Guest lecture on China by Stefan Brehm, Lund University

is happy to invite you to a guest lecture by
Stefan Brehm from
Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies, Lund University:

Fiscal Federalism and Income Inequality – The Case of Inter-Jurisdictional Competition in Zhejiang Province

Stefan Brehm's lecture aims to shed light on how the redistribution of competencies between the central and local administrations in China has impacted economic growth since the tax reform in 1994. Using data for 72 counties in Zhejiang Province between 1995 and 2005, he will show that China’s tax reform has widened regional income gaps and fostered inefficient resource allocation. Increasing differences between revenue and expenditure assignments in poor counties lead to under-investments in infrastructure, education and government services relative to rich counties. Furthermore the competitive disadvantages of poor counties resulted in under-taxation of local businesses. The empirical results contribute to the literatures on inequality in China suggesting that current mechanisms for facilitating fiscal redistribution are insufficient to promote balanced economic growth - not only between provinces but also within.

Stefan Brehm studied economics and Chinese at Eberhard-Karls University in Tübingen, Germany and Fu Jen Catholic University in Taipei, Taiwan (1994 - 2002). He was a Ph. D. fellow of the German Research Foundation between 2002 and 2005 and defended his thesis on “China’s Integration into a Global Financial Order” in September 2005 with the highest honors (summa cum laude). Since January 2006 he is based at the Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies, Lund University; first as post-doctoral research fellow and currently as senior research fellow and director of studies. His main academic interests lie within the fields of financial markets, public administration, and innovation policies with a focus on China.