Peking University - Undergraduate Research Training Program
June 2023 - November 2024
- Research Topic: China’s local government implicit debt, Fiscal Decentralization and Development of China fiscal theory
- Supervisor: Dr. Yang Yao, Director of China Center for Economic Research
- Funding: Peking University - President’s Fund
- Works.
- Completing a compendium of China’s fiscal system (review article)
- To grasp the basics of China’s fiscal development history
- Finish a report of this program: China’s Implicit Debt Expansion under Soft Budget Constraints: A Study on Financialization of Fiscal Risks and Debt Reduction Strategies(软预算约束下的中国隐性债务扩张：财政风险金融化与化债策略研究)
Research Project Overview
Peking University has always been committed to promoting the growth and development of undergraduate students in the academic field, and therefore launched this program to provide opportunities for undergraduate students to deepen their academics, broaden their horizons, and enhance their research abilities in related fields.
It was very fortunate that my project was guided by Dr. Yao Yang and got supports by Peking University - President’s Fund
To make sure steadily progress during the research work, after communicating with the supervisor, we divided the whole project into two stages by the key time of the mid-term report:
Stage 1: Pre-Midterm
In this stage, I devoted myself to the in-depth exploration of the topics. Through extensive reading of academic papers and reports, we systematically sorted out the development of Chinese fiscal theory and the evolution of debt governance, published it as a conference paper as one of the results of our research. This process not only helped us accumulate theoretical knowledge, but also gave us a comprehensive and profound understanding of the topic, laying a solid foundation for subsequent research.
Stage 2: Post-Midterm
On top of the solid studies foundation in the early stage, we follow the two guiding directions proposed by Dr. Yao Yang:
- Financialization of fiscal system
(During the research, we more focus on financialization of fiscal risk) - Explore why financial institutions can tolerate soft budget constraints from the government during the expansion of hidden debt.
Therefore, I focused on the key issue of “China’s implicit debt expansion under soft budget constraints”. Through in-depth analysis of the internal mechanism of financialization of fiscal risks and the effectiveness of debt resolution strategies, I have completed a report that explores the underlying reasons behind China’s hidden debt expansion and explores practical ways to resolve it.
So, the result of this program are
Published Conference Papers. A Historical Overview of the Development of China’s Fiscal Theory and Debt Governance & Acceptance Letter.
Completed a final report on “China’s Implicit Debt Expansion under Soft Budget Constraints: A Study on Financialization of Fiscal Risks and Debt Reduction Strategies(软预算约束下的中国隐性债务扩张：财政风险金融化与化债策略研究)”. This report not only elaborates our research ideas and methods, but also analyzes the current situation, causes and potential risks of China’s hidden debt expansion, and puts forward targeted strategies for debt resolution.