Applying the methodology developed by Duranton and Overman (2005, 2008), we analyze localization and dispersion of firms in China. Using a unique and detailed dataset on manufacturing firms in China, we are able to follow the changes in location patterns of firms between 2002 and 2008. Our...

Two basic solutions have been proposed to fix the well-documented incompatibility of the sample covariance matrix with Markowitz mean-variance portfolio optimization: first, restrict leverage so much that no short sales are allowed; or, second, linearly shrink the sample covariance matrix towards...

Many researchers seek factors that predict the cross-section of stock returns. The standard methodology sorts stocks according to their factor scores into quantiles and forms a corresponding long-short portfolio. Such a course of action ignores any information on the covariance matrix of stock...

We investigate the effects of constraining leverage and shrinking covariance matrix in constructing large portfolios, both theoretically and empirically. Considering a wide variety of setups that involve conditioning or not conditioning the covariance matrix estimator on the recent past...

Using official information published by Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) of the CPC, we construct a database of officials who have been found guilty of corruption in China in the period 2012-21 with their personal characteristics and the amount of embezzled funds. We use it to...

This paper provides the first in-depth investigation into the evolution of the wealth gap between CCP and non-CCP households in urban China from 1995 to 2017. We apply unconditional quantile regression (UQR) to analyze the variations in the premiums of party membership across the wealth...

Based on behavioral finance theory, we discuss the influence of managers' herd behavior on corporate financialization from the perspective of managers' behavioral preferences. Empirical testing was conducted using data from nonfinancial listed firms on the Shanghai and Shenzhen A-shares from...

We construct a novel dataset of human capital accumulation in China and India from 1900 to 2020 by combining historical records and educational reports to analyze the role of education in economic divergence. Three key findings emerge. First, China pursued a bottom-up strategy, first expanding...

Recently, various environmental problems have been generated with the rapid economic development in China. That's because China currently over-emphasized economic development beyond environmental issues; therefore, now it is important to enforce optimal environmental policies in order to achieve...

Increasing scarcity of freshwater resources and growing environmental awareness give rise to the use of reclaimed wastewater as an additional source of water supply. However, the amount of wastewater that can be reclaimed for reuse is subject to many factors, ranging from technical possibility...