Mass gatherings contributed to early COVID-19 mortality: Evidence from US sports

Social distancing is important to slow the community spread of infectious disease, but it creates enormous economic and social cost. Thus, it is important to quantify the benefits of different measures. We study the ban of mass gatherings, an intervention with comparably low cost. We exploit exogenous variation in the number of National Basketball Association and National Hockey League games, which arises due to the leagues' predetermined schedules, and the sudden suspension of the 2019–2020 seasons. We find that, among clusters of counties that are adjacent to sports venues, each additional mass gathering increased the cumulative number of COVID-19 deaths by 10.3%.     

生产率异质性、服务业“成本病”与经济增长

本文在一个均衡框架下重新构建了产业部门生产率增长对部门价格增长及名义产出增长影响的理论机制，通过产业部门的数据对理论进行实证分析，研究生产率增长较慢的部门是否存在价格攀升过快的服务业“成本病”问题和部门产出增长走向停滞的问题。结果表明，生产率增长缓慢的产业部门价格攀升过快的“成本病”问题在所有行业普遍存在，但行业间具有异质性特征。部门生产率的下降对产出增长具有显著抑制作用，尽管抑制作用会通过提高价格这一中介变量增加产出而有所缓解，但是生产率的下降对产出增长的净效应显著为负。因此，在新时代中国经济结构升级转型的关键时期，要警惕生产率增长缓慢的部门价格攀升过快，但也不必过分忧虑因大力倡导发展生产技术提高生产率使得本部门价格下滑过快、劳动力流失而面临增长停滞的问题。     

基于无损检测技术的白加黑路面病害探测与评价

为更加准确探测白加黑路面的结构层内部隐性病害，依托茂湛高速改扩建项目白加黑路面，采用三维探地雷达技术开展既有路面的病害检测，并结合落锤式弯沉仪进行白加黑路面的结构承载能力测试。结果表明，采用三维探地雷达设备可以清晰识别白加黑路面结构断板、裂缝、脱空、传力杆布设等内部状况信息，能反映出原有路面结构内部各层位病害的总体情况。在多年车辆荷载作用下，白加黑路面的反射裂缝病害比例较高，建议采取注浆、灌缝等养护措施，加强对旧水泥板与沥青层开展稳固与密水处理；水泥路面加铺沥青层后，路顶弯沉值整体变小，有无沥青层的弯沉差值主要与沥青加铺层厚度、模量、老化程度有关。为了更好模拟实际轮载对路面的荷载作用，推荐采用10 t荷载进行板间弯沉差测试，并以弯沉差为0.05 mm以上为处治阈值，进行针对性地补强处理。     

A Dutch disease approach into the premature deindustrialization

We explore the main causes and consequences of the premature deindustrialization phenomena. We argue that local currency overvaluations mainly associated with a surge in capital inflows into the emerging market economies following the deregulation of their capital accounts severely hurt the output share of manufacturing industry. Applying the second generation estimators allowing for cross-section dependency (Augmented Mean Group and Common Correlated Effects Mean Group), we run a panel data regression model based on a sample of 39 developing countries in Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, East Asia, North America, and Europe from 1960 to 2017. We show that the baseline regression results are robust to different data sets, alternative real exchange rate/deindustrialization measurements, and dynamic model specifications. We find that an overvaluation of 50% which corresponds approximately to one and half standard deviations is associated with a contraction of manufacturing output share as high as 1,25% over the five year period. Moreover, the evidence suggests that the manufacturing competencies which have been eroded by local currency overvaluations in real terms cannot simply be brought back during the undervaluation periods. Hence, the need for a comprehensive industrial policy along with a firm use of capital controls and macroprudential measures given a robust institutional framework comes out as the main policy implication of our results, and they are duly discussed in light of recent developments in the literature.     

Housing Boom,Dutch Disease,and the Decline in China's Manufacturing Exports

Drawing on Dutch disease theory, we assess how the recent housing boom has contributed to a decline in China's manufacturing exports. Using Chinese city and enterprise panel data from 2004 to 2013, our analysis reveals that Dutch disease indeed exists and that the housing price increase has played a very important role in affecting China's manufacturing exports through two key channels: resource movement effect and spending effect. Specifically, this paper found that: (i) the housing price increase hindered labor flowing into China's manufacturing industry (resource movement effect) and caused higher inflation (spending effect); (ii) the housing boom clearly impeded China's manufacturing exports, especially after the outbreak of the global economic crisis in 2008; (iii) the impacts of the housing price increase on China's manufacturing exports were heterogenous, and were more significant for labor-intensive manufacturing businesses, businesses that were foreign owned, less R&D intensive, or located in the central and western regions.