{"title":"Toward the Coming of Age of Environmental Economics Research in China","authors":"Jinhuan Zhao","doi":"10.54605/fec20210201","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.54605/fec20210201","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":44830,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers of Economics in China","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2021-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44152365","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
J. Bayham, G. Chowell, Eli P. Fenichel, N. Kuminoff
{"title":"Time Reallocation and the Cost and Benefit of School Closures during an Epidemic","authors":"J. Bayham, G. Chowell, Eli P. Fenichel, N. Kuminoff","doi":"10.54605/fec20210204","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.54605/fec20210204","url":null,"abstract":"School closures are an important public health intervention during epidemics. Yet, the existing estimates of policy costs and benefits overlook the impact of human behavior and labor market conditions. We use an integrated assessment framework to quantify the public health benefits and the economic costs of school closures based on activity patterns derived from the American Time-Use Survey (ATUS) for a pandemic like COVID-19. We develop a policy decision framework based on marginal benefits and costs to estimate the optimal school closure duration. The results suggest that the optimal school closure depends on how people reallocate their time when schools are closed. Widespread social distancing behavior implemented early and for a long duration can delay the epidemic for years, buying time for the development of pharmaceutical interventions and yielding substantial net benefits. Conversely, school closure, with behavior targeted to adjust only to the school closure, is unlikely to provide substantial delay or sufficient net benefits to justify closing schools for pathogen control.","PeriodicalId":44830,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers of Economics in China","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2021-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43511667","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jinhuan Zhao, J. M. Kerr, M. Lapinski, Robert Shupp
{"title":"Reciprocity and Social Norms: Short- and Long-Run Crowding Out Effects of Financial Incentives","authors":"Jinhuan Zhao, J. M. Kerr, M. Lapinski, Robert Shupp","doi":"10.54605/fec20210202","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.54605/fec20210202","url":null,"abstract":"We link the reciprocity model of Falk and Fischbacher (2006) with the theory of normative social behavior to study how financial incentives crowd out intrinsic motivation in both the short and long runs. Using data from a lab-based repeated public goods game, we find strong evidence in support of the reciprocity model and crowding out effects both when the payment is in place and after it stops. When the payment program is in place, subjects become less sensitive to reciprocity, perceive less kindness in others’ contributions, and care less about others’ welfare. The overall decrease in motivation to reciprocate reduces the effectiveness of the payment program by almost 50%. About 20% of the crowding out effect persists after the payment stops, and the reciprocity mechanism explains over three quarters of the long-run crowding out effect.","PeriodicalId":44830,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers of Economics in China","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2021-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44243488","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Videos Improve Attention and Cheap Talk in Online Surveys","authors":"J. Penn, Wuyang Hu","doi":"10.54605/fec20210206","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.54605/fec20210206","url":null,"abstract":"Cheap Talk (CT) is a mainstay technique among stated preference practitioners to reduce Hypothetical Bias (HB). The usefulness of CT may be questionable in online surveys due to the limited control researchers have on participant engagement. In the context of an online choice experiment on hotels, we compare a control group of respondents who receives a CT script as a traditional passage of text versus a group who must answer an attention-check question to verify their comprehension of the script as well as another group who receives the CT script as a video and then answer the attention-check question. We find that compared to the control group, simply offering the attention-check question reduced willingness to pay (WTP), and those who answer the attention-check question correctly behaved differently to those who did not. Overall, video CT script is shown to improve attention and be more effective in reducing potential HB than a text-based script.","PeriodicalId":44830,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers of Economics in China","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2021-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43245458","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Envelope Theorems in Economics: Historical Development and Modern Cost-Benefit Applications","authors":"K. Löfgren, C. Li","doi":"10.54605/fec20210207","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.54605/fec20210207","url":null,"abstract":"This paper reviews some historical development and modern applications of the envelope theorems in economics from a static to a dynamic context. First, we show how the static version of the theorem surfaced in economics, which had eventually lead to the well-known Shephard’s lemma in microeconomics. Second, we present its dynamic version in terms of the classical calculus of variations and optimal control theory via the optimized Hamiltonian function. Third, we show some applications of the theorem for deriving dynamic cost-benefifit rules with special reference to environmental projects involving the green or comprehensive net national product (CNNP). Finally, we illustrate how to extend the cost-benefifit rules to a stochastic economic growth setting.","PeriodicalId":44830,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers of Economics in China","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2021-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46091471","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Why the Industrial Revolution Started in 18th Century Britain, Not China, from the Perspective of Globalization","authors":"Li Zhang","doi":"10.3868/S060-013-021-0006-5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3868/S060-013-021-0006-5","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":44830,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers of Economics in China","volume":"16 1","pages":"124-169"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2021-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45517930","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"China’s growth slowdown: Labor supply, productivity, or what?","authors":"Anping Chen, N. Groenewold","doi":"10.3868/S060-013-021-0003-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3868/S060-013-021-0003-4","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":44830,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers of Economics in China","volume":"16 1","pages":"35-66"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2021-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44202052","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Past Experiences, Personality Traits, and Risk Aversion: Evidence from Individual Risk Attitudes during the COVID-19 Pandemic","authors":"Yun Wang, Mingyan Yan","doi":"10.3868/S060-011-020-0024-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3868/S060-011-020-0024-4","url":null,"abstract":"Individuals' risk attitudes play an important role in economic decision making and policy evaluation, particularly in the midst of unprecedented uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic We adopt a multiple-price-list elicitation method with real money incentives to measure precisely individuals' risk attitudes at different stake levels and the extent to which they are affected by personal and social shocks following the COVID-19 outbreak in China We find that subjects who had previously experienced negative personal shocks are more risk-averse at medium and large stakes but more risk loving at very small stakes For our sample, COVID-19 has no significant impact on risk attitudes, as it is more likely to be regarded as a social shock The result indicates that the impact of COVID-19 on individual risk attitudes is not as influential as expected, unless the individual's personal life is affected directly","PeriodicalId":44830,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers of Economics in China","volume":"15 1","pages":"575-625"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2021-01-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46501411","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Unintended Consequences of Lockdowns: Evidence from Domestic Helpers in Urban China","authors":"Xiaobo He, Fang Xiao","doi":"10.3868/S060-011-020-0022-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3868/S060-011-020-0022-0","url":null,"abstract":"This paper addresses the reactions of domestic helpers to the Wuhan (Hubei Province) lockdown that began on January 23, 2020. We use a novel dataset containing the information of over 40,000 Chinese domestic helpers registered on a leading professional website from November 2019 to June 2020. The results indicate a declining pattern of short-term labor supply of domestic helpers across 11 major Chinese cities, which shows an increase in the expected monthly wage of domestic helpers in these cities. More importantly, using a difference-in-difference (DID) model, this paper provides some evidence on the existence of labor market discrimination against domestic helpers born in Hubei Province due to employersi¯ fear of infection.","PeriodicalId":44830,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers of Economics in China","volume":"15 1","pages":"521-540"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2021-01-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45049291","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Symposium on the Economic Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Introduction","authors":"Zhiqi Chen","doi":"10.3868/S060-011-020-0020-6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3868/S060-011-020-0020-6","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":44830,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers of Economics in China","volume":"15 1","pages":"475-477"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2021-01-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43385888","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}