讲座主题：Differentiated Tracks within a Common Tournament: Evidence and Theory from China's Major Function Oriented Zoning Plan

主讲嘉宾：曹光宇，北京大学经济学院助理教授

时 间：2025年5月13日（周二）16:00-17:30

地 点：中央财经大学沙河校区二教105

主持人：张龙天副教授

点评人：刘悦教授

主 办：中央财经大学国际经济与贸易学院

致 谢：本讲座获得2025年中央财经大学专题学术讲座资助计划支持

讲座内容：

This paper examines how differentiated performance evaluation affects incentives within tournament-style competitions among local governments. Leveraging China’s Major Function Oriented Zoning (MFOZ) plan, which split counties into“development”and“reserve”tracks with distinct evaluation criteria, we provide both empirical and theoretical analyses of its impact. Using a staggered Difference-in-Differences approach, we find an inverted U-shaped relationship between the size of the reserve track and prefecture-level economic performance. To interpret these findings, we develop a theoretical model of a modified Tullock contest with cross-track competition. The model highlights how the partial withdrawal of players from the main tournament into a separate track reshapes incentives and outcomes. Predictions derived from the model are further corroborated by county-level empirical evidence.

嘉宾简介：

曹光宇，北京大学经济学院财政学系助理教授。北京大学经济学学士、博士，普林斯顿大学当代中国研究中心博士后研究员。其主要研究领域为数字经济和公共经济学，研究成果发表于《经济研究》和RAND Journal of Economics、Journal of Public Economics等国内外期刊，主持国家自然科学基金面上项目和青年科学基金项目等课题。