IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/chieco/v87y2024ics1043951x24000981.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

‘One System, Two Shadows’: A local public finance perspective on China's shadow banking system

Author

Listed:
  • Zhang, Shidai
  • Tsai, Kellee S.

Abstract

Why does shadow banking persist in China despite repeated policy efforts to contain it? While studies of informal finance have traditionally emphasized the credit needs of private businesses as a demand-side explanation, this study contends that China's local public finance also constitutes an important driver for shadow banking. Based on document research and administrative data, we find that China's shadow banking system has bifurcated into two segments since the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). One is the ‘entrepreneurial shadow’ that has long provided informal credit to the private sector, especially small- and medium-sized enterprises. The other is a ‘fiscal shadow’, which serves property developers and local government financing vehicles (LGFVs), the two pillars of China's land-based local public finance regime. Property developers are major contributors to local fiscal revenues through the land economy, while LGFVs function as off-balance sheet backdoor financing intermediaries for local governments.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhang, Shidai & Tsai, Kellee S., 2024. "‘One System, Two Shadows’: A local public finance perspective on China's shadow banking system," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:chieco:v:87:y:2024:i:c:s1043951x24000981
    DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2024.102209
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1043951X24000981
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.chieco.2024.102209?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Chen, Zhuo & He, Zhiguo & Liu, Chun, 2020. "The financing of local government in China: Stimulus loan wanes and shadow banking waxes," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 137(1), pages 42-71.
    2. Allen, Franklin & Qian, Jun & Qian, Meijun, 2005. "Law, finance, and economic growth in China," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(1), pages 57-116, July.
    3. Allen, Franklin & Qian, Yiming & Tu, Guoqian & Yu, Frank, 2019. "Entrusted loans: A close look at China's shadow banking system," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(1), pages 18-41.
    4. Chen, Shiyi & Lin, Bin, 2019. "Dual-track interest rates and capital misallocation," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    5. Zhenfa Li & Fulong Wu & Fangzhu Zhang, 2023. "State de-financialisation through incorporating local government bonds in the budgetary process in China," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 23(5), pages 1169-1190.
    6. Li, Jianjun & Hsu, Sara (ed.), 2009. "Informal Finance in China: American and Chinese Perspectives," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195380644.
    7. Du, Julan & Li, Chang & Wang, Yongqin, 2017. "A comparative study of shadow banking activities of non-financial firms in transition economies," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(S), pages 35-49.
    8. Ambrocio, Gene & Hasan, Iftekhar & Li, Xiang, 2023. "Global political ties and the global financial cycle," IWH Discussion Papers 23/2023, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    9. Stephen Bell & Hui Feng, 2021. "Rethinking critical juncture analysis: institutional change in Chinese banking and finance," Review of International Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(1), pages 36-58, January.
    10. Torsten Ehlers & Steven Kong & Feng Zhu, 2018. "Mapping shadow banking in China: structure and dynamics," BIS Working Papers 701, Bank for International Settlements.
    11. Yi Feng & Fulong Wu & Fangzhu Zhang, 2022. "Changing roles of the state in the financialization of urban development through chengtou in China," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(8), pages 1259-1270, August.
    12. Chong-En Bai & Chang-Tai Hsieh & Zheng (Michael) Song, 2016. "The Long Shadow of China’s Fiscal Expansion," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 47(2 (Fall)), pages 129-181.
    13. Kaiji Chen & Jue Ren & Tao Zha, 2018. "The Nexus of Monetary Policy and Shadow Banking in China," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 108(12), pages 3891-3936, December.
    14. Huang, Zhonghua & Du, Xuejun, 2018. "Holding the market under the stimulus plan: Local government financing vehicles' land purchasing behavior in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 85-100.
    15. Fulong Wu & Jie Chen & Fenghua Pan & Nick Gallent & Fangzhu Zhang, 2020. "Assetization: The Chinese Path to Housing Financialization," Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 110(5), pages 1483-1499, September.
    16. Chong-En Bai & Chang-Tai Hsieh & Zheng (Michael) Song, 2016. "The Long Shadow of China’s Fiscal Expansion," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 47(2 (Fall)), pages 129-181.
    17. Lin William Cong & Haoyu Gao & Jacopo Ponticelli & Xiaoguang Yang, 2019. "Credit Allocation Under Economic Stimulus: Evidence from China," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 32(9), pages 3412-3460.
    18. Wang, Yabin & Wu, Sharon Xiaohui, 2023. "Local guarantees and SOE bond pricing in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    19. Kellee S. Tsai, 2017. "When Shadow Banking Can Be Productive: Financing Small and Medium Enterprises in China," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(12), pages 2005-2028, December.
    20. Gyourko, Joseph & Shen, Yang & Wu, Jing & Zhang, Rongjie, 2022. "Land finance in China: Analysis and review," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    21. Kinda Hachem & Zheng Song, 2021. "Liquidity Rules and Credit Booms," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 129(10), pages 2721-2765.
