{"title":"Peer Effects of Interlocking Boards on Outward Foreign Direct Investment Decisions","authors":"Haiyue Liu, Xin Xia, Yuhan Wang","doi":"10.1111/cwe.12598","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/cwe.12598","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Interlocking directors, those serving simultaneously on two or more corporate boards, facilitate exchanges of expertise and knowledge between companies, helping to reduce information gaps related to internationalization. This study analyzed investment data of 4,403 listed Chinese companies across 80 countries from 2000 to 2021, and identified a significant peer effect: the outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) experience of interlocking board directors strongly influenced companies' decisions to engage in OFDI in the same country. Key mechanisms affecting OFDI decisions include the focal company's cost of debt and the scope of available information. Heterogeneity analysis shows that peer effects were more pronounced in non-state-owned enterprises, companies with lower financing constraints, and those in more competitive industries. These effects were amplified in host countries with higher levels of government integrity and more favorable business environments. This research identifies the key drivers of OFDI and highlights the influential role of interlocking directors in shaping investment strategies, offering theoretical insights for emerging market companies seeking to leverage such networks.</p>","PeriodicalId":51603,"journal":{"name":"China & World Economy","volume":"33 4","pages":"126-154"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144606738","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Temperature and Real Exchange Rates","authors":"Yue Gu, Jing Zhang, Xiaohui Liu","doi":"10.1111/cwe.12597","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/cwe.12597","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This study incorporates average temperature into the Balassa–Samuelson model to examine the impact of temperature differences on real exchange rates (RERs). It demonstrates that the classic Balassa–Samuelson model is a special case of a more generalized model. When average temperature differences reduce relative productivity with temperature effects, RERs tend to depreciate; otherwise, they appreciate. A cross-sectional analysis of 163 economies from 1980 to 2019 indicates a significant negative relationship between average temperature and the RER. If the average temperature in one economy is 0.19°C higher than that in another, its RER tends to depreciate by 5.75 percent to 6.01 percent. This effect is observable only when the average temperature exceeds 14°C or 15°C. The depreciation is more pronounced in wealthier or less agriculture-dependent economies.</p>","PeriodicalId":51603,"journal":{"name":"China & World Economy","volume":"33 4","pages":"58-90"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144606735","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Does Parental Migration Alleviate Multidimensional Poverty among Left-behind Children in Rural Areas?","authors":"Yexin Zhou, Ru Chen, Yangyang Shen, Xinyu Li","doi":"10.1111/cwe.12601","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/cwe.12601","url":null,"abstract":"<p>A multidimensional poverty index was constructed based on a specialized survey of rural children in China, with four dimensions reflecting the deprivation of children's rights. Multidimensional poverty was compared between left-behind children (LBC) and non-LBC to assess whether parental migration mitigated such deprivation, and the effects of different types of parental migration on LBC were further analyzed. First, parental migration was found to have alleviated poverty in terms of nutrition and health for LBC but exacerbated deprivation in education, care and protection, and access to information. Second, LBC were more likely to experience multidimensional poverty than non-LBC, particularly when both parents had migrated. Third, the absence of positive parent–child interactions increased the likelihood of LBC experiencing multidimensional poverty, which in turn negatively affected the development of both cognitive and noncognitive abilities. These findings underscore the potential effectiveness of early interventions in education, care and protection, and access to information.</p>","PeriodicalId":51603,"journal":{"name":"China & World Economy","volume":"33 4","pages":"179-210"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144606740","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"How Does the US Affect the Lending Decision Preferences of the International Monetary Fund?","authors":"Yinmo Chen, Ming Zhang","doi":"10.1111/cwe.12596","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/cwe.12596","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This paper examines the impact of the US on International Monetary Fund (IMF) lending decisions and explores its underlying mechanisms. The results indicate that alignment with the US diplomatic stance significantly increases the likelihood of borrowers securing IMF loans. Countries with closer economic ties to the US not only face a higher probability of obtaining IMF loans but also tend to receive larger loans. Finally, borrowers that engage in military cooperation with the US, or share military interests, are also more likely to access IMF lending. Mechanism analysis reveals that the US has exercised its influence over IMF lending preferences by appointing senior officials to key positions within the organization. However, borrowing countries can partially offset this influence by placing their own citizens in senior management roles at the IMF, thereby mitigating the adverse effects of US influence on their access to IMF loans.</p>","PeriodicalId":51603,"journal":{"name":"China & World Economy","volume":"33 4","pages":"35-57"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144606736","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Impact of Social Health Insurance on Sex Selection","authors":"Xiaoqian Wang, Zixuan Fu, Julie Shi","doi":"10.1111/cwe.12602","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/cwe.12602","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Male-biased sex imbalance is a common social concern in many developing countries. Using 2015 One Percent National Population Sample Census data and macro-level indicators from various sources in China, this study examines the impact of social health insurance on sex selection at birth. The results show that social health insurance significantly affected the sex ratio at birth for the second child in families with a first-born girl, and there was salient urban–rural heterogeneity. Urban health insurance programs decreased the male–female ratio at the birth of the second child, suggesting that these programs mitigated the sex imbalance. In contrast, the expansion of rural health insurance caused an increase in the imbalanced sex ratio, indicating an exacerbation of the trend. The urban–rural difference in these impacts could be explained by a greater crowding-out effect in urban families and larger income and expenditure effects in rural families.