IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/chieco/v88y2024ics1043951x24001913.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Quenching thirst, easing debt: Improvement in water resource endowment alleviates local government debt risk

Author

Listed:
  • Dai, Wei
  • Ni, Zhongxin
  • Yu, Enping

Abstract

Water resources serve as a vital pillar sustaining both economic activities and daily life for residents. However, the uneven distribution of water resources across time and space has made water scarcity a bottleneck factor restricting the economic and social development of some regions. The implementation of the South-to-North Water Diversion project provides an excellent quasi-natural experiment for in-depth research on the effects and influence mechanism of cross-regional productive factor allocation on economic development. This study focuses on whether the water resource endowment improvement is reflected on the capital market. Based on the trading data of urban construction investment bonds from 2011 to 2016, we empirically examine how the South-to-North Water Diversion project affects the local government financing costs. The results indicate that the water diversion project significantly reduces the credit spread of urban construction investment bonds from the water-receiving areas. Further analysis reveals that the water diversion project improves the economic fundamentals and increases the land sales revenue of the water receiving cities, enhancing local governments' implicit guarantee ability for the financing platforms, thereby reducing the credit risks of urban construction investment bonds. This study not only enriches the research on the determinants of credit risk for urban construction investment bonds, but also provides empirical evidence from the capital market that the coordinated allocation of productive factors promotes regional balanced development. The conclusions imply that the government should actively advance the corresponding infrastructure construction and institutional arrangements to promote the flow and complementarity of economic elements between regions.

