Recently, Chen Yunjie, researcher at the Center for International Cooperation and Disciplinary Innovation of Income Distribution and Public Finance, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, and her collaborators published their academic paper titled "The Unintended Consequences of Home-Buying Restrictions in China" online in the top economics journal Review of Economics and Statistics. This journal is a comprehensive applied economics (particularly in the field of quantitative economics) publication with a century-long history. It is hosted by the Harvard Kennedy School and aims to publish empirical and theoretical contributions of interest to a broad audience of economists, as well as significant empirical economics articles. The journal publishes five to six issues each year, with approximately 14 articles in each issue. As of 2023, it had an impact factor of 7.6.
Abstract of the paper published: We investigate the impact of the home-buying restriction policy in China on (fake) divorce behavior, the main characteristics of the fake divorce demographic, and the potential welfare effects of this fraudulent behavior. Utilizing municipal-level data and microdata from the national 1% population sampling survey, we employ a heterogeneity-robust asymptotic difference-in-differences method. We find that on average, the policy increased divorce rate (marriage restoration rate) in the treated cities by 0.436 (0.195) permillage point relative to the control cities. This explains an approximately 19.9% increase in the overall national divorce rate, of which at least 45% can be interpreted as fake divorces. Moreover, we find that the main responders to this policy are people who are older, childless, less-educated, and wealthier. Finally, we show that the fraudulent behavior has significant implications for market efficiency, intra- and inter-household wealth inequality, the traditional Chinese concept of marriage and family, and others.
Researcher Profile: Chen Yunjie is a lecturer at the School of Public Finance and Taxation at Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, holding a Ph.D. in Economics. She graduated in 2024 from the Department of Finance at the School of Finance, Renmin University of China. Her research areas include fiscal and tax theories and policies, with a primary focus on the multidimensional innovative effects of fiscal and tax policies and the social welfare effects of public policy interventions. Her research findings have been published in the Review of Economics and Statistics and Nankai Economic Studies.