Mask Wars: Sourcing a Critical Medical Product from China in Times of COVID-19
Andreas Fuchs, Lennart Kaplan, Krisztina Kis-Katos, Sebastian S. Schmidt, Felix Turbanisch and Feicheng Wang
Under review
Abstract
The COVID-19 outbreak suddenly heightened the global demand for critical medical goods while initially reducing China’s supply of those same goods. This article studies the political factors that facilitated access to Chinese face masks during the initial months of the global pandemic. We use a (triple) difference-in-differences framework and compare export dynamics of face masks with other goods within the same product group and non-critical medical goods as controls. Our results show that political alignment at the national level and subnational political ties with Chinese provinces helped rapidly expand Chinese exports of face masks to trade partner countries. We also find that countries with more sister ties with Chinese subnational jurisdictions paid significantly less for face masks. Analyzing the underlying mechanisms, we find that close political ties helped create new trade links and that the lower-level sister ties were pivotal in mitigating price increases.
Working Paper (October 2022)
Working paper (June 2021)
COVID Economics paper (August 2020)
Working paper (July 2020)
Presentations at conferences and workshops
In the media (newspapers, blogs)
See also
Andreas Fuchs, Lennart Kaplan, Krisztina Kis-Katos, Sebastian S. Schmidt, Felix Turbanisch and Feicheng Wang
Under review
Abstract
The COVID-19 outbreak suddenly heightened the global demand for critical medical goods while initially reducing China’s supply of those same goods. This article studies the political factors that facilitated access to Chinese face masks during the initial months of the global pandemic. We use a (triple) difference-in-differences framework and compare export dynamics of face masks with other goods within the same product group and non-critical medical goods as controls. Our results show that political alignment at the national level and subnational political ties with Chinese provinces helped rapidly expand Chinese exports of face masks to trade partner countries. We also find that countries with more sister ties with Chinese subnational jurisdictions paid significantly less for face masks. Analyzing the underlying mechanisms, we find that close political ties helped create new trade links and that the lower-level sister ties were pivotal in mitigating price increases.
Working Paper (October 2022)
Working paper (June 2021)
COVID Economics paper (August 2020)
Working paper (July 2020)
- Download via cege
- Download via IDEAS
- Download via IfW
- Download via SSRN
- Download via University of Göttingen
Presentations at conferences and workshops
- Annual Conference of the European Trade Study Group, University of Groningen, Netherlands (09/2022)
- Tuesday Seminar at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, Germany (08/2022)
- International Trade and Agricultural Cooperation Seminar, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China (07/2022)
- Economics Department Seminar, Technical University Darmstadt, Germany (06/2022)
- Annual Meeting of the European Public Choice Society, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal (04/2022)
- Workshop "Internationale Wirtschaftsbeziehungen", University of Göttingen, Germany (03/2022)
- Tuesday Talks of the Economic Statecraft Program, Texas A&M University, College Station, United States (10/2021)
- Webinar on Structural Constraints on the Economy, Growth and Political Economy, Economic Research Southern Africa (08/2021)
- International Conference on Globalization and Development, University of Göttingen, Germany (07/2021)
- Annual Conference of the Chinese Economists Society, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China (06/2021)
- Development Economics Seminar, University of Göttingen, Germany (07/2020)
In the media (newspapers, blogs)
See also
- IfW Press Release (in English)
- IfW Pressemitteilung (in German)
- Kiel Policy Brief
- Voxeu.org
- Washington Post
