campus through collaborative innovation and patent citation, and it decays with geographic distance. These findings suggest that the establishment of new campuses creates an emerging innovation cluster and have extensive policy implications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48285,"journal":{"name":"中国经济评论","volume":"91 ","pages":"Article 102419"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143854395","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 : 2025-04-15DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102416
Xionghe Qin , Dong Zhang , Song Wang , Seamus Grimes
The dual nature of knowledge complexity on innovation manifests as a blessing and a curse, emerging when it positively affects innovation outputs while contributing to innovation costs. The knowledge complexity exerts heterogeneous effects on innovation efficiency by expanding the scope of knowledge recombination and increasing the difficulty of knowledge transfer. This study employs a spatial Durbin model to empirically examine the effect of knowledge complexity on regional innovation efficiency by utilizing a dataset from 285 prefecture-level cities in China from 2004 to 2018. The findings demonstrate that knowledge complexity has a significant “inverted-U” nonlinear effect on local knowledge creation efficiency but positive effect on local technology transfer efficiency. The spatial spillover effects in both knowledge creation and technology transfer efficiency across adjacent cities suggest a considerable likelihood of convergences in innovation efficiency. Moreover, this study indicates a nuanced effect of knowledge complexity on regional innovation efficiency, contingent on the presence of varying spatial externalities. The positive moderating effect of inter-regional network externalities and knowledge complexity on knowledge creation is observed, coupled with the mediating role of local agglomeration externalities and knowledge complexity on technology transfer.
{"title":"A blessing and a curse: Identifying how knowledge complexity influences regional innovation efficiency in the presence of varying spatial externalities","authors":"Xionghe Qin , Dong Zhang , Song Wang , Seamus Grimes","doi":"10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102416","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102416","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The dual nature of knowledge complexity on innovation manifests as a blessing and a curse, emerging when it positively affects innovation outputs while contributing to innovation costs. The knowledge complexity exerts heterogeneous effects on innovation efficiency by expanding the scope of knowledge recombination and increasing the difficulty of knowledge transfer. This study employs a spatial Durbin model to empirically examine the effect of knowledge complexity on regional innovation efficiency by utilizing a dataset from 285 prefecture-level cities in China from 2004 to 2018. The findings demonstrate that knowledge complexity has a significant “inverted-U” nonlinear effect on local knowledge creation efficiency but positive effect on local technology transfer efficiency. The spatial spillover effects in both knowledge creation and technology transfer efficiency across adjacent cities suggest a considerable likelihood of convergences in innovation efficiency. Moreover, this study indicates a nuanced effect of knowledge complexity on regional innovation efficiency, contingent on the presence of varying spatial externalities. The positive moderating effect of inter-regional network externalities and knowledge complexity on knowledge creation is observed, coupled with the mediating role of local agglomeration externalities and knowledge complexity on technology transfer.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48285,"journal":{"name":"中国经济评论","volume":"91 ","pages":"Article 102416"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143851341","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 : 2025-04-14DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102415
Guangyu Xu , Huang Chen
The policy reform-induced tradeoff between efficiency and equality is a critical concern in promoting socially inclusive growth. However, there is limited evidence showing that whether a reform in enhancing the property right of a fundamental asset – land suffers or escapes from this tradeoff. We examine this question by evaluating the benefits and the drawbacks of a rural land market reform on income growth and income inequality. We employ a difference-in-difference method using a large-scale and long-term panel data from 1993 to 2014, covering 20,000 farmers in China to examine the impacts of the Rural Land Contracting Law (RLCL), which officially relaxed the restriction on land rental activities, initiated in 2003. Results show that the reform improved overall income by promoting agricultural land aggregation and farmers' non-farm activities, leading to a heterogeneous restructuring of income sources of farmers with different comparative advantages in farming or nonfarm works. Additionally, the reform widened rural-urban income gaps by stimulating productive young labors to conduct rural to urban short-distance migration. Third, the reform increased rural income inequality, which is mostly contributed by the enlarged disparity in farm incomes for farmers staying in villages. This study contributes to literature by revealing a property right improvement reform can exacerbate income inequality. Policymakers need to carefully weigh the pros and cons of agricultural land rights reforms and provide countermeasures to address threats to equity.
