China is now the world's largest destination of foreign direct investment (FDI), despite assessments highlighting its institutional deficiencies. But this FDI inflow corresponds closely to predicted FDI flows into China from a model that predicts FDI inflow based on government quality indicators...

While the literature on consumption insurance is growing fast, little research has been conducted on how rural consumption insurance is affected by democracy. In this paper the authors examine how consumption insurance of Chinese rural residents is affected if the local leader is democratically...

Using a large panel dataset of Chinese industrial firms, the authors examine the determinants of access to loans from formal financial intermediaries and extension of trade credit. Poorly performing state-owned enterprises were more likely to redistribute credit to firms with less privileged...

In this paper, we explore the links between city competitiveness and air pollution and business environment. Because competitive cities not only attract more productive firms but also facilitate their business, we choose to look at firm performance as a proxy for city competitiveness. We...

We describe features of the Chinese financial system that inhibited effective financial intermediation from 1980 to 1994 and investigate whether, despite these impediments, bank finance flowed to state-owned enterprises with higher subsequent productivity than did direct government transfers. We...

This paper examines the extent to which agency theory may explain CEO compensation in state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in China during the 1980s. We find that the sensitivity of CEO pay to firm performance decreases with the variance of performance. This is consistent with the prediction of a...

Public listing is a key and unique reform measure for large state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in China. Using a panel data set that contains both pre- and post-listing financial and ownership information on publicly listed firms in Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges, we explore the effects of...

Using a sample of Chinese state-owned enterprises spanning 1980 to 1994, we investigate the factors that determine the sources of finance for firm-level fixed investment, including retained earnings, bank finance, and government transfers. Direct government transfers were not significantly...

Are COVID-19 spread and mortality related to different countries' government mobility restriction policies, democratic institutions, and cultural norms? Leveraging data from 140 countries, we find that policy, institutions, and vulnerabilities interact to determine pandemic spread and mortality....

Weak institutions ought to deter foreign direction investment (FDI), and mass media stories highlight China's institutional deficiencies, yet China is now one of the world's largest FDI destinations. This incongruity characterizes China's paradoxical growth. Cross-country regressions show that...