📜 Publications

• Lin, X., Hui, E. C., Cong, Zhenglong, and Shen, J. Solving Coordination Failures: Collective Land Transfer Rights and Rural Entrepreneurship. Journal of Development Economics 178, 1 (2026), 103609
  Abstract

  This study explores whether strengthening communal land rights can address coordination failures caused by fragmented land tenure. Based on China's ambitious land reform that permits rural collectives to directly sell or rent their construction land to enterprises, we discover that collective land transfer rights boost rural entrepreneurship by 25%. This positive firm growth is entirely concentrated in regions where collective coordination is simpler to achieve (i.e., less rugged areas and regions with denser clan networks). We identify two specific pathways behind the entrepreneurial growth: lower land use costs for firms and increased land wealth for local residents. The reform also facilitates expansion into non-farm wage employment, mainly due to more active participation in the labor market rather than via a decline in the agricultural sector. Our findings emphasize the importance of communal rights and collective negotiation in reducing coordination costs and offer new insights into promoting rural development in developing countries.
• Cong, Zhenglong, Cao X, Yuan C. Evaluating the Impact of Resource-Exhausted Cities’ Supporting Policies: Insights From Population Settlement. Population, Space and Place 31, 8 (2025), e70126
  Abstract

  Resource‐exhausted cities grapple with an amalgam of challenges such as economic decline, substantial unemployment, and pressing environmental crises, posing a global conundrum. Population settlement is a cardinal driver of economic growth; hence, strategies to retain inhabitants are quintessential for the transformative growth of these cities. Leveraging a panel data set spanning 2003–2019 of Chinese county‐level jurisdictions, this study employs the staggered difference‐in‐differences (DID) model to discern the implications and underlying mechanisms of the resource‐exhausted cities' supporting policies (RECSP) on employment rates and population inflows. The findings indicate that the RECSP improves regional employment rates and population inflows, with enhanced environmental quality, refinement of public services, manufacturing shifts, and industrial upgrades being the primary mechanisms. Notably, the effects of RECSP on population settlement are more pronounced in regions with centralized heating and in the Northeast. Furthermore, mining cities witnessed a more substantial surge in employment rate, while forestry‐based cities registered a marked population inflow. The results underscore the imperativeness of amplifying support to resource‐exhausted cities, advocating for urban industrial metamorphosis, enticing population inflows, enhancing employment rates, and thereby catalyzing diversified and sustainable economic evolution.
• Yuan C, Zhu T, Ding Y, Cong, Zhenglong*, Li Z. The path to regional coordinated development: The power of administrative division adjustment. Cities 174, 6 (2026), 106976
  Abstract

  State-led administrative consolidations, such as China's City-County Consolidation (CCT), are a critical instrument for addressing uncoordinated regional development. Yet, whether they achieve or exacerbate spatial inequity remains highly contested. This study provides new evidence to resolve this debate. Employing a multi-period difference-in-differences approach with granular township-level nighttime light data, we conduct a multi-scalar assessment of CCT's impact on economic inequality. Our findings reveal that CCT reduces economic inequality at both the prefectural and inter-county levels, while its effects at the intra-county level are more complex. This outcome is driven by key mechanisms, including fiscal consolidation, market integration, industrial upgrading, and enhanced transportation. However, the success of CCT is not unconditional: its inequality-reducing effects are significantly stronger in regions with less pressure for short-term economic growth and higher levels of initial development. Our findings demonstrate that the integration benefits of CCT can outweigh polarization risks, but only at specific scales and within particular institutional contexts, thus providing crucial policy lessons for state-led spatial governance.
• Tang J, Shao B, Zang X, Cong, Zhenglong*. Does internet use enhance the cognitive abilities of middle-aged and older adults? Dual evidence from regression analysis and generalized random forests. Ageing and Society. 2026;46:e38.
  Abstract

  Rapid population ageing and the digitalization of daily life have created a dual challenge: ensuring cognitive health while preventing digital exclusion among older adults. While the ‘use it or lose it’ hypothesis suggests that environmental stimulation protects against cognitive decline, international evidence regarding the causal impact of internet use on cognition remains mixed, particularly in developing contexts where digital adoption is uneven. This study addresses this gap by investigating the causal impact of internet use on cognitive abilities among middle-aged and older adults in China, while also exploring the heterogeneity of effects and potential underlying mechanisms. Utilizing three waves of panel data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) with 40,438 observations, we employ instrumental variable (IV) estimation to address endogeneity and generalized random forests (GRFs) to estimate heterogeneous treatment effects. The results demonstrate that internet use significantly enhances cognitive abilities, with the IV estimates confirming a strong causal link. Notably, the GRF analysis reveals that these cognitive benefits are larger for rural residents, individuals with lower education levels and those who adopt the internet in middle age. Mechanism analyses indicate that these benefits are primarily driven by increased social interaction and reduced stress levels rather than changes in health behaviours. We conclude that digital inclusion serves as a critical non-medical intervention for healthy ageing, particularly in developing countries where it can help bridge cognitive disparities caused by socio-economic inequalities.

📜 Published in Chinese

• Fu, Y., Ni, C., Cong, Zhenglong*, and Wang, Z.. Health Insurance Payment Reform, Moral Hazard, and Medical Cost Containment. Journal of Management World 42, 03 (2026), 141-155. (Chinese: 付亚鹏,倪晨旭,丛正龙*,王震.医保支付改革、道德风险与医疗控费.《管理世界》)
• Liu, Q., Zheng, S., and Cong, Zhenglong. The impact of international collaboration on research output of chinese university:evidence from visiting scholar program of economics. China Economic Quarterly 25, 01 (2025), 137–154. (Chinese: 刘庆丰,郑世林,丛正龙.国际合作交流对中国高校教师科研产出的影响——来自经济学科海外访学的证据.《经济学(季刊)》)
• Ni, C., Shao, B., Cong, Zhenglong*, and Wang, Z. Impact of age-friendly community renovations on the elderly’s health. Chinese Journal of Population Science 38, 05 (2024), 113–128. (Chinese:倪晨旭,邵宝魁,丛正龙*,王震.社区适老化改造对老年人健康的影响.《中国人口科学》)