Seminars

Speaker: Tom Lane, Associate Professor, Newcastle University Business School
Date: 3 April 2025

Abstract: Building on recent evidence that group cohesion is a powerful determinant of economic efficiency, we hypothesise income inequality exerts a negative force on efficiency by eroding cohesion, counter to the efficiency-equality trade-off traditionally assumed in economics. To test this, we employ a novel experimental design with extensive group interactions and a state-of-the-art technique to measure group cohesion.

Our findings confirm that stronger group cohesion is indeed associated with more efficient interactions. Unexpectedly, however, we do not find that pay inequalities within groups hinder the formation of group cohesion. Moreover, cohesion is significantly strengthened by inequality between groups. These results suggest that interpersonal relationships display a surprising resilience to economic disparities, undermining a potential pathway through which inequality could harm efficiency.

(Co-authored with Fan Zhang, Jan Jozwik, Yuanping Lu and Lina Song).

Speaker: Professor Guy Liu, Peking University PHBS Business School
Date: 5 December 2024

Abstract: Guy’s research covers the topics of energy economics and policy, firm theory of industrial organization, Industrial development and structural adjustment, firm competitiveness, property rights and corporate governance, and financial markets and securities liquidity.

Speaker: Wenjin Long, Associate Professor, College of Economics and Management, China Agricultural University
Date: 21 November 2024

Abstract: Global progress toward achieving Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger) faces persistent challenges, underscoring the pivotal role of China, which sustains approximately one-fifth of the world's population through its sophisticated food policies and security framework. Having achieved the milestone of hunger eradication by 2020, China has embarked on transformative shifts in its food security paradigm, integrating enhanced nutritional health initiatives, pioneering food waste reduction strategies, and implementing the innovative "Big Food" concept, while responding to profound demographic transitions that reshape food demand patterns.

This paper delivers a systematic analysis of China's evolving food security landscape, exploring the dynamic relationship between demographic shifts and evolving food demand structures, while critically evaluating recent policy innovations and their cascading effects on both domestic and global food systems. Through a meticulous synthesis of developments in China's food demand and supply sectors, we examine emerging food security trends and their implications for global markets, while charting strategic research trajectories within the framework of agri-food system transformation. This comprehensive investigation advances our understanding of China's food security and policy framework, establishing a substantive foundation for future policy innovation and scholarly inquiry in this vital domain.

Speaker: Professor Camelia Turcu, Laboratoire d'Economie d'Orleans (LEO), University of Orleans, France and West University of Timisoara, Romania
Date: 6 June 2024

Abstract: This study investigates how typhoons affect bank lending in China. Our difference-in-difference estimates, based on a sample of more than 161,000 bank branches held by 327 Chinese banks from 2004 to 2019, show that, on average, typhoons trigger a decrease in lending that accounts for 2.8 percent of total bank assets. This decline is driven by commercial banks, presumably due to worsening information asymmetries. On the contrary, rural banks act as shock absorbers. This may be the consequence of long-term lending relationships and banks' better knowledge of local economic and physical risks. The absence of rural banks is even found to be detrimental to local post-typhoon growth. Last, government ownership and external political pressure mitigate the relative decline in lending by typhoon-hit commercial banks.

Speaker: Dr Jamel Saadaoui, University of Strasbourg, France
Date: 7 March 2024

Abstract: This paper assesses the effect of US-China political relationships and geopolitical risks on oil prices. To this end, we consider two quantitative measures, the Political Relationship Index (PRI) and the Geopolitical Risk Index (GPR), and rely on structural VAR and local projection methodologies. Our findings show that improved US-China relationships, as well as higher geopolitical risks, drive up the price of oil. In fact, unexpected shocks in the political relationship index are associated with optimistic expectations of economic activity, whereas unexpected shocks in the geopolitical risk index also reflect fears of supply disruption. Political tensions and geopolitical risks are thus complementary causal drivers of oil prices, the former being linked to consumer expectations and the latter to the prospects of aggregate markets.

Biography: Dr Jamel Saadaoui is a senior lecturer in economics at the University of Strasbourg and is affiliated with the BETA laboratory. His research covers a range of topics in the open economy, like the geopolitical tensions between China and the U.S., the holding of international reserves in emerging countries, the exchange rates in the euro area, and the oil markets. Furthermore, he teaches economics and statistics at the Faculty of Economics and Management of the University of Strasbourg. Besides, he has been an elected member of the National Council of Universities since 2016. He has been co-organising the Cournot Seminar, the main seminar of BETA-Strasbourg, since 2020. In 2022, he was elected to the board of trustees of the University of Strasbourg. Since 2023, he has been the Head of Master 1 Macroeconomics and European Policy at the University of Strasbourg.

