Inequality and credit growth in Russian regions

We test the Rajan hypothesis using data for Russian regions from 2000 (after the ruble crisis) to 2012 (before the introduction of international sanctions). The Rajan hypothesis predicts that rising income inequality leads politicians to expand credit for the poor, which in turn, fuels a consumer credit boom. Russia provides a unique research opportunity becaise it is a post-communist transition country with 75 diverse regions. We find that a rise in income inequality is positively correlated with personal loan growth in Russia. We also find a statistically weaker, albeit economically larger, relationship between economic inequality and corporate credit. Taken together, our results provide support for the Rajan hypothesis in a country with extreme regional differences and a long history of populist policies.     

TFP growth in Chinese cities: The role of factor-intensity and industrial agglomeration

This article estimates agglomeration effects via calculating EG (Elilsion & Glaeser) and TFP growth (Total Factor Production) by considering the undesired output of the industrial enterprise database and the entropy weight method. Using panel data of 207 county-level cities in China and 28 two-digit manufacturing industries from 2003 to 2013 based on SIC codes, this paper analyzes the relationship between agglomeration and TFP growth through the smooth transition model under different regions and factor-intensity. The results are as follows. (1) A negative relationship appears in manufacturing productivity. The agglomeration effect changes to the crowded effect. Environmental pollution is also generated by transportation and inadequate pollution treatment technology. (2) The excessive agglomeration phenomenon of developed areas (eastern region) is less than the less developed areas (central and western regions). (3) Resource-intensity industries present two thresholds that indicate complex regional features. For various intensive industries in different regions, the relationship between GML and agglomeration is different. High agglomeration does not always promote TFP growth. (4) At different levels of urban industrial agglomeration, the influences of efficiency change and technical change on GML are different. Overall, moderate agglomeration in all regions helps promote economic development.     

Relationship between city size and firm productivity – A new interpretation using the Chinese experience

This paper contributes to the literature on the relationship between city size and firm productivity by focusing on agglomeration, selection (market competition), and sorting (presence of firms with diverse productivity) effects using Chinese firm-level data for 1998–2013. Contrary to the existing literature, our parametric regression estimates from nearly two million firms show that when the selection effect is controlled, productivity advantage in big cities is reversed. This outcome is explained through a quantile regression showing the existence of left-sided sorting (inefficient firms sort themselves to larger cities) in big cities which is not captured in existing empirical literature. We further find that (1) left-sided sorting is stronger in exporters than non-exporters; (2) is also generated mainly in enterprises with high asset-liability ratios; and (3) selection has a positive effect on firm productivity, suggesting that market competition is key in an explanation of the rapid growth of big cities in China.     

基于DEA的传统农耕地区农业生产效率测度*——以皖北为例

［目的］农业生产效率是衡量农业生产的重要标准，其生产效率测度结果对研究区域农业经济发展具有重要意义。［方法］文章以皖北农耕地区为研究对象，通过采集2017年统计年鉴的相关数据，构建农业生产绩效评价指标体系，并引入虚拟决策单元，运用数据包络分析（DEA）方法，从自评和他评的角度对2017年皖北各县级单元的农业经济生产效率进行测度，并基于结果的迥异进行效率、冗余及空间分异的分析。［结果］皖北地区农业生产整体效率较低，呈现出粗放式的农业生产模式； 各种投入要素配置不尽合理，皆存在不同程度上的冗余，整体上看塑料薄膜冗余最高、化肥施用的冗余最低； 空间分异显著，南北表现为由北向南逐渐降低的“S”型趋势、东西呈现出两端高中间低的扁平状“v”型空间分异特征。［结论］粗放式的农业生产导致了皖北农业生产效率整体较低，应完善生产要素配置，大力推进农业现代化建设，促进皖北地区农业整体性协调发展，提升地区农业生产效率。     

New business formation and employment growth: some evidence for the Spanish manufacturing industry

This paper explores the effects of new business formation on employment growth in Spanish manufacturing industries. New firms are believed to make an important contribution to economic growth but the extent of this contribution is unclear. We consider time lags of new firm formation as explanatory variables of employment change and identify how long the effect of new firm entries on employment lasts. Our main results show that the effects of new business formation are positive in the short term, negative in the medium term and positive in the long term, thus confirming the existence of indirect supply-side effects found in similar studies for other countries.

Market size and tax competition

With international externalities, different country sizes, imperfect competition, and trade costs, tax competition for mobile firms is efficiency-enhancing with respect to the free market outcome. Under both scenarios, the resulting inefficiencies in international specialization and trade flows vanish when trade costs are low enough. Otherwise, only international tax coordination can implement the efficient spatial distribution of firms.     

中俄能源合作现状分析及对策研究

在当今世界，能源已经成为各个国家最关注的问题之一。俄罗斯有着天然的能源优势，是能源供应大国，而中国是能源需求大国，因此，中俄两国开展能源合作拥有广阔的前景。本文在分析中俄能源合作的现状及战略意义的基础上，从理论的角度分析了两国进行能源合作的可行性，并从现实的角度分析了中俄能源合作的障碍，从而对如何进一步加深中俄能源合作提出了对策建议。     

层次分析法在出口玩具检验监管风险评估中的应用研究

在对出口玩具检验监管工作研究分析的基础上,选取了具有代表性的指标体系,并引入层次分析法科学地确定各个指标的权重。通过建立层次结构模型、构造判断矩阵、相对权重及合成权重的计算,利用较少的定量信息,将整个考核指标过程数学化。最后,针对进一步完善和改进出口玩具检验监管风险评估工作提出合理化建议。     

Prices of deep discount bonds and the Revenue Act of 1978: An evaluation of market response

This article explores the market response of deep discount corporate bonds to the reduction in the capital gains tax rate incorporated into the Revenue Act of 1978. Such tax change should have increased the desirability of assets acquired for capital gains potential, such as deep discount bonds. Examining a time series of prices and returns for a sample of deep discount corporate bonds and a control group of comparable duration and credit risk corporate bonds selling at or near par did indeed provide evidence of a market price reaction. Moreover, the price changes for the deep discount bonds occurred well in advance of the implementation of the tax change.     

Trade and industrial location with heterogeneous labor

It is shown in the context of a new economic geography model that when labor is heterogeneous trade liberalization may lead to industrial agglomeration and inter-regional trade. Labor heterogeneity gives local monopsony power to firms but also introduces variations in the quality of the job match. Matches are likely to be better when there are more firms and workers in the local market, giving rise to an agglomeration force which can offset the forces against, trade costs and the erosion of monopsony power. A robust agglomeration equilibrium is derived analytically and its properties illustrated with numerical simulations.