We estimate the willingness to pay (WTP) of Beijing and Shanghai residents for improving the air quality of the two cities from their levels prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games to the level achieved during the Olympics. The data are obtained from a contingent valuation study conducted...

This paper provides a convergent validity test of two types of multinomial choice questions vis-¨¤-vis a dichotomous choice question by formally testing whether these stated preference elicitation question formats provide comparable welfare estimates. In particular, a dichotomous choice...

This paper discusses the possibility of China falling into the so-called middle income trap in terms of three checkpoints: innovation capability, world-class big businesses, and inequality. Based on these criteria, our conclusions are as follows: First, China has increasingly become innovative...

The ¡°middle income trap¡± is a significant theoretical and practical issue closely related to the economic and social transition and sustainable development of a country. This paper explores the essence of the ¡°middle income trap¡± and ways to avoid it. It reveals that the inner nature...

This paper explores the middle income trap (MIT) concept from the perspective of productivity growth. Through the examination of cross-country historical statistics as well as China¡¯s regional data, it sheds light on the debate about whether the Chinese economy can avoid the middle income...

Data from WDI show that developing countries are easily caught in the ¡°middle income trap.¡± To interpret the mechanism of the ¡°middle income trap,¡± this paper focuses on: (1) Based on the empirical framework of economic growth, we perform an empirical research on the determinants of...

China¡¯s rise as a global economic power in recent decades has been achieved with tremendous environmental costs. Has China been an abnormally heavier polluter in its development path? How has pollution accounted for China¡¯s hyper economic growth? This study answers these questions by...

China has departed from the East Asian development model by letting inequality rise to a high level, which is now contributing to China¡¯s current problems of macroeconomic imbalance, declining efficiency of capital, and rising social tensions. If inequality persists, China may get caught in...

China¡¯s prevailing hukou (household registration) system and land tenure system seem to be very different in their applications. In fact, they both function to deny the exit right of rural residents from a rural community. Under these systems, rural residents are not allowed to freely exit...