Speaker: Miss Lanlan Wu, School of Economics, The University of Nottingham
Date: 29 February 2024

Abstract: This paper investigates the export gains of multi-product firms from trade liberalisation through a new channel of firm import sourcing capability. Using firm-level data of Chinese processing trade, this paper constructs the key measure of import similarity between firms and products according to the imported intermediate inputs used. The empirical results indicate that, in response to reductions of trade policy uncertainty after China's accession to the WTO, multi-product processing exporters are more likely to enter into and less likely to drop products that are similar to their prior import structures. Because of firms' prior experience in importing certain intermediate inputs, it makes them more efficient in obtaining these inputs and gives them an advantage in producing and exporting products that require the use of such inputs in the future. When there is trade liberalisation, it interacts with firm's sourcing capability to determine the future export activities of multi-product firms. Our results are robust when considering the possible impact of firm's import experience in ordinary trade, input trade liberalisation and the inclusion of other controls that might affect firm exports. In the theoretical model, by extending Boehm et al. (2022) and introducing the trade cost, this paper builds a relationship between export shocks, input supplier entry, and firm product choices. It shows that firm revenues are affected by the interaction of import similarity and export shocks, which supports our empirical findings.

Biography: Lanlan Wu is now a third-year PhD student in the School of Economics at University of Nottingham. Lanlan works in research areas such as banking deregulation and firm exports (the impact of the establishment of city commercial banks on the export of Chinese firms), trade policy and firm activities (how firms' import structures impact their gains from trade liberalisation), with an interest in firm patents. She has published in academic journals such as Journal of International Trade (CSSCI) and Finance and Trade Research (CSSCI).

Speaker: Dr Ze Ren, Nottingham University Business School
Date: 14 December 2023

Abstract: This study examines the role of multiple large shareholders (MLS) in determining companies' debt preferences. Utilising a dataset comprising 3,438 Chinese publicly listed companies during the timeframe of 2000 to 2020, we observe that MLS decrease the reliance on bank debt. This result remains resilient despite addressing concerns related to endogeneity and subjecting it to robust tests. Furthermore, the influence of MLS on companies' bank debt financing is particularly pronounced for companies with weak bank monitoring. The study further explores the impact of MLS on companies in financial distress and those with low information asymmetry, finding that the reduction in bank debt ratios is less noticeable for such firms. Overall, we find that MLS serves to decrease a firm's dependence on traditional bank financing, effectively substituting the need for debt monitored by banks.

Biography: Ze Ren has recently completed her doctoral studies in Finance and Risk at Nottingham University Business School. She also holds a Master's degree in Accounting and a Bachelor's degree in Economics. Under the supervision of Professor Simona Mateut, her Ph.D. thesis explored various dimensions of corporate governance and financial decision-making. In the future, she aspires to focus her research on the application of machine learning (ML) in the field of finance.

Speaker: Dr Hongyi Lai, School of Politics and International Relations, University of Nottingham
Date: 9 November 2023

Abstract: The contrasting responses to COVID-19 in 2020 around the world, especially in the major democratic and non-democratic nations, have re-ignited a debate on the merits of political institutions in coping with a catastrophe. A noticeable view among scholars and the public suggests that a non-democratic regime had an edge in initiating a unified and coordinated response to the epidemic and that democratic regimes suffered from inadequate coordination and delays. China’s COVID-19 response in 2020 has been cited as a primary case to support this view. Examining epidemic responses in China in the past two decades, this study attempts a panel data analysis of the pattern of epidemic responses, investigates the underlying causes, and tests potential hypotheses. The preliminary findings offer a sober perspective of the role of institutions in epidemic management in a non-democratic nation, as well as a democratic one.

Biography: Hongyi Lai is an associate professor at the School of Politics and International Relations at the University of Nottingham, UK. He was previously an associate professor at the School of Contemporary Chinese Studies of the university. His research covers governance and the domestic and international political economy of China.

Speaker: Dr Ziyou Wang, Henley Business School, University of Reading
Date: 2 October 2023

Abstract: The increasingly important role of sentiment complicates the challenges that housing developers are faced in the boom-bust cycle of the regional housing market, and standard economic models may result in sub-optimal or even unreasonable inferences when the sentiment effect is overlooked. In this paper, we intend to investigate how developer sentiment affects developers’ decision-making and, eventually the regional housing supply. The theoretical model shows that the expected waiting time to develop exhibits a U-shape pattern against developer sentiment; and the optimal density declines when developer sentiment intensifies, ceteris paribus. The empirical study provides evidence to support the theoretical implications.

Biography: Ziyou Wang received his PhD in Urban Economics from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and joined the Henley Business School in 2022. Prior to joining, he was a Lecturer in Financial Economics at Coventry University London, and a teaching fellow at UCL and a Postdoc at the University of Cambridge. Ziyou's research interests mainly focus on Behavioural Economics and Urban Economics. Ziyou is actively engaged in the scholarly debate on topics ranging from behavioural biases and industry dynamics, and regional and urban development, as well as land use and policy.

