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Estimating the Role of Air Quality Improvements in the Decline of Suicide Rates in China

Tamma Carleton, Peng Zhang, Liguo Lin, Maigeng Zhou, Jun 19, 2024

This article discussing the correlation between reduced air pollution and lower suicide rates notes that as air pollution decreases, suicide rates also decline...

Opening Up in the 21st Century: A Quantitative Accounting of Chinese Export Growth

Loren Brandt, Kevin Lim, Apr 12, 2023

China’s rapid export growth has spurred extensive research investigating its effects on other economies. However, the exact causes of the boom as well as the slowdown in Chinese exporting after 2007 are less well understood.

Rebalancing in China: Progress and Prospects

Longmei Zhang, Aug 02, 2017

This paper develops a framework for China’s rebalancing, reviews past progress, and discusses medium-term prospects. China has advanced well in reducing its excessive external surplus and moving towards consumption and services, while still lagging behind in reducing credit reliance, environmental pollution, and income inequality. Going forward, the economy will continue rebalancing in many dimensions, while credit will remain China’s Achilles heel unless decisive corporate restructuring and SOE reforms are implemented.

The Impact of FDI on Domestic Firm Innovation: Evidence from Foreign Investment Deregulation in China

Yan Liu, Xuan Wang, Aug 04, 2021

This paper studies the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on domestic firms’ innovation in China. Using firm level patent application records that cover all manufacturing firms with annual sales above 5M Yuan from 1998 to 2007, our results show that both the quantity and quality of domestic firms’ innovation benefit from FDI. In addition to the traditional spillover effect from FDI in the same industry, the paper emphasizes the importance of knowledge spillover...

Clean Air as an Experience Good in Urban China

Matthew E. Kahn, Weizeng Sun, Siqi Zheng, Oct 14, 2020

If clean air is a valued experience good, then the short-term reduction in pollution in the spring of 2020 due to the COVID-19 shutdown could have persistent medium-term effects on reducing urban pollution levels as cities adopt new “blue sky” regulations to maintain recent pollution progress. Using data from 144 cities in China, we find that the largest experience good effect should take place for cities featuring a high pollution-sensitive population and where air quality has sharply improved during the pandemic. The residents...