Time: May 27 (Fri.), 14:00 -15:30 (Beijing Time)

Title: Can China fill its own shoes? China-Europe Express Railway and export manufacturing relocation from coast to inland regions

About the Speaker:

曹思未，北京师范大学经济与工商管理学院讲师。研究兴趣主要集中在创新经济学、经济地理学和中国经济。曾在《经济研究》、《世界经济》等国内外期刊发表学术论文。

Abstract:

Steady decline of China’s comparative advantage in cheap labor manufacturing raises the question of which country(s) will replace China to be the next export centers. We provide empirical support that China might end up replacing itself through manufacturing relocation from its coastline to inland regions. A new rail freight service connects inland Chinese cities with the European Union, incentivizing manufacturers to leave the coastal provinces with high real wage and take advantage of the inland cheaper labor while maintaining export convenience to Europe. Inland agglomeration economies, steadily lower wages, and self-sufficient subsidizing policies persistently attract coastal manufacturing capital.