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on Transition Economics |
| By: | Ru, Hong; Zou, Kunru |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates how politicians’ patronage connections affect privatizations in China. The connections to top political leaders (i.e., Central Committee of the Communist Party of China) make local politicians engage more in rent-seeking by selling state-owned enterprises (SOEs) at substantial discounts. These connected local politicians are also more protected in anti-corruption investigations, thus extracting more rents by selling SOE assets at substantial discounts. Consequently, the privatizations conducted by the local politicians with patronage connections achieve significantly lower gains in efficiency and performance. To identify the role of patronage connection in privatization, we use the mandatory retirement age cut-offs of Central Committee members in the regression discontinuity design. We find drops in price discounts of privatization deals and jumps in efficiency for privatized SOEs when local politicians lose connections to Central Committee members around the retirement age cut-offs. |
| JEL: | D73 G30 L3 |
| Date: | 2020–09–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bof:bofitp:2020_021&r=all |
| By: | Xu, Yuanwei; Wang, Feicheng |
| Abstract: | China has experienced a rapid boom in real estate prices in the last few decades, leading toa substantial increase in living costs and heavy financial burdens on households. Usingan instrumental variable approach, this paper exploits spatial and temporal variation inhousing price appreciation linked to individual-level health data in China from 2000 to 2011.We find robust evidence that increases in housing prices significantly raise the probability ofresidents having chronic diseases. This negative health impact is more pronounced amongindividuals from low-income families, households that purchased rather than inheritedor was allocated the home, and those who migrated from rural to urban areas. We alsofind evidence that marriage market competition exacerbates these negative health effects,particularly for males and parents with young adult sons. Further empirical results suggestthat housing price appreciation induces negative health consequences through increasedwork intensity, higher mental stress, and reduced sleep time. This paper provides a novelexplanation to the increased prevalence of chronic diseases in China. |
| Keywords: | Housing Prices,Chronic Diseases,Health,Marriage Competition,China |
| JEL: | I10 I12 R21 R31 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:cegedp:403&r=all |
| By: | Giovanni Dosi; Maria Enrica Virgillito; Xiaodan Yu |
| Abstract: | In this article we focus on the role of exports in Chinese economic development in the era of WTO accession. We address a series of different, although connected, questions. First, do Chinese exporting and non-exporting firms differ in terms of their productivity performance and paid wages? Second, to what extent exporting and non-exporting firms have contributed to the process of convergence and catching-up? Third, does the productivity-wage pass-through differ between exporting and non-exporting firms? Overall our findings downplay the role of exporting firms as both carriers of labour productivity and wage growth for the Chinese economy. In this respect, ''gains from catching-up'' outweigh any ''gain from trade''. |
| Keywords: | Export; Wage; Productivity; Trade; Event studies |
| Date: | 2020–09–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ssa:lemwps:2020/22&r=all |
| By: | Han, Bing; Han, Lu; Zhou, Zhengyi |
| Abstract: | Using a unique survey data of Chinese households, we study the impact of house price growth and house price risk on entrepreneurship. House price risk, measured as the sensitivity of house price growth to local GDP growth, negatively impacts the entrepreneurship of homeowners relative to renters. This finding is concentrated only among sophisticated households and is consistent with the portfolio effect when housing and occupational choices are integral parts of the household portfolio. Moreover, a high past house price growth reduces the entrepreneurship of homeowners relative to renters. This holds for both sophisticated and unsophisticated households. We propose a new economic channel based on extrapolative belief and provide further supportive evidence. |
| Keywords: | Entrepreneurship; Housing market; Extrapolative belief |
| JEL: | D10 G11 L26 R21 R31 |
| Date: | 2020–06–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:102597&r=all |
| By: | Haiyue Yu (Dongbei University of Finance and Economics, Interdisciplinary Center for Social & Behavioral Studies); Jin Cao (Norges Bank); Shulong Kang (Dongbei University of Finance and Economics School of Finance) |
| Abstract: | China has set to increase the minimum retirement age, to ease the pressure from pension expenditure and the falling labor supply caused by the aging population. However, policy debates have so far neglected the crucial fact that families in China largely rely on retired grandparents for childcare. Using novel and high-quality survey data, we demonstrate that intrafamily downward labor transfer towards childcare significantly increases young females’ labor force participation rate and their labor income, and such effects do not exist for males. Furthermore, we show that the positive effects from grandparental childcare are higher for better-educated, urban females with younger children. This paper thus reveals a large, hidden cost in the new retirement policy — the reduced feasibility of grandparental support, due to postponed retirements, may crowd out productive labor of young females, — and rationalizes a series of social protection policies to accompany the phase-in of the new retirement scheme. |
| Keywords: | intergenerational labor division, grandparental childcare, female employment, human capital accumulation, minimum retirement age |