</p>","PeriodicalId":51603,"journal":{"name":"China & World Economy","volume":"33 4","pages":"211-246"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144606741","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Digitalization and Export Quality Customization: Evidence from Chinese Exporters","authors":"Jianhong Qi, Yong Tan, Mingzhu Zhou","doi":"10.1111/cwe.12599","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/cwe.12599","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This study examines the impact of digitalization on firm–product-level export quality customization (EQC). Export quality customization refers to the degree to which export product quality differs across international destinations. Analysis of firm–product-level transaction data for Chinese exporting firms from 2000 to 2013 showed that a 10 percent increase in the digital equipment-to-labor ratio corresponded to a 2 percent increase in EQC. This general trend was robust across various measures of firm–product-level EQC. An instrumental variables approach was employed to address potential endogeneity and the broad findings held across multiple subsamples. Aggregate data were used to examine the influence of sectoral robot stocks on product-level EQC during 2006–2019, with consistent results. A mechanism analysis shows that digitalization increased firm– product-level EQC mainly by enhancing firm-level operational flexibility, which enabled firms to make small, continuous production adjustments, expanding their feasible quality range and enabling process innovations, thereby facilitating firm–product-level customization practices.</p>","PeriodicalId":51603,"journal":{"name":"China & World Economy","volume":"33 4","pages":"91-125"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144606737","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A Decade of Evolving Sentiment on the Belt and Road Initiative in Elite Magazines","authors":"Tariq H. Malik, Miaojie Yu, Jack Hou","doi":"10.1111/cwe.12600","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/cwe.12600","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This study employs a multidisciplinary theoretical framework – drawing on fields such as media framing, agenda setting, and the economic and political dimensions – to conduct a sentiment analysis of 507 articles on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) published in The Economist, Financial Times, Foreign Affairs, and Economic and Political Weekly. Three key findings emerge. First, negative sentiment dominates the overall discourse. Second, a clear disparity exists between financial and political magazines: Financial publications present the BRI more positively, whereas political ones present the BRI more negatively. Third, a timeline analysis from 2013 to 2023 shows a gradual shift toward more negative coverage. It means that the age of the BRI project attracts increased resistance. These findings offer valuable insights into the evolving perceptions and attitudes surrounding the BRI in influential global media outlets, providing a nuanced understanding of how media framing and the interplay between economic and political dimensions can shape public discourse on complex geopolitical initiatives.</p>","PeriodicalId":51603,"journal":{"name":"China & World Economy","volume":"33 4","pages":"155-178"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144606739","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Dynamic Impact of Having a Second Child on Females' Workforce Participation: Evidence from China's Universal Two-Child Policy","authors":"Changhong Li, Xianlang Liu","doi":"10.1111/cwe.12595","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/cwe.12595","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The impact of family size on female participation in the labor market has long intrigued economists, with inconclusive findings. This paper examines the dynamic effect of having a second child on female workforce participation in China by utilizing the 2015 universal two-child policy as a quasi-natural experiment. Using data from the China Family Panel Studies and employing the difference-in-differences model, this study found that for policy-targeted women, the net effect of having a second child on their workforce participation was insignificant following the policy's implementation. However, upon further exploration of the time-varying effect, it was discovered that in the first two years after they gave birth, policy-targeted women were significantly less likely to enter the workforce due to child-care needs. However, influenced by increased household economic pressure, the likelihood of women entering the workforce increased significantly in the fourth year after giving birth. These results indicate that the effect of a second child on female workforce participation was not uniform and displayed temporal variability. This study enriches the existing literature on how family size affects female workforce participation and contributes to a deeper understanding of the effects of relaxed fertility policies.</p>","PeriodicalId":51603,"journal":{"name":"China & World Economy","volume":"33 4","pages":"1-34"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144606734","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"De-financialization and the Increase in Corporate Research and Development Intensity: The Effects of China's 2018 New Asset Management Rules","authors":"Jiaxin Wang, Daxin Dong","doi":"10.1111/cwe.12593","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/cwe.12593","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In 2018, China implemented the Guidelines on Regulating the Asset Management of Financial Institutions, a financial regulation aimed at restricting enterprises' financial investments through asset management products. This policy sought to curb corporate financialization and potentially impact other corporate activities. Treating this policy as a quasi-experiment, the present study employed a generalized difference-in-differences regression model to examine its effect on corporate research and development (R&D) from the perspective of de-financialization. Using data from Chinese listed companies spanning 2013 to 2022, the key findings are as follows: (i) The policy significantly boosted corporate R&D intensity. Enterprises with higher levels of financialization before the policy experienced a more substantial increase in R&D intensity after its implementation. (ii) Heterogeneity tests reveal that the positive effect of the policy on R&D was more pronounced for firms in high-tech industries, those with greater corporate transparency, and those receiving more government subsidies. (iii) The policy's impact on R&D was driven by the reallocation of resources from financial to real assets, as well as the alleviation of firms' financing constraints.</p>","PeriodicalId":51603,"journal":{"name":"China & World Economy","volume":"33 3","pages":"197-233"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144074542","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Impact of National Technology Transfer Markets on Entrepreneurship in China","authors":"Jinlei Li, Yuanbiao Huang, Lei Wang","doi":"10.1111/cwe.12590","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/cwe.12590","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This study investigates how the construction of technology transfer markets in China can affect local entrepreneurial activity. Using new firm registration data from the State Administration for Industry and Commerce of China, the analysis treated the establishment of national technology transfer centers (NTTCs) as a quasi-natural experiment and employed a staggered difference-in-differences approach. The results indicate that the establishment of NTTCs has a positive impact on entrepreneurship. Robustness checks supported a causal interpretation of the results. The primary mechanisms identified were increased availability of entrepreneurial resources and improvements in the local entrepreneurial environment. The effects were more pronounced in technology-intensive manufacturing and producer service industries, and in cities with lower administrative status and higher levels of financial development. Further analysis revealed that NTTCs contribute to economic growth by promoting entrepreneurship. The results have policy implications for government-led development of technology transfer markets.</p>","PeriodicalId":51603,"journal":{"name":"China & World Economy","volume":"33 3","pages":"76-108"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144074540","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}