Authors

Zheng XuFollow

Date of Completion

8-31-2015

Embargo Period

8-29-2017

Major Advisor

Delia Futado

Associate Advisor

Richard Freeman

Associate Advisor

Nishith Prakash

Associate Advisor

Kathleen Segerson

Field of Study

Economics

Open Access

Campus Access

Abstract

Focusing on China, this dissertation studies how globalization reshapes developing countries in terms of the labor market, environment, and media. The first chapter examines the impact of rising exports between 1990 and 2005 on Chinese regional labor markets, highlighting internal migration as the key to understand the benefits of trade in China. By constructing a unique dataset of Chinese newspapers’ reports on water pollution events, the second chapter studies whether party-newspapers are less likely to report local pollution events and whether the difference distorts households’ self-protective behaviors against potential health risks. The third chapter uses the list of environmental goods endorsed by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) to test whether export production improves air quality in China through adoption of green inputs.

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