| JEL: | C24 J13 J22 |
| Date: | 2019–01–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bno:worpap:2019_03&r=all |
| By: | Andrei Armeanu (Al.I. Cuza University Iasi, Romania,) |
| Abstract: | Domestic violence is one of the most common crimes in Romania, with multiple causes ranging from poverty and alcohol consumption to social constraints and lack of education. The increased reporting of domestic violence has led decision-makers to identify effective legal measures for the protection of victims, in particular, limiting immediate risks to their physical and mental integrity. The present paper aims to present some legal instruments that the Romanian legislator makes available to the police to allow immediate protection of the person who has become a victim of domestic violence. The article is focused mainly on the analysis of the temporary protection order, which is a recent legal instrument introduced into domestic violence legislation. The temporary protection order is a measure to immediately safeguard the protection of victims of domestic violence, but in practice difficulties have been identified in its application. There is also controversy over its application and the potential violation of the legal rights of the alleged aggressors. We will examine the application of the temporary protection order in practice and its effects in relation to its purpose, with reference to its correlation to the other instruments already regulated and the possibilities for improving the legislation. |
| Keywords: | domestic violence, abusive relationship, victim protection, temporary protection order |
| Date: | 2020–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:smo:spaper:031aa&r=all |
| By: | Evgeniy Korshenkov (Baltic International Academy); Sergey Ignatyev (Baltic International Academy) |
| Abstract: | The main concepts of this study are productivity and efficiency, which are very relevant for Latvia and are reflected both in the latest scientific publications, dissertation researches and analytical reviews of the Latvian ministries and representatives of the European Commission in Latvia, as well as in expert reports published in the press. The objective of this article is empirical interpretation and search of the most corresponding to the terminological background method of measuring of the productivity and efficiency of regions, based on a specific example of the regions of Latvia. The results of the previous authors' research showed that the productivity of region is defined as it`s ability to create as many as possible goods or services per unit of time, while the efficiency is the pure economical term that takes into account the amount of the factors of production utilizied in the production process. Productivity / efficiency of a region is not only the sum of the productivity / efficiency of economical units functioning in this region, as contains a certain "delta"-synergy effect (for factors of production), agglomeration effect (for enterprises) or concentration effect (for industries). Always economically backward Latvia's region (Latgale region) is not with the lowest productivity calculated by the GDP per 1 km 2 of a region's territory-by this indicator less successful in Latvia is Vidzeme region. But by the earnings index, calculated taking into account the sectoral structure of employment in a region, exactly the Latgale region as usually occupies the last place in Latvia, and the Riga region-the first one. To calculate the efficiency of Latvia's regions, the authors relied on neoclassical growth models, which take into account the main classical factors of production-labor, land, capital. By the efficiency in Latvia the Riga region leads expectantly, almost 2 times exceeding the efficiency of Pieriga region, and more than 3 times,-the efficiency of Latgale region. But lowest efficiency in Latvia is not in the Latgale region, but once more in Vidzeme region. |
| Keywords: | production process,factors of production,productivity,efficiency,regions,Latvia |
| Date: | 2020–06–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-02919627&r=all |
| By: | Maciej Ber\k{e}sewicz; Katarzyna Pawlukiewicz |
| Abstract: | Population size estimation requires access to unit-level data in order to correctly apply capture-recapture methods. Unfortunately, for reasons of confidentiality access to such data may be limited. To overcome this issue we apply and extend the hierarchical Poisson-Gamma model proposed by Zhang (2008), which initially was used to estimate the number of irregular foreigners in Norway. The model is an alternative to the current capture-recapture approach as it does not require linking multiple sources and is solely based on aggregated administrative data that include (1) the number of apprehended irregular foreigners, (2) the number of foreigners who faced criminal charges and (3) the number of foreigners registered in the central population register. The model explicitly assumes a relationship between the unauthorized and registered population, which is motivated by the interconnection between these two groups. This makes the estimation conditionally dependent on the size of regular population, provides interpretation with analogy to registered population and makes the estimated parameter more stable over time. In this paper, we modify the original idea to allow for covariates and flexible count distributions in order to estimate the number of irregular foreigners in Poland in 2019. We also propose a parametric bootstrap for estimating standard errors of estimates. Based on the extended model we conclude that in as of 31.03.2019 and 30.09.2019 around 15,000 and 20,000 foreigners and were residing in Poland without valid permits. This means that those apprehended by the Polish Border Guard account for around 15-20% of the total. |
| Date: | 2020–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2008.09407&r=all |