NADS Held 10th “Theory and Policy” Seminar: Financial Pressure Boosts Land Transfer--Test of Effects and Analysis of Mechanisms

On the afternoon of May 18, 2018, NADS held 10th “Theory and Policy” Seminar. The guest speakers invited is Mao Jie, Professor of the School of International Trade and Economics and Director of Finance and Taxation Department, UIBE.

In this seminar, Prof. Mao introduced his study "Fiscal Pressures Boosting Land Transfer - Effect Testing and Mechanism Analysis." At the beginning of the seminar, he pointed out that there are fierce debates in the academic community about whether financial pressures can explain the continued growth of land transfer revenues. His article used China's prefecture-level city-level data from 1999 to 2014 to identify fiscal pressures using the financial retrenchment impact caused by the abolition of agricultural tax reforms, and to construct a strength dual-difference model to empirically test the impact of fiscal stress on land sales. The study found that financial pressure is an important reason for the continued expansion of land transfer income. Further analysis of the mechanism shows that the increase in revenue from land sales will increase the stimulating effect of fiscal pressure on land sales. The increase in land transfer costs and the replacement of tax revenues with land sales revenue will inhibit the above stimulatory effects.

The research conclusions of this paper provide new and more comprehensive empirical evidence for the promotion of academic controversy in this field. It also provides a multi-perspective understanding of the mechanism of fiscal pressures affecting land transfer, and further provides a scientific basis to deep understanding of the internal links between fiscal and taxation system reforms and land system reforms.

The seminar was chaired by Liu Ruiming, an associate professor of NADS. Many teachers and classmates from both inside and outside the school participated in the seminar, and had an in-depth discussion with the keynote speakers on related issues.

(Article from Division of Teachers and Post-Doctor Affairs, NADS; Photo/Writing: Intern Liang Kun)