A Fragmented China. Measure and Determinants of Chinese Domestic Market Disintegration

This paper studies the degree of integration of China’s domestic market and investigates the determinants of inter-provincial trade barriers in light of endogenous trade policy theory. I rely on a new set of provincial trade ows to develop a model which analyzes the magnitude and evolution of Chinese provinces’ engagement in domestic trade by computing all-inclusive indicators of trade barriers. Results underline that not only the Chinese domestic economy is fragmented but also that local protectionism has spread between 1992 and 1997. The investigation of province-level and industry-level trade barriers confirms the relevance of applying the framework of endogenous protection to explain the level of impediments to trade between Chinese provinces. Our findings emphasize that provinces’domestic trade protection pursues a dual objective of socio-economic stability preservation and fiscal revenues maximization.border effects., domestic integration, Chinese provinces

Export performance of Chinese domestic firms: the role of foreign export spillovers

We investigate how the proximity to multinational exporters influences the creation of new export linkages (extensive margin of trade) by domestic firms in China. Using panel data from Chinese customs for 1997-2007, we show that domestic firms’ capacity to start exporting new varieties to new markets positively responds to the export activity of neighboring foreign firms for that same product-country pair. We find that foreign export spillovers are limited to ordinary trade activities. No foreign export spillovers are found for processing trade. More, export spillovers are stronger for sophisticated products indicating that proximity to foreign exporters may help domestic exporters to upgrade their exports. However we observe that foreign export spillovers are weaker when the technology gap between foreign and domestic firms is large, suggesting that upgrading may not occur when foreign firms have already a strong edge.export performance, spillovers, FDI, sophistication

Export performance of Chinese domestic firms: the role of foreign export spillovers

We investigate how the proximity to multinational exporters influences the creation of new export linkages (extensive margin of trade) by domestic firms in China. Using panel data from Chinese customs for 1997-2007, we show that domestic firms’ capacity to start exporting new varieties to new markets positively responds to the export activity of neighboring foreign firms for that same product-country pair. We find that foreign export spillovers are limited to ordinary trade activities. No foreign export spillovers are found for processing trade. More, export spillovers are stronger for sophisticated products indicating that proximity to foreign exporters may help domestic exporters to upgrade their exports. However we observe that foreign export spillovers are weaker when the technology gap between foreign and domestic firms is large, suggesting that upgrading may not occur when foreign firms have already a strong edge.Export performance; spillovers; FDI; Sophistication

French firms at the conquest of Asian markets: The role of export spillovers

In this study, we explore the role of export spillovers on the capacity of French firms to conquer Asian markets. We confirm, in the context of France, previous results emphasizing the positive impact of surrounding exporters on the probability that a firm starts exporting a given product to a given country. We find that export spillovers are more important for export starts to Asia than for export starts to other countries. Moreover, for the specific Asian destinations, we find evidence of a heterogeneous effect of export spillovers. The presence of surrounding exporting firms appears especially beneficial to small and less productive firms, ad more intense for export starts to Asian countries characterized by low GDP per capita and tough administrative procedures on imports. Hence, export spillovers may help small firms to enter on the most difficult Asian markets.

FDI and credit constraints: firm level evidence from China

In this paper, we assess the success of the ongoing financial system reforms in China by investigating the extent to which firms are financially constrained. We focus on the role played by Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in funding the Chinese corporate sector, and analyze whether incoming foreign investment in China plays an important role in alleviating domestic firms' credit constraints. Using firm-level data on 1300 domestic companies over the period 2000-2002, we confirm that the development of cross-border relationships with foreign firms helps private domestic firms to bypass both the financial and legal obstacles that they face at home.Financial constraint; Corporate finance; Foreign Direct Investment; China

Entry on difficult export markets by Chinese domestic firms: the role of foreign export spillovers

In this study, we explore how the intensity of foreign export spillovers in China varies depending on the difficulty of entry on export markets. We rely on different proxies to define what a "difficult" country is and we find that the presence of surrounding foreign exporting firms helps domestic ones to start exporting, especially when destination countries are difficult. While on average exposure to foreign exporters is associated with a 10% increase of the probability that domestic firms from the same province start exporting the year after, the figure is around 50% higher when the targeted destination country is identified as difficult. Our results are consistent with the idea that exposure to foreign exporters helps to reduce the fixed cost of creating new trade linkages. Our finding hence suggests that the increasing presence of foreign exporting firms in China might contribute to the diversification of Chinese domestic firms' exports towards more difficult and previously inaccessible destinations.

The impact of economic geography on wages: Disentangling the channels of influence

This paper evaluates the role of economic geography in explaining regional wages in China. It investigates the extent to which market proximity can explain the evolution of wages, and through which channels. We construct a complete indicator of market access at the provincial level from data on domestic and international trade flows; this is introduced in a simultaneous-equations system to identify the direct and indirect effect of market access on wages. The estimation results for 29 Chinese provinces over 1995-2002 suggest that access to sources of demand is indeed an important factor shaping regionalwage dynamics in China. We investigate three channels through which market access might influence wages beside direct transport-cost savings: export performance, and human and physical capital accumulation. A fair share of benefits seems to come from enhanced export performance and greater accumulation of physical capital. The main source of influence of market access remains direct transport costs.Economic geography; Wage; Trade openness; Capital accumulation; China

FDI and credit constraints : firm level evidence in China

In this paper, we analyze whether incoming foreign investment in China plays an important role in alleviating domestic firms' credit constraints. Access to external finance is a crucial determinant of business expansion. Using firm-level data on 2,200 domestic companies for the period 1999-2002, we investigate the extent to wich firms are financially constrainted and whether direct foreign investment relaxes financing constraints of firms. When we split domestic firms into public and private firms, we find that public firms' investment decisions are not sensitive to debt ratios or the cost of debt. Nor is there any evidence that public firms are affected by foreign firms presence. We interpret this as evidence in support of the notion of a soft budget constraint for public firms. In contrast, private domestic firms appear more credit constrained than state-owned firms but their fincancing constraints tend to ease in a context of abundant foreign investment.Financial constraint, corporate finance, Foreign Direct Investment.

Market access and individual wages: evidence from China

We consider the effect of geography on wages using individual data from 56 Chinese cities. We present a simple new economic geography model that links wages to individual characteristics and market access. The latter is calculated as a transport cost weighted sum of surrounding locations' market capacity. After controlling for individual skills and local factor endowments, we find that a significant fraction of the interindividual differences in returns to labor can be explained by the geography of market access. We further find greater wage sensitivity to market access for highly skilled workers and for workers in private and, particularly, foreign-owned firms.

Cai Fang, China’s Economic Growth Prospects: From Demographic Dividend To Reform Dividend,

Cai Fang is a demographer and economist, currently director of the Institute of Population and Labour Economics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). He is a member of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (since 2008) and author of many books and research articles on China’s demographic transition and the reality of its growth process. His book, China’s Economic Growth Prospects: From Demographic Dividend to Reform Dividend, combines theoretical reflections and empi..