{"title":"Inclusive growth dilemma: Weighing the pros and cons of land market reform","authors":"Guangyu Xu , Huang Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102415","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102415","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The policy reform-induced tradeoff between efficiency and equality is a critical concern in promoting socially inclusive growth. However, there is limited evidence showing that whether a reform in enhancing the property right of a fundamental asset – land suffers or escapes from this tradeoff. We examine this question by evaluating the benefits and the drawbacks of a rural land market reform on income growth and income inequality. We employ a difference-in-difference method using a large-scale and long-term panel data from 1993 to 2014, covering 20,000 farmers in China to examine the impacts of the Rural Land Contracting Law (RLCL), which officially relaxed the restriction on land rental activities, initiated in 2003. Results show that the reform improved overall income by promoting agricultural land aggregation and farmers' non-farm activities, leading to a heterogeneous restructuring of income sources of farmers with different comparative advantages in farming or nonfarm works. Additionally, the reform widened rural-urban income gaps by stimulating productive young labors to conduct rural to urban short-distance migration. Third, the reform increased rural income inequality, which is mostly contributed by the enlarged disparity in farm incomes for farmers staying in villages. This study contributes to literature by revealing a property right improvement reform can exacerbate income inequality. Policymakers need to carefully weigh the pros and cons of agricultural land rights reforms and provide countermeasures to address threats to equity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48285,"journal":{"name":"中国经济评论","volume":"91 ","pages":"Article 102415"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143847444","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 : 2025-04-14DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102414
Xiaomeng Zhao , Yinna Chen , Jiaming Wang
Green credit plays a crucial role in inducing enterprises towards green transformation and accelerating the achievement of “carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals”. This paper uses Chinese A-share listed enterprises to empirically examine how the green credit policy facilitates the market-driven reversed transmission mechanism based on external constraints and internal governance perspectives and further explore the micro-environmental and economic effects. The results indicate that the Green Credit Guidelines (GCG) policy significantly promotes investment in green projects among green credit-restricted enterprises, mainly driven by external credit constraints and the internal environmental awareness of management. This reverse incentivizing effect varies systematically based on external constraints and internal governance factors, being most evident in state-owned enterprises, firms in competitive credit markets or under strong public environmental pressures, large firms, and those with strong internal controls or more independent directors. Further analysis reveals that firms mainly allocate green investments to develop environmentally beneficial products and technological upgrading. As a result, polluting firms witness improvements in economic performance, green innovation performance, and environmental responsibility. This research provides empirical evidence supporting the effectiveness of green financial systems and the improvement of green credit policy.
{"title":"Greening through finance? Based on the dual perspective of external constraints and internal governance","authors":"Xiaomeng Zhao , Yinna Chen , Jiaming Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102414","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102414","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Green credit plays a crucial role in inducing enterprises towards green transformation and accelerating the achievement of “carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals”. This paper uses Chinese A-share listed enterprises to empirically examine how the green credit policy facilitates the market-driven reversed transmission mechanism based on external constraints and internal governance perspectives and further explore the micro-environmental and economic effects. The results indicate that the Green Credit Guidelines (GCG) policy significantly promotes investment in green projects among green credit-restricted enterprises, mainly driven by external credit constraints and the internal environmental awareness of management. This reverse incentivizing effect varies systematically based on external constraints and internal governance factors, being most evident in state-owned enterprises, firms in competitive credit markets or under strong public environmental pressures, large firms, and those with strong internal controls or more independent directors. Further analysis reveals that firms mainly allocate green investments to develop environmentally beneficial products and technological upgrading. As a result, polluting firms witness improvements in economic performance, green innovation performance, and environmental responsibility. This research provides empirical evidence supporting the effectiveness of green financial systems and the improvement of green credit policy.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48285,"journal":{"name":"中国经济评论","volume":"91 ","pages":"Article 102414"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143860678","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 : 2025-04-14DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102418
