The Other Side of the "China Syndrome": Examining the Consumption Effects of Chinese Imports Before and After Covid-19

• Author(s) / Creator(s)

  • Ural Marchand, Beyza

• SSHRC awarded 2021: The goal of this proposed research is to set out a research agenda that will provide the first empirical study to examine the welfare effects of rising Chinese imports on American and Canadian households. We will specifically focus on the effect on household expenditure and how the welfare changes due to changing prices vary across the income distribution. To do so, we will combine detailed international trade data with nationally representative consumer expenditure survey data from the United States and Canada across almost three decades (1990s-2010s). We will estimate the the price effects of Chinese imports by comparing regions with different levels of exposure to Chinese imports, analyze geographical variation in price effects of Chinese imports by differentiating these effects by the local market structure of intermediaries, such as the concentration of the local retail sector or entry of wholesale centers. Empirically analyze the impact on household welfare through the expenditure channel using nationally representative household expenditure surveys from the U.S. and Canada to understand how households respond to price changes and the role of the organization of production and retail markets, conduct distributional analysis to understand the structure of welfare effects across the income distribution, and estimate the impact on inequality and poverty at the national level and by region to better understand the effects of this large import shock on consumers, understand the impact of import reductions from China due to the Covid-19 pandemic by using the results of this research, based on the last available data on the structure of household consumption. This project will contribute to creating knowledge to help us better understand the complex relationship between household welfare and Chinese imports in developed countries such as the U.S. and Canada.

• Date created

  2020-09-29

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Insight Grant
  • IG
  • SSHRC
  • China
  • Consumption Inequality
  • Household Welfare
  • Imports
  • International Trade
  • Economics
  • International Economics
  • Economic Development
  • Technological Change and Growth
  • International Relations
  • Development and Trade
  • Social Development and Welfare
  • Regional Development
  • 1990-2016
  • Canada
  • China
  • United States
  • North America
  • East Asia

• Type of Item

  Research Material

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/r3-z0ft-yf68

• License

  ©Ural Marchand, Beyza. All rights reserved other than by permission. This document is embargoed to those without UAlberta CCID until 2028.