Suggested Citation

  • Dai, Wei & Ni, Zhongxin & Yu, Enping, 2024. "Quenching thirst, easing debt: Improvement in water resource endowment alleviates local government debt risk," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:chieco:v:88:y:2024:i:c:s1043951x24001913
    DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2024.102302
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1043951X24001913
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.chieco.2024.102302?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. Justin Yifu Lin, 2011. "New Structural Economics: A Framework for Rethinking Development," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 26(2), pages 193-221, August.
    2. Butler, Alexander W. & Yi, Hanyi, 2022. "Aging and public financing costs: Evidence from U.S. municipal bond markets," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 211(C).
    3. Shiyi Chen & Li Wang, 2015. "Will Political Connections Be Accounted for in the Interest Rates of Chinese Urban Development Investment Bonds?," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(1), pages 108-129, January.
    4. Wang, Yabin & Wu, Sharon Xiaohui, 2023. "Local guarantees and SOE bond pricing in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    5. Benmelech, Efraim & Kumar, Nitish & Rajan, Raghuram, 2022. "The secured credit premium and the issuance of secured debt," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(1), pages 143-171.
    6. Painter, Marcus, 2020. "An inconvenient cost: The effects of climate change on municipal bonds," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(2), pages 468-482.
    7. Zhang, Ke, 2023. "Government's implicit guarantee and the credit spread of the quasi-municipal bonds," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 55(PA).
    8. Wu, Yizhong & Lee, Chien-Chiang & Lee, Chi-Chuan & Peng, Diyun, 2022. "Geographic proximity and corporate investment efficiency: Evidence from high-speed rail construction in China," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    9. Chen, Tsung-Kang & Liao, Hsien-Hsing & Kuo, Hui-Ju & Hsieh, Yu-Ling, 2013. "Suppliers’ and customers’ information asymmetry and corporate bond yield spreads," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(8), pages 3181-3191.
    10. Qian, Ningyu, 2018. "Anti-corruption effects on the credit risk of local financing vehicles and the pricing of Chengtou bonds: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 162-168.
    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. Ruan, Qingsong & Lv, Dayong & Wei, Xiaokun, 2024. "High-speed rail and local government financing cost: Evidence from China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    2. Wan, Rui & Fan, Wencheng & Wang, Xiaoping, 2024. "Local government financing vehicle restructuring, implicit government guarantees and debt financing costs: Evidence from the Chinese municipal corporate bond market," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 48(2).
    3. Cheng, Stephanie F. & De Franco, Gus & Lin, Pengkai, 2023. "Marijuana liberalization and public finance: A capital market perspective on the passage of medical use laws," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(1).
    4. Lu, Runjing & Ye, Zihan, 2023. "Roe v. Rates: Reproductive Healthcare and Public Financing Costs," SocArXiv 7t5jz, Center for Open Science.
    5. Cao, Xiao & Gong, Xiaomin & Gu, Runsheng & Li, Yuhang & Liu, Xinyuan, 2024. "Do regional trusts alleviate bond market risks? Evidence from the Chinese municipal corporate bond pricing," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 96(PB).
    6. Farrell, Michael & Murphy, Dermot & Painter, Marcus & Zhang, Guangli, 2023. "The complexity yield puzzle: A textual analysis of municipal bond disclosures," Working Papers 338, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, George J. Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State.
    7. Haoyu Gao & Fukang Chen & Yiling Ouyang, 2024. "The impacts of political uncertainty on public financing costs: evidence from anti-corruption investigations in China," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 198(1), pages 69-91, January.
    8. Rongda Chen & Han Li & Xuhui Tang & Chenglu Jin & Shuonan Zhang & Xinyu Zhang, 2024. "Impact of implicit government guarantee on the credit spread of urban construction investment bonds," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 10(1), pages 1-31, December.
    9. Lu, Runjing & Ye, Zihan, 2023. "Roe v. Rates: Reproductive Healthcare and Public Financing Costs," SocArXiv 7t5jz_v1, Center for Open Science.
    10. 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.
    11. Polterovich, Victor, 2013. "Реформа Ран: Экспертный Анализ: Часть I. Реформа Ран: Проект Минобрнауки [Reform of the Russian Academy of Sciences: An Expert Analysis: Part I. Reform of the Russian Academy of Sciences: a project," MPRA Paper 49291, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Yan, Sen & Sun, Xinyu & Zhang, Yurong, 2024. "High-speed railway ripples on the greenness: Insight from urban green vegetation cover," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    13. Boubaker, Sabri & Liu, Pei-Zhi & Ren, Yi-Shuai & Ma, Chao-Qun, 2024. "Do anti-corruption campaigns affect corporate environmental responsibility? Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    14. Matthias Firgo & Peter Mayerhofer, 2015. "Wissens-Spillovers und regionale Entwicklung - welche strukturpolitische Ausrichtung optimiert des Wachstum?," Working Paper Reihe der AK Wien - Materialien zu Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft 144, Kammer für Arbeiter und Angestellte für Wien, Abteilung Wirtschaftswissenschaft und Statistik.
    15. Chen, Junlong & Sun, Chaoqun & Xu, Bo & Kong, Yan, 2024. "Emission reduction technology R&D and sharing with environmental corporate social responsibility," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 207(C).
    16. Harrison, Ann E. & Lin, Justin Yifu & Xu, Lixin Colin, 2014. "Explaining Africa’s (Dis)advantage," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 59-77.
    17. Rhys Andrews & Malcolm J. Beynon, 2019. "Configurational Analysis of Access to Basic Infrastructure Services: Evidence from Turkish Provinces," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 31(5), pages 1341-1370, December.
    18. Patrycja Klusak & Matthew Agarwala & Matt Burke & Moritz Kraemer & Kamiar Mohaddes, 2023. "Rising Temperatures, Falling Ratings: The Effect of Climate Change on Sovereign Creditworthiness," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 69(12), pages 7468-7491, December.
    19. Paul - Bogdan Zamfir, 2015. "The Stimulation Of Inovation In The Romanian Enterprises On The Coordinates Of Sustainable Development," Annals - Economy Series, Constantin Brancusi University, Faculty of Economics, vol. 3, pages 86-89, June.
    20. Zuo, Junqing & Zhang, Wei & Ruan, Chenghao & Xiong, Xiong, 2024. "A blessing or a curse? Non-local mutual fund holdings and firm investment efficiency," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    South-to-north water diversion; Productive factor allocation; Local government bond; Credit spread;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes
    • R51 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis - - - Finance in Urban and Rural Economies
    • R58 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis - - - Regional Development Planning and Policy
    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • O16 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Financial Markets; Saving and Capital Investment; Corporate Finance and Governance

    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:88:y:2024:i:c:s1043951x24001913. 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.