Yibing Ding, Yining Sun, Xiaoou Zhang
The rapid emergence and widespread adoption of digital technology have profoundly reshaped supply chain vertical integration. This study investigates how customer firms' digital transformation influences supplier firms' risk-taking decisions through digital spillovers in supply chains. Utilizing data from Chinese A-share listed companies and their customers from 2009 to 2022, we find that customer digitization significantly enhances suppliers' risk-taking propensity. The impact is asymmetric and stronger when the digitization level of customer exceeds that of supplier. Mechanism tests reveal that the increase in supplier firms' risk-taking ability, due to customer firms' digitization, is achieved through structural synergy (raising the level of supply chain synergy) and resource integration (alleviating suppliers' factor constraints). Heterogeneity analysis shows that the supply chain spillover effects of customer digital transformation are more pronounced when suppliers are non-state-owned enterprises, supply chains span larger geographic distances, the customer concentration is lower, and the digital gap between partners is narrower. Additionally, moderating effect analysis indicates that higher economic policy uncertainty and stronger corporate governance amplify the positive relationship between customer digital transformation and enterprise risk-taking. Further, customer-driven digitization improves suppliers' productivity and innovation. This research advances understanding of supply chain risk governance and offers insights for fostering digital economy and supply chain cooperation.
{"title":"Customer digital transformation and enterprise risk-taking: Evidence from Chinese supply chains","authors":"Yibing Ding, Yining Sun, Xiaoou Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102418","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102418","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The rapid emergence and widespread adoption of digital technology have profoundly reshaped supply chain vertical integration. This study investigates how customer firms' digital transformation influences supplier firms' risk-taking decisions through digital spillovers in supply chains. Utilizing data from Chinese A-share listed companies and their customers from 2009 to 2022, we find that customer digitization significantly enhances suppliers' risk-taking propensity. The impact is asymmetric and stronger when the digitization level of customer exceeds that of supplier. Mechanism tests reveal that the increase in supplier firms' risk-taking ability, due to customer firms' digitization, is achieved through structural synergy (raising the level of supply chain synergy) and resource integration (alleviating suppliers' factor constraints). Heterogeneity analysis shows that the supply chain spillover effects of customer digital transformation are more pronounced when suppliers are non-state-owned enterprises, supply chains span larger geographic distances, the customer concentration is lower, and the digital gap between partners is narrower. Additionally, moderating effect analysis indicates that higher economic policy uncertainty and stronger corporate governance amplify the positive relationship between customer digital transformation and enterprise risk-taking. Further, customer-driven digitization improves suppliers' productivity and innovation. This research advances understanding of supply chain risk governance and offers insights for fostering digital economy and supply chain cooperation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48285,"journal":{"name":"中国经济评论","volume":"91 ","pages":"Article 102418"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143851342","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 : 2025-04-14DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102417
Yuting Bai , Shiko Maruyama , Si Wang
Late-life cognition is a growing concern as populations age. This study investigates how the number of children affects late-life cognition in rural China by exploiting the exogenous variation in the rollout timing of Family Planning Policies. Theoretical analysis suggests a nonlinear effect along the fertility dimension. Using data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, we find nonlinear causal effects of fertility. Having one more child when the mother has 4+ children leads to adverse effects on a range of late-life cognition measures, while positive effects exist for episodic memory and mental intactness at low parities, implying hump-shaped effect heterogeneity. Underlying this hump-shaped causal relationship is increased interaction with children but a greater risk of chronic conditions.
