Place-based Land Policy and Spatial Misallocation: Theory and Evidence from China

Min Fang, Libin Han, Zibin Huang, Ming Lu and Li Zhang

Working Papers from University of Toronto, Department of Economics

Abstract: Place-based land policies may create spatial misallocation. We investigate a major policy in China that aims to reduce regional development gaps by distributing more urban construction land quotas to underdeveloped inland regions. We first show causal evidence that this policy decreased firm-level TFP in more developed eastern regions relative to inland regions. We then build a spatial equilibrium model with migration, land constraints, and agglomeration. The model reveals that this policy led to substantial losses in national TFP and output. It shrinks regional output gap but lowers incomes of workers from underdeveloped regions by hindering their migration to developed regions.

Keywords: Place-based Policy; Land Policy; Spatial Misallocation; Regional Inequality; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E24 J61 O18 R52 R58 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: Unknown pages
Date: 2022-08-22
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cna, nep-geo, nep-lab and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Working Paper: Place-based Land Policy and Spatial Misallocation: Theory and Evidence from China (2022)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:tor:tecipa:tecipa-729

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