In an economy characterized by financial repression, enhancing the legal system may hinder the development of some aspects of the financial sector, especially informal arrangements aiming at circumventing the repression. Using Chinese provincial data in the 1990s, we find that enhanced legal...

While the literature on consumption insurance is growing fast, little research has been conducted on how rural consumption insurance is affected by democracy. In this paper the authors examine how consumption insurance of Chinese rural residents is affected if the local leader is democratically...

This study examines how the economic effects of elections in rural China depend on voter heterogeneity, for which religious fractionalization is taken as a proxy. [BREAD Working No. 366]. URL:[http://ipl.econ.duke.edu/bread/papers/working/366.pdf].

Using a sample of 1185 households in 48 Chinese villages for the period 1987–2002, we study the effects of major health shocks on household income and the role played by village elections in mitigating these effects. Major health shocks are defined by abnormal increases in a household's...

This paper aims to show that culture is an important determinant of the effectiveness of formal democratic institutions, such as elections. We collect new data to document the presence of voluntary and social organizations and the history of electoral reforms in Chinese villages. We use the...

We examine the effects of introducing village elections on public goods expenditures, income distribution and land use in rural China. We construct a large panel data set of village administrative records to document the history of political reforms and economic policies for over two hundred...

Summary China has experienced remarkable economic growth for three decades despite having a weak legal system and under-developed financial markets thought to be crucial for economic development. An assessment of the relationship among the legal and financial systems and economic growth reveals...

Summary In an economy characterized by financial repression, enhancing the legal system may hinder the development of some aspects of the financial sector, especially informal arrangements aiming at circumventing the repression. Using Chinese provincial data in the 1990s, we find that enhanced...

Using village and household survey data collected from 48 villages of eight Chinese provinces for the period 1986-2002, this paper studies how the introduction of village elections affects income distribution at the village level. We estimate both a static fixed-effect panel model and a dynamic...