随着人口老龄化的加剧，晚年认知问题日益受到关注。本研究利用计划生育政策出台时间的外生变化，探讨子女数量如何影响中国农村人口的晚年认知。理论分析表明，生育率会产生非线性影响。利用中国健康与退休纵向研究（China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study）的数据，我们发现了生育率的非线性因果效应。当母亲有 4 个以上孩子时，多生一个孩子会对一系列晚年认知指标产生不利影响，而在低奇数情况下，对历时记忆和精神完好性会产生积极影响，这意味着驼峰型效应异质性。这种驼峰型因果关系的基础是与子女的互动增加，但患慢性病的风险增大。
{"title":"Nonlinear relationship between the number of children and late-life cognition","authors":"Yuting Bai , Shiko Maruyama , Si Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102417","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102417","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Late-life cognition is a growing concern as populations age. This study investigates how the number of children affects late-life cognition in rural China by exploiting the exogenous variation in the rollout timing of Family Planning Policies. Theoretical analysis suggests a nonlinear effect along the fertility dimension. Using data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, we find nonlinear causal effects of fertility. Having one more child when the mother has 4+ children leads to adverse effects on a range of late-life cognition measures, while positive effects exist for episodic memory and mental intactness at low parities, implying hump-shaped effect heterogeneity. Underlying this hump-shaped causal relationship is increased interaction with children but a greater risk of chronic conditions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48285,"journal":{"name":"中国经济评论","volume":"91 ","pages":"Article 102417"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143847445","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 : 2025-04-13DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102412
Muzi Chen , Guangxin Guo , Difang Huang , Yan Wang , Boyao Wu
Using a comprehensive manually compiled dataset of Chinese A-share listed companies, we construct an interlocking directorate network to examine its influence on firm performance and investigate the underlying economic mechanisms involved. Our findings reveal that the propensity for firms to share directors increases as the interlocking directorate network exhibits rapid growth in both size and density from 2007 to 2022. Further investigation demonstrates that the network exerts a significant positive impact on the performance of firms characterized by a higher degree of interlocking directorate connectivity and those occupying a more central position within the network. To address potential endogeneity concerns, we exploit the 2013 introduction of government official director resignation policy as a plausibly exogenous shock to the interlocking directorate network and show that the departure of interlocking directors adversely affects short-term firm performance, with a more pronounced impact on non-state-owned enterprises. These results underscore the pivotal role of interlocking directors in facilitating information exchange and resource sharing.
我们利用手工编制的中国 A 股上市公司综合数据集，构建了一个董事互兼网络，以考察其对公司业绩的影响，并研究其中的潜在经济机制。我们的研究结果表明，从 2007 年到 2022 年，随着互锁董事网络在规模和密度上的快速增长，公司共享董事的倾向也随之增加。进一步的研究表明，对于互锁董事网络连接程度较高的企业和在网络中占据较中心位置的企业，该网络对其绩效产生了显著的积极影响。为了解决潜在的内生性问题，我们利用 2013 年政府官员董事辞职政策的出台作为对连锁董事网络的合理外生冲击，结果表明连锁董事的离职对企业的短期绩效产生了不利影响，对非国有企业的影响更为明显。这些结果凸显了连锁董事在促进信息交流和资源共享方面的关键作用。
{"title":"Interlocking directorates and firm performance: Evidence from China","authors":"Muzi Chen , Guangxin Guo , Difang Huang , Yan Wang , Boyao Wu","doi":"10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102412","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102412","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Using a comprehensive manually compiled dataset of Chinese A-share listed companies, we construct an interlocking directorate network to examine its influence on firm performance and investigate the underlying economic mechanisms involved. Our findings reveal that the propensity for firms to share directors increases as the interlocking directorate network exhibits rapid growth in both size and density from 2007 to 2022. Further investigation demonstrates that the network exerts a significant positive impact on the performance of firms characterized by a higher degree of interlocking directorate connectivity and those occupying a more central position within the network. To address potential endogeneity concerns, we exploit the 2013 introduction of government official director resignation policy as a plausibly exogenous shock to the interlocking directorate network and show that the departure of interlocking directors adversely affects short-term firm performance, with a more pronounced impact on non-state-owned enterprises. These results underscore the pivotal role of interlocking directors in facilitating information exchange and resource sharing.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48285,"journal":{"name":"中国经济评论","volume":"91 ","pages":"Article 102412"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143850098","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 : 2025-04-10DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102411
Yanwen Yun, Yanxiao Li
This paper examines the impact of changes in travel costs on the growth of consumption industries, using business registration data in China spanning 2012 to 2018. We leverage the expansion of the subway network in Xi'an, China to measure changes in travel costs across 1-km hexagonal grid units, quantified as the weighted sum of inverse optimal travel times to all potential destinations via road and subway networks. Employing the inconsequential units approach, our empirical analysis demonstrates that travel cost reductions significantly stimulate growth in the firm agglomeration, employment, and capital within consumption industries. This growth is driven by demand externalities and shifts in population composition. A decomposition analysis reveals that increased firm entry and lower road-based costs drive the growth of consumption industries, whereas reductions in subway-based costs lead to firm reallocation along the subway network. Additional evidence suggests that lower travel costs intensify market competition and foster product differentiation.
