Agglomeration Economies with Heterogeneous Firms in China: Evidence from Firm-Level Data in 2007

This paper examines the relationship between agglomeration and firm-level performance in China. The author estimates firm-level production functions, total-factor productivity, and return on assets to compare the performance of heterogeneous firms within and outside the agglomeration. Agglomeration studies distinguish between localization regions characterized by a particular economic activity and urbanization, which corresponds to the development of overall economic activity. This paper investigates both types. Results suggest that negative localization economies exist in labor-intensive industries and positive urbanization economies are observed in capital-intensive industries. From the perspective of examining heterogeneous firms, negative localization effect is explained by the negative selection effect fewer highproductivity firms are clustered in the apparel and fiber industries and is explained by the negative agglomeration economy in the miscellaneous goods industry. The positive urbanization effect is explained by the agglomeration effect, i.e., the benefits of agglomeration serve all firms in the auto and communication equipment industries. Note that the productivity of Chinese firms in "Marshallian" localization clusters is not higher than that of firms located outside clusters. This finding challenges the theoretical prediction, prompting the need for further research.特集　中国沿海部の産業集

COVID-19 and Social Distancing in the Absence of Legal Enforcement: Survey Evidence from Japan

Do people keep social distance to mitigate the infection risk of COVID-19, even without aggressive policy interventions? The Japanese government did not restrict individuals’ activities despite the early confirmation of infections, and as a result, economic damages were limited in the initial stage of infection spread. Exploiting these features, we examine the association between the subsequent increase in infections and voluntary social-distancing behavior. Using unique monthly panel survey data, we find that the increase in risk is associated with the likelihood of social-distancing behavior. However, those with lower educational attainment are less responsive, implying their higher exposure to infections. We provide evidence that this can be attributed to their underestimation of infection risk, while we cannot fully rule out the roles of income opportunity costs and poor information access. These results suggest the utility of interventions incorporating nudges to raise risk perception, as well as financial support for low-income households

Treatment Effect of Innovation Policies in China Do Multi-level and Multi-route Policy Packages Work?

中国政府は2006 年以降，海外技術の輸入に頼らない自主的なイノベーションの実現を目指し，各層の政府と各種の支援政策によって企業の研究開発とイノベーション活動を促進しようとしてきた．本稿は中国四川省成都市のデータを用いて，各政府レベルと，各カテゴリーの政策が，企業の知的財産権出願数，新製品数，工程改善数にどのような影響を与えているかを傾向スコアマッチング法によって推計した．分析の結果，全政策を合計した平均効果として，知的財産権出願数を約2つ増加させることが示されたほか，政府のレベルとしてはよりローカルな政府が実施している政策が効果的であり，また政策カテゴリーとしてはイノベーションの活動自体をサポートする政策が効果的であることが報告された．この結果，この10 年に急速に整備された中国の「多層的かつ多ルート」なイノベーション政策体系は，全体として企業のイノベーションを推進する効果を持つと同時に，効率化の余地が大きいことが示唆されるSince the 2000s, the Chinese government has implemented numerous innovation related policies by national-, provincial-, and city-level agencies. Each level of government aims to promote innovation activities, however, few empirical evaluations of each policy level and categories have been conducted. This paper estimates the treatment effects of innovation policies at each government level and category by using firm-level survey data from an inland city. Results suggest that innovation policies stimulate firm-level innovation activities, in particular, lower-level agencies and various government services for innovation activities are effective. On the other hand, some categories of policy, including tax incentives, seem to be less efficient. Restructuring the current policy menu and establishing further feedback mechanisms for innovation policy will improve the efficacy of fiscal spending.特集　中国の地域経済問

Understanding the digitalization of Asian economy and soceity : Development Strategies, Economic Integration, Labor Markets and Government Service

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