【摘要】This study shows how cultural linkages, approximated by linguistic similarity, affect the destination choice of foreign direct investment (FDI). To identify a causal relationship, I employ discontinuous increases in investment from Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan (HMT) to mainland China at the geographical borders of Chinese linguistic dialect zones. Using a spatial regression discontinuity design, I find that the share of HMT firms in a location just inside a region that speaks the same dialects as HMT is 5-7 percentage points (20 percent) higher than a location just outside. The increase in investment from HMT is larger in magnitude when the political environment is uncertain, indicating that trust generated from common culture plays an important role in reducing uncertainty under weak formal institution.

【主讲人】马森（暨南大学）

现任暨南大学经济与社会研究院助理教授。美国伊利诺伊大学厄巴纳香槟分校经济学博士。主要研究领域为发展经济学，环境经济学，家庭经济学，国际经济学。曾经在Demography上发表过学术论文。