{"title":"Toward consumer city: Subway network expansion and consumption industry growth","authors":"Yanwen Yun, Yanxiao Li","doi":"10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102411","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102411","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper examines the impact of changes in travel costs on the growth of consumption industries, using business registration data in China spanning 2012 to 2018. We leverage the expansion of the subway network in Xi'an, China to measure changes in travel costs across 1-km hexagonal grid units, quantified as the weighted sum of inverse optimal travel times to all potential destinations via road and subway networks. Employing the inconsequential units approach, our empirical analysis demonstrates that travel cost reductions significantly stimulate growth in the firm agglomeration, employment, and capital within consumption industries. This growth is driven by demand externalities and shifts in population composition. A decomposition analysis reveals that increased firm entry and lower road-based costs drive the growth of consumption industries, whereas reductions in subway-based costs lead to firm reallocation along the subway network. Additional evidence suggests that lower travel costs intensify market competition and foster product differentiation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48285,"journal":{"name":"中国经济评论","volume":"91 ","pages":"Article 102411"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143829936","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 : 2025-04-09DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102410
Wen Liu , Zhicheng Xu
This study offers a novel perspective on migrant crime by focusing on internal migration within China, distinguishing it from the predominant literature that examines international migration. Using a large dataset of over 6 million criminal convictions during 2000–2020, we document the significantly positive link between the cultural barrier proxied by dialectal distances and the criminal behaviors among immigrants under the dyadic specification. This effect is particularly pronounced among migrants with lower educational attainment and male migrants. We employ a series of robustness checks and instrumental variable estimations, confirming the causality. Furthermore, we identify the underlying mechanism, showing that the impact of dialectal distance on crime is driven primarily by challenges in social assimilation and a weak sense of local identity, rather than factors such as immigrant population size or dialect communication barriers. These findings highlight the crucial role of fostering an inclusive pro-immigrant culture and supportive policies to reduce crime. Our study emphasizes the need to address cultural barriers and enhance social integration to mitigate criminal behavior among immigrant workers in China.
{"title":"Lost in translation: Dialect distance, social assimilation and immigrant crimes in China","authors":"Wen Liu , Zhicheng Xu","doi":"10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102410","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102410","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study offers a novel perspective on migrant crime by focusing on internal migration within China, distinguishing it from the predominant literature that examines international migration. Using a large dataset of over 6 million criminal convictions during 2000–2020, we document the significantly positive link between the cultural barrier proxied by dialectal distances and the criminal behaviors among immigrants under the dyadic specification. This effect is particularly pronounced among migrants with lower educational attainment and male migrants. We employ a series of robustness checks and instrumental variable estimations, confirming the causality. Furthermore, we identify the underlying mechanism, showing that the impact of dialectal distance on crime is driven primarily by challenges in social assimilation and a weak sense of local identity, rather than factors such as immigrant population size or dialect communication barriers. These findings highlight the crucial role of fostering an inclusive pro-immigrant culture and supportive policies to reduce crime. Our study emphasizes the need to address cultural barriers and enhance social integration to mitigate criminal behavior among immigrant workers in China.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48285,"journal":{"name":"中国经济评论","volume":"91 ","pages":"Article 102410"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143823870","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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