外资进入、竞争与性别就业差异

在中国性别就业差异持续扩大的背景下，文章基于2004-2007年的中国工业企业数据库检验了外资进入是如何通过竞争效应对企业性别就业差异产生影响的。结果显示，外资进入程度越高的地区与行业具有越低的性别就业差异，外资进入程度每增加1%，我国内资企业女性就业份额将会增加0.0407%，且这一结果在考虑了抽样偏倚、不同外资范围的界定、使用不同外资进入程度衡量标准和控制内生性后依然十分稳健。进一步的研究显示，外资进入通过提高企业面临的竞争程度来促使以利润最大化为目标的企业雇佣更多成本较低的女性劳动力，进而降低性别就业差异。更为重要的是，外资进入产生的竞争效应对于性别差异的影响在不同受教育群体之间存在差异，其对受过高等教育，特别是受过研究生以上教育的群体影响最大。文章结论表明，在经济全球化背景下完善市场竞争机制和提高女性受教育程度将有利于减少性别就业差异。此外，文章也为研究外资进入的社会经济影响提供了不一样的思路。     

Carbon Markets in China: Development and Challenges

China is attempting to initiate its own carbon market—an important market-based policy instrument which would determine the fate of global climate policy as the largest emitter of carbon dioxide across the world. This article looks at carbon trading development so far and examines the key challenges ahead in China. These past experiences—whatever from international CDM practice, or SO₂ emission trading and a domestic voluntary carbon market—have paved the solid way to build the existing ETS pilots similar to European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). The investigation into China’s ETS pilots discovered some important and urgent issues such as the capsetting and deepening energy market reform.     

经济发展方式转型与经济软实力空间分布关联研究——以河南18个省辖市区域为例

经济软实力是决定经济发展方式转型的关键因子,经济软、硬实力的不同配置决定经济发展方式类型。经济软实力不仅内在具有推动经济发展方式转型的能力,而且还具有实现其转型的内在机理。通过河南省区域经济软实力空间分布及其与区域发展指数关联的实证分析,证明以提升经济软实力促进区域经济发展方式转变是经济发展的一种必然规律。     

Optimal interest rate rule in a DSGE model with housing market spillovers

This paper studies the optimal interest rate rule in a DSGE model with housing market spillovers (Iacoviello and Neri, 2010). We find that the optimal rule responds to house price inflation even when the stabilization of house price is not among the objectives of the policymaker, and that the strength of the response depends crucially on a few structural parameters.     

CORPORATE TAX AVOIDANCE: A LITERATURE REVIEW AND RESEARCH AGENDA

Tax avoidance can range from reduction of the corporate tax burden by legitimate use of tax rules to violation of tax laws. In this paper, we endeavor to synthesize the major findings of tax avoidance research from the accounting and finance literatures over the past ten years. We consider theoretical developments and the related empirical findings about the interconnected issues of measuring tax avoidance, and the possible causes and outcomes of corporate tax avoidance. We present some ideas for further research to examine underexplored topics regarding tax avoidance.     

Foreign Entry and Firm Advertising Intensity: Evidence from China

This paper investigates the determinants of advertising intensity at the firm level by focusing on the role of foreign entry. In a monopolistically competitive market with heterogeneous firms, we show that foreign entry affects the expected advertising intensity of domestic firms through its impact on the cost of resources, brand image, and productivity spillovers and its impact on firms’ exit behaviour. Then, using comprehensive firm-level data from China’s manufacturing sector between 2005 and 2007, we test this hypothesis and find that foreign entry significantly affects advertising intensity.     

Does high‐speed rail connection really promote local economy? Evidence from China’s Yangtze River Delta

High‐speed rail (HSR) has led to a transportation revolution in China. This paper uses the county‐level panel data of China’s Yangtze River Delta to investigate the effect of HSR connection on local economy. To address the issue of endogenous HSR route placement, we use a straight‐line strategy to construct potential HSR connection variables as instrumental variables of the actual HSR connection. Both the difference‐in‐differences and instrumental variable methods show that HSR connection impedes local economy, especially in peripheral regions. The impediment effect is channeled through population reallocation from peripheral to core areas and the restructuring of industries.     

The Impact of Farmland Transfers on Agricultural Investment in China: A Perspective of Transaction Cost Economics

There is growing concern that farmland transfers lead to less agricultural investment, which may adversely affect agricultural productivity growth in China. Prior research has primarily focused on the differences between owned cultivated land and rented plots, but little is known about how farmland transfers between relatives, which are popular in rural China, specifically affect agricultural investment. In this paper, we present a conceptual framework of transaction cost economics to compare different contracting strategies in China's farmland rental markets. As farmland rental markets in China are immature, land transfer between relatives establishes bilateral governance, which has the advantage of addressing the opportunistic activities of both parties and can ultimately increase investment by tenants. Based on data from two waves of household surveys, we empirically examine the impact of bilateral governance on the application of organic fertilizer, an indicator for agricultural investment. Our findings show that apart from economic factors, kinship is important to the functioning of farmland rental markets in rural areas.