Prices are effective signals of many market conditions, while underpricing of tilled land in rural China poses a dilemma to this common sense. Using n = 191 imputed contracts in rural China, this paper aims to investigate the role of ambiguous property rights in the context of agricultural reforms. Using rank statistics, several candidate variables in the transaction costs function f_c(•) were identified, including BMI (Body Mass Index), Knowledge, Subtraction and Farming Experience. The results show clear evidence for underpricing to restrain competition under ambiguous property rights. More illuminatingly, non-parametric regression analysis specifies a well-founded transaction costs function: increasing Subtraction by one unit increases transaction costs by the equivalent of US$513.40, while a one-year increase of farming experience reduces transaction costs by US$116.20, ceteris paribus. It concludes that social costs behind underpricing are detrimental to China’s rural reform. This study contributes to economic theory, with important implications for policy makers. To encourage smooth transmission of price signals, it is important to consider farmer characteristics and develop professional farmers.

Tax incentives play a crucial role in enhancing firm dynamism and aiding a nation in becoming a significant trade power. Drawing on data from the Annual Survey of Industrial Firms Database and the Chinese Customs Database for the period 2010 to 2013, this study employs a difference-in-differences approach to assess the impact of China’s transition from a business tax to a value-added tax (RBTVAT) on the export diversification of manufacturing firms. The findings indicate that the tax reform significantly decreases the number of export categories, increases export value, and elevates the export unit price for manufacturing firms. Specifically, by promoting specialized production and encouraging the manufacture of products with higher export tax rebate rates, the reforms have led firms to narrow their range of export categories. This effect is particularly pronounced among firms experiencing higher financing constraints, lower profitability, weaker innovation capabilities, and larger size. Furthermore, a consistent negative impact is observed for both state-owned and non-state-owned enterprises. These results provide novel insights and empirical evidence for understanding the relationship between tax reform and export diversification.

This paper develops a Factor-Copula methodology for constructing high-dimensional dynamic tail risk networks based on the conditional expected shortfall (CoES) in order to overcome the limitations of traditional quantile regression and copula models. We backtest the CoES using cumulative joint violations and conditional coverage tests. The proposed factor‑copula‑CoES model reduces the rejection rates in 10‑th order conditional backtests by 56.37%, 47.72%, and 1.96% relative to the static‑copula‑CoES, time‑varying‑copula‑CoES, and factor‑copula‑CoVaR models, respectively, with all reductions being statistically significant. The dynamic analysis of the tail risk network of Chinese listed financial institutions indicates that the network topology characteristics align with real market risk events. Finally, the quantitative analyses show different effects of institutional and market factors on network-measured risk spillovers and contagion among Chinese financial institutions.