A Bridge on Economic Issues between China and the World
Facebook 
Twitter 
Instagram
WeChat 
Email Most Popular
The Productivity Consequences of Pollution-Induced Migration in China
Gaurav Khanna, Wenquan Liang, Ahmed Mushfiq Mobarak, Ran Song, Apr 07, 2021Severe air pollution induces workers to move from productive to unproductive regions, reducing their contribution to the aggregate productivity in China. In this paper, we quantify the productivity and welfare consequences of this important new pattern of migration. We find that the productivity losses from pollution through the indirect migration channel are approximately as much as the direct health costs of pollution.
Monetary Policy in China: A Trade-Off Between Transmission and Stability?
Kaiji Chen, Yiqing Xiao, Tao Zha, Sep 24, 2025We explore how China’s shift toward interest-rate-based monetary policy faces an inherent trade-off. When non-state banks turn to wholesale funding, monetary policy easing is transmitted more effectively to productive firms, but the banking system also becomes more fragile in economic downturns. Our findings suggest that China’s regulators must strike a careful balance between achieving policy effectiveness and safeguarding financial stability.
Did the US-China Tariff War Affect China’s Economy? Evidence from Night Lights
Davin Chor, Bingjing Li, Dec 08, 2021We infer the impact of the US-China tariff war on China’s economy, using high-frequency satellite data on nighttime luminosity. Through a grid-level panel analysis, we find evidence that the US tariffs levied between 2018–2019 on China’s exports had a negative impact on income per capita and manufacturing employment that was very skewed across locations within China. By contrast, China’s retaliatory tariffs on imports from the United States did not have a discernible impact on economic outcomes at the local level.
Internal Capital Markets in Business Groups and the Propagation of Credit Supply Shocks
Yu Shi, Robert Townsend, Wu Zhu, Sep 25, 2019Using business registry data from China, we show that internal capital markets in business groups can propagate corporate shareholders' credit supply shocks to their subsidiaries. An average of 16.7% local bank credit growth where corporate shareholders are located would increase subsidiaries investment by 1% of their tangible fixed asset value, which accounts for 71% (7%) of the median (average) investment rate among these firms...
Drive Down the Cost: Learning by Doing and Government Policies in the Global EV Battery Industry
Panle Jia Barwick, Hyuk-soo Kwon, Shanjun Li, Nahim Bin Zahur, Apr 16, 2025Electric vehicle (EV) battery costs have fallen over 90% in the last decade. This study examines how learning-by-doing (LBD) drives this decline and interacts with government policies such as consumer EV subsidies and local content requirements. Leveraging rich data on EV models and battery suppliers from 13 countries with largest EV sales that account for 95% of global EV sales, we develop a structural model of the EV industry that incorporates consumer choices and pricing strategies by EV producers and battery suppliers....
