This webinar will spotlight new research by Ben Charoenwong of the National University of Singapore Business School which explores the social and economic costs of local government debt, drawing upon a dataset of over a million local government procurement contracts in the People’s Republic of China.

He will explain how firms contracting with local governments with high maturing debt-to-fiscal income see an increase in accounts receivables that do not reverse, a decrease in cash balances, and an increase in the probability of litigation by creditors. He will also discuss how affected firms are less likely to be repeat government contractors and more likely to see protests relating to non-payment of wages or pension contributions.