{"title":"The SOE Channel of Monetary Policy Transmission: Evidence from China's Economic Stimulus Package*","authors":"Wenbin Chen, Shi-Zhuan Han, Jie Li, Tianhang Zhou","doi":"10.1162/asep_a_00836","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1162/asep_a_00836","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract We examine the state-owned enterprises (SOEs) channel in monetary policy transmission in the context of China's 2008 stimulus package. Using a difference-in-difference approach, we show that the higher SOE share in the cities after the stimulus package, the more bank loans issued in the cities. Furthermore, we find that the role of SOEs in monetary policy transmission is more significant in underdeveloped cities and cities with a high level of government intervention. We adopt propensity score matching difference-in-difference to deal with potential endogeneity problem. The baseline results also survive a series of robustness tests.","PeriodicalId":52020,"journal":{"name":"Asian Economic Papers","volume":"20 1","pages":"73-93"},"PeriodicalIF":9.7,"publicationDate":"2021-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41462565","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Wage Differentials in Malaysia: Public Employment, Gender, and Ethnicity*","authors":"R. Clark, N. Ogawa, N. Mansor, S. Abe, M. Mahidin","doi":"10.1162/asep_a_00840","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1162/asep_a_00840","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The study examines the earnings differentials between the public and private sector in the Malaysian economy in terms of the moderations of the gender and ethnic wage differences in the public sector. The study uses the annual earnings from the Salaries and Wages Survey for 2011 and 2016. The key findings are that public employees are paid higher wages compared with private sector employees and the overall gender and ethnic wage differentials have declined in recent years. We also find that both gender and ethnic wage differentials are much smaller in the public sector.","PeriodicalId":52020,"journal":{"name":"Asian Economic Papers","volume":"20 1","pages":"16-34"},"PeriodicalIF":9.7,"publicationDate":"2021-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49645318","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Decomposing Effects of Population Aging on Economic Growth in OECD Countries*","authors":"Hyun‐Hoon Lee, Kwanho Shin","doi":"10.1162/asep_a_00839","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1162/asep_a_00839","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract In this paper, we investigate six channels through which population aging affects output growth per capita of 35 OECD countries where the old dependency ratio is already quite high. The six channels we consider are changes in: (i) physical capital; (ii) human capital; (iii) average working hours; (iv) labor participation rate; (v) age composition of 15–64 (the share of population aged between 15 and 64 years; and (vi) total factor productivity (TFP). We first confirm findings from previous studies that aging in OECD countries has negative effects on GDP growth per capita. We then find that the most important channel through which the negative effects of aging on economic growth operate is lowered TFP growth. Across our empirical specifications, lowered TFP growth associated with aging explains more than fully the lowered growth rate of GDP per capita. We also find evidence of demographic deficit (decreases in working age population share), but this negative effect of aging is more than nullified by compensating increases in the average working hours and the labor force participation rate. We conclude that because TFP growth rate can be permanently lowered, aging's negative effects on GDP growth per capita are expected to be permanent.","PeriodicalId":52020,"journal":{"name":"Asian Economic Papers","volume":"20 1","pages":"138-159"},"PeriodicalIF":9.7,"publicationDate":"2021-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48392521","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Yunjong Wang Comments on COVID-19 in Korea: Success Based on Past Failure","authors":"Yunjong Wang","doi":"10.1162/asep_a_00823","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1162/asep_a_00823","url":null,"abstract":"First, Korea’s past traumatic failure to successfully deal with MERS in 2015 offered a valuable lesson in terms of emergency response not only for hospitals but also the nation’s public health system. After MERS, the Korean government revised the Contagious Disease Prevention and Control Act and granted public agencies the right to collect, profile, and share certain categories of personal information at the outbreak of a serious infectious disease. Many other countries have also introduced similar measures to track, trace, and contain the spread of COVID-19 by using digital technologies for effective front-line responses. While such exceptional measures prove to be an effective control measure in the early stages of COVID-19 when there are a limited and manageable number of cases, the approach may hamper privacy and other fundamental rights of citizens.","PeriodicalId":52020,"journal":{"name":"Asian Economic Papers","volume":"20 1","pages":"70-72"},"PeriodicalIF":9.7,"publicationDate":"2021-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47691433","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Suresh Narayanan Comments on The Global Macroeconomic Impacts of COVID-19: Seven Scenarios","authors":"S. Narayanan","doi":"10.1162/asep_a_00818","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1162/asep_a_00818","url":null,"abstract":"some idea of the costs of not intervening,” and consider shocks to government expenditure to capture the policy effect. The approach looks innocuous considering the model frequency is annual. But the model could be extended to shed light on two channels related to the containment measures. The direct channel works by reducing the economic activity including withholding labor supply and rebalancing the consumption basket, of which effects are well reflected in the current model. We also need to notice that the indirect or compounding channel is likely to work. There exists a trade-off between the level of containment measures and the persistence of the health shock. In the case of COVID-19, lowering containment measures led to further waves, while the lockdown significantly reduced the spread. Hence, the policymakers’ decision should include containment measures as well as monetary and fiscal measures. As pointed out in Abel and Panageas (2020), “[t]he key tradeoff facing the planner is that increased interaction leads