利用过剩产能：中国机械出口与非洲工业化

The recent decades have witnessed a remarkable surge in machinery imports from China to African economies. Our study examines the causes and local implications of these imports. Notably, we find that China’s efforts to decommission excess capacity have been a driving force behind this trend. Chinese city industries that face urgent capacity elimination requirements imposed by the government tend to export machinery equipment to emerging markets, particularly African countries with weaker environmental regulations and abundant resources. By using instrumental variables based on China’s annual lists of eliminated capacity, we find mixed effects of machinery imports on African economies. They increase output and value added in recipient industries that use the imported machinery, but have limited effects on employment and intersectoral linkages. Nevertheless, labor markets in affected regions reallocate away from agriculture toward both high-skilled and low-skilled occupations. These regions also experience higher pollution levels and increased nighttime light intensity.