Chen Lin
Prof. Chen LIN
金融學
Chair of Finance
Stelux Professor in Finance
Associate Vice-President
Associate Dean (Research and Knowledge Exchange)
Director, Centre for Financial Innovation and Development
DBA Programme Director

3917 7793

KK 1015

Publications
Globalization and U.S. Corporate Tax Policies: Evidence from Import Competition

This paper studies how globalization affects the corporate tax policies of U.S. manufacturing firms. Using U.S.-granting China Permanent Normal Trade Relations as a quasi-natural experiment, we find a significant increase in tax reduction activities for firms facing higher exposure to Chinese imports. The effect is more pronounced for firms with higher managerial slack. We also find that the effect is stronger for firms in less diversified products market and faster changing industries. We also show that U.S. firms facing higher Chinese import competition are more likely to engage in other tax-motivated activities: acquisition of subsidiaries in low-tax regions and suspected transfer pricing. Furthermore, we explore the 2017 tax cut and the recent U.S.-China trade dispute and find that firms engage less in tax reduction activities after the 2017 tax cut and after the tariff increase for Chinese imports.

Deposit Supply and Bank Transparency

Does a bank’s dependence on different external funding sources shape its voluntary disclosure of information? We evaluate whether economic shocks that increase the supply of bank deposits alter the cost–benefit calculations of bank managers concerning voluntary information disclosure. We measure information disclosure using 10-K filings, 8-K filings, and earnings guidance. As for the funding shock, we use unanticipated technological innovations that triggered shale development and booms in bank deposits. Further analyses suggest that greater exposure to shale development reduced information disclosure by relaxing the incentives for managers to disclose information to attract funds from external capital markets.

Future Anxiety – How COVID-19 Led People to Save More Money

Take the recent study by Chen Lin and Mingzhu Tai from the HKU Business School, conducted with collaborators from the University of California, Berkeley and the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Their paper addressed a fundamental worry for almost everyone during the pandemic: Money. Specifically, they examined how people in the U.S. saved money in response to COVID-19.

Finance and Firm Volatility: Evidence from Small Business Lending in China

The online trading platform Alibaba provides financial technology (FinTech) credit for millions of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). Using a novel data set of daily sales and an internal credit score threshold that governs the allocation of credit, we apply a fuzzy regression discontinuity design (RDD) to explore the causal effect of credit access on firm volatility. We find that credit access significantly reduces firm sales volatility and that the effect is stronger for firms with fewer alternative sources of financing. We further look at firm exit probability and find that firms with access to FinTech credit are less likely to go bankrupt or exit the business in the future. Additional channel tests reveal that firms with FinTech credit invest more in advertising and product/sector diversification, particularly during business downturns, which serves as effective mechanisms through which credit access reduces firm volatility. Overall, our findings contribute to a better understanding of the role of FinTech credit in MSMEs.

最低工資與企業投資:來自中國製造業企業的實證

中國在不同縣市實施的最低工資政策有所不同。此研究透過使用中國製造業企業的工業普查數據,探討最低工資政策如何影響資本投資。利用最低工資政策在縣市邊界的不連續性,我們發現最低工資政策會增加資本投資。企業的勞動密集度越高,技術提升空間越大,以及企業無法將勞動成本轉嫁予消費者時,其對於最低工資政策所作出的投資反應越大。研究中一項基於縣市管轄權變化的自然實驗進一步確定了最低工資與資本投資的因果關係。

流行病與金融發展

我們透過分析舌蠅於前殖民地時期在不同地域的生存條件差異,來研究流行病對現代金融發展的影響。在非洲,舌蠅傳播一種對人類有害且導致牲畜死亡的流行病。利用新的地理參考數據,我們發現歷史上位於較容易受到流行病影響的地區的公司和家庭,現今獲得外源融資的機會較小。通過探索這些渠道,我們發現歷史上蟲害成災地區的居民較難信任他人和金融機構、共享資訊,以及學習和採用新的金融科技。

存款人如何應對2019冠狀病毒病?

為什麼在疫情期間會有大量存款匯入銀行?我們發現,銀行分行若位於2019冠狀病毒病感染率較高的地區,它們的存款利率較位於感染率較低的地區的銀行分行(即便是隸屬同一家銀行集團)為低。信貸提取、國家政策(如薪資保護計劃)以及避險措施並非導致這些銀行分行之間出現存款利率變化的原因。證據顯示,2019冠狀病毒病感染率較高的地區與當地民眾對其就業前景和收入減少的焦慮有連帶關係,導致民眾減少支出和增加銀行存款。

香港大學林晨教授在2021中關村論壇之“金融科技論壇”發表《科技信貸市場發展的一些思考》主題演講

2021中關村論壇於9月24至28日在中國北京舉辦。中關村論壇乃國家級平台,致力促進全球高科技創新交流合作。香港大學經管學院副院長林晨教授獲邀於 9月25日為金融科技平行論壇擔任主旨演講嘉賓,通過視頻就《科技信貸市場發展的一些思考》作重點分享。

企業對新冠疫情的免疫力

研究團隊收集來自 61 個經濟體,合共超過6700間公司的數據,評估企業特質與股票收益表現,以及新冠疫情個案之間的關聯性。研究發現,儘管新冠疫情導致股票收益減少,但某些企業錄得的跌幅較為輕微,而這些企業具有以下特質:在 2020 年前公司的財務狀況較好(如擁有較多現金和未提取的信貸額、較少的總債務和短期債務,以及維持較高的利潤水準)、全球供應鏈和客戶地點受新冠疫情影響較小,積極推動企業社會責任的活動,以及較少地位穩固的高管人員。此外,家族企業(尤其是家族直接控股和僱傭職業經理人的家族企業)、大企業或政府控制的企業的股票回報表現較佳,而由對沖基金和其他資產管理公司大量投資的公司則表現遜色。在疫情期間,股票市場給予擁有較低管理層所有權的企業正面評價,卻給予擁有較高管理層所有權的企業負面評價。