to more output, but also more deaths from the disease.” Recently, a model with the susceptible-infectious-removed (SIR) extension is explored to take the tradeoff into account.","PeriodicalId":52020,"journal":{"name":"Asian Economic Papers","volume":"20 1","pages":"33-37"},"PeriodicalIF":9.7,"publicationDate":"2021-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43400373","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Wen-jen Hsieh Comments on COVID-19 in Taiwan: Economic Impacts and Lessons Learned","authors":"Wen-Jen Hsieh","doi":"10.1162/asep_a_00827","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1162/asep_a_00827","url":null,"abstract":"technology and semiconductor products. This is clearly the exception rather than the norm. The Taiwanese government’s relief and stimulus package constituted a sensible and predictable mix of financial aid, employment assistance, and tax breaks. The author rightly points out that rigorous examination as to the effectiveness of these policies is needed. To this end, perhaps a related question would be whether these standard assistance packages can be provided in a more targeted manner, especially with the availability of big data and digital technology. The case of using big data and financial technology (fintech) in mainland China to inform risk-management decisions is of useful reference. Moreover, it would not be correct to attribute the health of the Taiwanese economy primarily to these packages. Rather, Taiwan’s economic situation seems more a product situated in the greater context of the global economic and geopolitical framework.","PeriodicalId":52020,"journal":{"name":"Asian Economic Papers","volume":"20 1","pages":"120-122"},"PeriodicalIF":9.7,"publicationDate":"2021-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45248256","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ana Maria Santacreu, A. Mattoo, S. Thangavelu, J. Cheah
{"title":"Shandre Mugan Thangavelu Comments on Impacts of Lockdown Policies on International Trade","authors":"Ana Maria Santacreu, A. Mattoo, S. Thangavelu, J. Cheah","doi":"10.1162/asep_a_00825","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1162/asep_a_00825","url":null,"abstract":"Shandre Mugan Thangavelu, Jeffrey Cheah Institute on Southeast Asia, Sunway University and Institute for International Trade, University of Adelaide: This paper examines the impact of COVID-19 workplace closures and stayat-home orders on international trade using a gravity model. The paper suggests that the stay-at-home orders will reduce trade by decreasing import demand, while workplace closures, which mandate the closure of all non-essential workplaces, will reduce export supplies. This paper uses monthly world trade data to investigate how the two types of lockdown policies affect trade flows. They find a negative effect of workplace closures on trade except for intra-Asian trade, but stay-at-home orders had no significant and robust effects on trade.","PeriodicalId":52020,"journal":{"name":"Asian Economic Papers","volume":"20 1","pages":"149-154"},"PeriodicalIF":9.7,"publicationDate":"2021-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48515488","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Iris Claus, Byeongho Lim, Emma Kyoungseo Hong, Jinjin Mou
{"title":"Iris Claus Comments on COVID-19 in Korea: Success Based on Past Failure","authors":"Iris Claus, Byeongho Lim, Emma Kyoungseo Hong, Jinjin Mou","doi":"10.1162/asep_a_00822","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1162/asep_a_00822","url":null,"abstract":"Iris Claus, University of Waikato: Since early 2020, a pandemic has been spreading around the world. It was identified as a novel coronavirus (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 or SARS-CoV-2) and later renamed as coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19 (Qiu et al. 2020). Most countries and territories (more than 200 as of September 2020) have been affected by the virus, but their success in coping with the pandemic has varied in terms of case numbers, deaths, and economic slowdown. One country that has fared better than others is the Republic of Korea.","PeriodicalId":52020,"journal":{"name":"Asian Economic Papers","volume":"20 1","pages":"63-69"},"PeriodicalIF":9.7,"publicationDate":"2021-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44228441","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Fumiharu Mieno Comments on Teleworker Performance in the COVID-19 Era in Japan","authors":"F. Mieno","doi":"10.1162/asep_a_00830","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1162/asep_a_00830","url":null,"abstract":"The paper conducted a survey in April and June 2020 on employees who shifted to telework, asking them about the change in working environment and their subjective impressions of their own working efficiency. The results found various stylized facts: (1) the earlier the shift to telework, the better the worker’s efficiency; (2) experience and number of telework hours matter more for efficiency than workers’ base ICT skills; (3) the positive effect of telework on efficiency is highest in very small establishments and large-sized companies; (4) as for work environment, a flexible time management system enhanced the efficiency-improving effect of telework, while a results-based evaluation system led to the opposite effect; and (5) workers’ efficiency tended to increase when more hours were spent on teleworking, as opposed to spending their time on non-work activities like leisure time, housekeeping/childcare, and sleeping.","PeriodicalId":52020,"journal":{"name":"Asian Economic Papers","volume":"20 1","pages":"193-194"},"PeriodicalIF":9.7,"publicationDate":"2021-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48264632","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Rajah Rasiah Comment on COVID-19: Malaysia Experience and Key Lessons","authors":"R. Rasiah","doi":"10.1162/asep_a_00809","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1162/asep_a_00809","url":null,"abstract":"procedures, and welfare provisions such as fair living conditions and medical insurance coverage to the socially neglected and disadvantaged, is crucial to curb the spread of the virus. If the government can properly address these social issues, this would help minimize current infections and also prevent any subsequent advancement into a humanitarian crisis, thereby resulting in both short-run and long-run benefits to the country.","PeriodicalId":52020,"journal":{"name":"Asian Economic Papers","volume":"20 1","pages":"95-97"},"PeriodicalIF":9.7,"publicationDate":"2021-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48283706","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}