Speaker: Dr Kun Bao, School of Economics and Management, Beijing Jiaotong University, China
Date: 19 October 2023

Abstract: This paper explores how marital commitment influences a couple’s post-marriage investment in common assets. Different from previous studies that assumed complete information within marriage, we have developed a game model that takes into account the signaling behaviour when spouses operate under incomplete information. Utilising data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) from 2010 to 2016 and treating the implementation of the new Marriage Law in 2011 as an external shock, we identified this signaling behaviour and find that, on average, the legal shock boosted couple’s joint ownership of houses by 6.1%. This finding remains robust under various tests, including using the number of “jinshi” in local history to proxy the prevalence of Confucian culture as the instrumental variables. Furthermore, we offer evidence that elucidates the mechanism behind the effect: the legal shock reduced the level of commitment between spouses, with the house serving as a “signaling vehicle” from husband to wife. Our findings highlight the importance of commitment in household welfare and provide a new perspective on understanding marriage law and spousal interaction in China.

Biography: Dr Kun Bao is an Assistant Professor at the School of Economics and Management in Beijing Jiaotong University. He obtained his PhD in Economics from the University of Nottingham in the UK. His research interests cover Family Economics, Development Economics and Corporate Finance.

Speaker: Professor Pinghan Liang, School of Government, Sun Yat-Sen University, China
Date: 23 March 2023

Abstract: Using the Budget Law reform in China as a quasi-natural experiment, this paper examines the causal impact of Use-it-or-lose-it budget rules on local governments’ year-end spending spikes. We exploit all 2.8 million government procurement contracts during 2014-2021, and use a semi-supervised learning algorithm to measure the quality of the contract. We show substantial surges in procurement contracts at the end of the year, and these contracts are more likely of low quality. The difference-in-difference model indicates that after the reform, local governments award 25.8% more procurement contracts and double spending on procurement in the last month of the year. The year-end spending surges concentrate on goods and construction projects, and favour local suppliers. The regions receiving more fiscal transfer exhibit larger year-end spending spikes, but local officials’ promotion incentives mitigate the spikes. This paper provides clear evidence that limiting fiscal funds rollover distorts public resource allocation in China, the world’s second-largest economy.

Biography: Pinghan Liang is a professor at the School of Government, Sun Yat-Sen University, China. Currently, he is a Swire visiting fellow at St Anthony’s College, University of Oxford, in 2022-23. He receives PhD in Economics from Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona. His research interests include Political Economy in China, Behavioural and Experimental Economics, and the Social Impact of Digital Technology. He has published in leading journals, such as Games and Economic Behavior, Journal of Comparative Economics, China Economic Review, etc. His research has been funded by the National Natural Science Foundation and the National Office of Philosophy and Social Science. He is also the peer reviewer for Econometrica, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, Journal of European Economic Association.

Speaker: Dr Xi Chen, School of Public Health, Yale University
Date: 16 March 2023

Abstract: Global estimates for disability are on the rise amid rapid population aging. Assistance with daily living is essential for people who suffer from disability. Using harmonised data in the past decade on community-dwelling participants aged 50+ from China, the United States, England, and the European Union, our estimates consistently showed that, across all 31 countries in vastly different stages of development, at least one fifth of demented individuals reporting difficulty with any basic or instrumental activities of daily living (ADL/IADL) received no care for their functional limitations. Substantial disparities were also identified. In particular, the less educated had significantly higher prevalence of reporting ADL/IADL difficulty with no formal care received. People living alone had higher prevalence of reporting ADL/IADL difficulty with no informal care received. Overall, Lack of any care did not improve over time, regardless of the stages of development. Our estimates highlight the urgency to ensure basic provision of care for people suffering from disabilities, especially among those who are less educated or live alone.

Biography: Xi Chen, PhD, is an associate professor of health policy and economics at Yale University. His research integrates causal inference, machine learning, and epidemiological approaches to evaluate policies on population aging, life course health, and global health systems. He is an Editor at the Journal of Population Economics, a consultant at the United Nations, the World Bank, Research Fellow at IZA Institute of Labor Economics, Cluster Head at the Global Labor Organization, former President of the China Health Policy and Management Society, National Institutes of Health’s Butler-Williams Scholar and Claude D. Pepper Scholar, research affiliate of Cornell Institute on Health Economics, Health Behaviors and Disparities, adjunct professor at Peking University, Guest Editor at the Journal of Asian Economics, and a member of the editorial board at China CDC Weekly. His research funded by the NIH/NSF/USDA appears in science, economics, and medical journals, recognised through numerous awards such as the Kuznets Prize and GSA awards, and widely covered in global media. He is a commentator at BBC, Bloomberg, CNN, and writes opinion pieces for NYT. He obtained a PhD in Applied Economics from Cornell University.