Institute for Economic and Social Research

Seminar | Qinghua Zhang, Peking University

2023-04-28

Time: 2023/04/24 (Mon.), 13:30 -15:00 (Beijing Time)

Venue: Zengxianzi Science Building 406

Title:  From Government to Governance: Evidence from District Border Adjustments in China


About the speaker:

张庆华现任北京大学光华管理学院应用经济系教授, 博士生导师。她本科就读于武汉大学经济学院世界经济系, 后在美国布朗大学获得经济学博士学位。她曾在伦敦政治经济学院和美国德克萨斯州立大学奥斯汀分校访问。2017, 2006, 2005 2004年间曾担任世界银行短期经济顾问。

张庆华博士的主要研究兴趣包括城市经济学,公共财政,以及搜索与匹配。她在这些领域做出了出色的研究成果, 她的多篇论文发表在Review of Economics and Statistics, Journal of Monetary Economics, Journal of Public Economics Journal of Urban EconomicsJournal of EconometricsRand Journal of Economics, Journal of Development Economics等国际权威学术期刊上。她曾获得教育部全国高等学校科研优秀成果一等奖(人文社科类)、世界华人不动产协会最佳论文奖, 北京大学工商银行经济学优秀学者奖等多项奖励。她目前是Journal of Urban Economics 编委。


Abstract:

This paper delves into the impact of within-city administrative border adjustments on individual firm productivity and local economic development. Employing a unique quasi-natural experiment conducted in China since the 1990s, our empirical analysis reveals that district border adjustments (DBAs) have a significant positive effect on the TFP of manufacturing firms in the adjusted districts. The firms situated in the border towns of the districts reap most benefits. Further investigation into the mechanism indicates that DBAs enhance firms’ productivity by 1) internalizing the positive externalities generated by agglomeration economies of industry clusters, 2) removing extra administrative costs for firms situated in the border towns, and 3) helping alleviate the spatial constraints faced by high density core districts. These adjustments ultimately lead to enhanced industry specialization and more efficient capital allocation at the district level. Our study also shows that DBAs have a significantly positive impact on the overall economic development of border towns, as evidenced by increased intensity of nightlights.

 


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