    22. Cull, Robert & Xu, Lixin Colin, 2003. "Who gets credit? The behavior of bureaucrats and state banks in allocating credit to Chinese state-owned enterprises," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(2), pages 533-559, August.
    23. Chong-En Bai & Chang-Tai Hsieh & Zheng Michael Song, 2016. "The Long Shadow of a Fiscal Expansion," NBER Working Papers 22801, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    24. Allen, Franklin & Gu, Xian & Li, C. Wei & Qian, Jun “QJ” & Qian, Yiming, 2023. "Implicit guarantees and the rise of shadow banking: The case of trust products," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 149(2), pages 115-141.
    25. Andrew Collier, 2017. "Shadow Banking and the Rise of Capitalism in China," Springer Books, Springer, number 978-981-10-2996-7, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yi Huang & Marco Pagano & Ugo Panizza, 2020. "Local Crowding‐Out in China," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 75(6), pages 2855-2898, December.
    2. Ma, Yongfan & Hu, Xingcun, 2024. "Shadow banking and SME investment: Evidence from China's new asset management regulations," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 93(PA), pages 332-349.
    3. Wang, Jiaxin & Huang, Xiang & Gu, Qiankun & Song, Zilong & Sun, Ruiyi, 2023. "How does fintech affect bank risk? A perspective based on financialized transfer of government implicit debt risk," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    4. Cai, Yue, 2021. "Expansionary monetary policy and credit allocation: Evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    5. Chen, Zhuo & He, Zhiguo & Liu, Chun, 2020. "The financing of local government in China: Stimulus loan wanes and shadow banking waxes," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 137(1), pages 42-71.
    6. Gao, Haoyu & Ru, Hong & Tang, Dragon Yongjun, 2021. "Subnational debt of China: The politics-finance nexus," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(3), pages 881-895.
    7. Vinh Q. T. Dang & Isaac Otchere & Erin P. K. So & Isabel K. M. Yan, 2021. "Not all shadow banking is bad! Evidence from credit intermediation of non-financial Chinese firms," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 57(4), pages 1437-1462, November.
    8. Wang, He & Yao, Yang & Zhou, Yue, 2022. "Markets price politicians: Evidence from China’s municipal bond markets," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    9. Zhang, Min & Zhang, Yahong, 2022. "Monetary stimulus policy in China: The bank credit channel," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    10. Deng, Jiapin & Liu, Qiao, 2024. "Good finance, bad finance, and resource misallocation: Evidence from China," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    11. Wu, Fulong, 2022. "Land financialisation and the financing of urban development in China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    12. Yi Feng & Fulong Wu & Fangzhu Zhang, 2024. "Building state centrality through state selective financialization: Reconfiguring the land reserve system in China," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 56(3), pages 766-783, May.
    13. Du, Julan & Li, Chang & Wang, Yongqin, 2023. "Shadow banking of non-financial firms: Arbitrage between formal and informal credit markets in China," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    14. Zhu, Xiaodong, 2021. "The varying shadow of China's banking system," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(1), pages 135-146.
    15. Li, Weixue & Wang, Sipei & Cheung, Adrian (Wai Kong) & Xu, Changsheng, 2024. "Shadow banking, investment and interest rate transmission: Evidence from macroprudential policy in China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 115-133.
    16. Xiong, Jiacai & Huang, Ling & Yang, Zelin & Wang, Xin, 2024. "The impact of local government debt on entrepreneurship: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment of local debt governance reform," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 93(PA), pages 501-519.
    17. Liu, Yan & Wu, Guowei & Xiong, Chen, 2024. "Countercyclical central government transfers incentivize local government overborrowing: Theory and evidence," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    18. Allen, Franklin & Gu, Xian & Li, C. Wei & Qian, Jun “QJ” & Qian, Yiming, 2023. "Implicit guarantees and the rise of shadow banking: The case of trust products," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 149(2), pages 115-141.
    19. repec:zbw:bofitp:2021_015 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Bao, Helen X.H. & Wang, Ziyou & Wu, Robert Liangqi, 2024. "Understanding local government debt financing of infrastructure projects in China: Evidence based on accounting data from local government financing vehicles," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    21. Phuong Mai Le, Vo & Matthews, Kent & Meenagh, David & Minford, Patrick & Xiao, Zhiguo, 2022. "Regulatory arbitrage, shadow banking and monetary policy in China," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    China; Shadow banking; Public finance; Local government debt; Property developers;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H54 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Infrastructures
    • H72 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Budget and Expenditures
    • H74 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Borrowing
    • E61 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Policy Objectives; Policy Designs and Consistency; Policy Coordination
    • R30 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - General
    • O17 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:chieco:v:87:y:2024:i:c:s1043951x24000981. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/chieco .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.