Capital Flows, Asset Prices, and the Real Economy: A "China Shock" in the U.S. Real Estate Market

Zhimin Li, Leslie Sheng Shen () and Calvin Zhang

No 1286, International Finance Discussion Papers from Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.)

Abstract: We study the effects of foreign real estate capital flows on local asset prices and employment using detailed housing transactions data. We document (i) a "China shock" in the U.S. real estate market after 2007 driven by the Chinese government's house purchase restrictions and (ii) "home bias" in foreign Chinese housing purchases in the United States as they are concentrated in ZIP codes historically populated by ethnic Chinese. Exploiting the quasi-random temporal and spatial variation of real estate capital inflows from China, we find that foreign Chinese housing purchases have a positive and significant effect on local housing and labor markets. A one standard deviation increase in exposure to these purchases explains 24% and 18% of the cross-ZIP-code variation in local house prices and employment, respectively, with the employment effect transmitted through a housing net worth channel. We also show that these purchases drive out lower-income residents. Our results highlight the role of foreign real estate capital flows in both stimulating the real economy and inducing gentrification in local economies.

Keywords: Capital flows; House price; Employment; China shock (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E20 F61 J21 R21 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 60
Date: 2020-06-30
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cna, nep-mac and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:fip:fedgif:1286

DOI: 10.17016/IFDP.2020.1286

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