State-owned Enterprises in China as Macroeconomic Stabilizers: Their Special Function in Times of Economic Policy Uncertainty

China has many state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and they have accounted for a large proportion of China's GDP over the last four decades. China's rapid growth contradicts literature that focuses on the inefficiency of SOEs. This study shows that, in periods of economic policy uncertainty (EPU), SOEs have performed a special function as “macroeconomic stabilizers.” Using Chinese listed firm data from 2008 to 2019, we investigate five aspects of SOEs' unique functions as macroeconomic stabilizers: employment, investment, growth, financial operation, and expectations. When EPU increased, SOEs had more employment, higher investment expenditure, lower performance volatility, more robust financial structures, and more stable expectations than private firms. We employ the US–China trade war as an exogenous shock on EPU to conduct a difference-in-difference-in-differences approach to mitigate the problem of potentially omitted variables. The findings of this study provide a new perspective to better explain the functions of SOEs in the 21st century.     

Intellectual Property Rights and Patenting in China＇s High-technology Industries： Does Ownership Matter？.

This paper aims to systematically investigate the impacts of strengthening intellectual property rights on patenting in China's high‐technology industries and to explore the potential differences in response to patent reform by ownership. Empirical results show that the estimated patent elasticity of R&D is lower than that for OECD countries, indicating relatively low R&D productivity for China's high‐technology industries. The direct innovation effect of technology imports is negative, while the absorptive ability embodied in R&D helps in gaining external sources of knowledge, thus contributing to innovations. Specifically, strengthening intellectual property rights can induce more innovations in terms of patents in China's high‐technology industries and is particularly relevant to foreign‐owned high‐technology enterprises.     

以色列产权改革的途径和前景

上世纪八九十年代,以色列政府对国有企业实施了一系列产权改革政策,开始由准社会主义体制向自由经济体制转型,其改革途径和模式对我国现阶段的国企产权改革有一定的借鉴作用。     

Political economy of labor retrenchment: Evidence based on China's state-owned enterprises

This study examines the determinants behind the restructuring of China's SOEs in the late 1990s. We have reached two major findings. First, we find that the degree of labor retrenchment is negatively related to enterprise performance, suggesting that poor performance is a major force driving labor restructuring. Second, we offer evidence that decisions on labor retrenchment in traditional SOEs are related to the local government's fiscal position and to local reemployment conditions for laid-off workers. In contrast, labor decisions in corporatized SOEs are not related to these two variables. Our results suggest that corporatized SOEs with partial private ownership may enjoy higher autonomy in labor decisions.     

The heritages of forced opening: The treaty-port history and institutions in modern China

Treaty ports attracted most of colonial China's foreign enterprise and introduced western institutions that would shape property rights and the judicial system. Political change and economic reconstruction after 1949 depressed this tradition, but its effects lingered and became more active after reform and opening. Using cross-sectional data for cities combining the treaty-port history and the investment climate, we document the impact of this heritage on the institutional quality and economic development of modern China.     

The impact of the liability–asset ratio on profitability in China's industrial state-owned enterprises

The liability–asset ratio of China's industrial state-owned enterprises (SOEs) has increased dramatically in the course of the economic reform period. Western observers point out the inherent dangers to enterprise solvency. Chinese policymakers view today's level as exceedingly detrimental to enterprise profitability and are introducing measures to reduce it. Yet the increase in the liability–asset ratio of industrial SOEs is the inevitable result of systemic changes; since the early 1990s, the liability–asset ratio has stabilized. The perceived negative impact of the current level of the liability–asset ratio on enterprise profitability does not hold up in regression analysis. It is true that low-profitability SOEs tend to have a high liability–asset ratio, perhaps due to government-ordained support through bank loans. However, once the endogeneity of the liability–asset ratio is controlled for, a high liability–asset ratio tends to imply a high level of profitability. This suggests that current industrial SOE reforms in China that focus on debt alleviation are misguided.     

Thirty years of legal and economic reform in China: growth,institutions, and laws

China's impressive economic growth over three decades has seemingly occurred in the absence of a strong legal system. This paper views China's reform process over the past three decades as one that has entailed a gradual introduction of market forces into areas of the economy, which requires both dismantling the structure of the centrally planned economy and developing market-oriented institutions. This paper argues that China's transition is premised on a set of informal, and increasingly formal, institutions that provided incentives during the process of gradual liberalization. Therefore, institutional developments were not absent. The exploration of the interplay between growth and institutions leads to the conclusion that continued economic growth in China will depend on implementing legal reforms better suited to the nature of the decentralized economy, hastened by the introduction of international economic laws and rules with greater global integration.     

Risk Control of Pension Fund Management in China

Based on an analysis of China's current pension system, the present paper indicates that risk control of pension fund management is a serious policy challenge for the Chinese Government. Although some reform efforts have been made, there are still serious institutional and capital market risks that are difficult to overcome but are key in the success of China's pension reform. To ensure a smooth transition in pension reform, China not only needs to build a better institutional framework and facilitate capital market development, but also raise the risk awareness of individual pensioners.     

A comparison of shareholder identity and governance mechanisms in the monitoring of CEOs of listed companies in China

This paper compares the relative effectiveness of two measures by which the Chinese government attempted to improve the monitoring of listed companies: shifting the ownership of state shares from government agencies (GAs) to the corporate form of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), and strengthening corporate governance through statutory regulations and guidelines. The results show that SOEs are better able than GAs to monitor top executives, as indicated by a higher sensitivity of top executive turnover to firm performance. However, corporate governance mechanisms have no significant impact on the sensitivity of top executive turnover to firm performance. This study suggests that incentives for controlling shareholders are more important than governance mechanisms in replacing executives due to poor performance in a transitional economy such as China's, where institutions that support governance mechanisms are still being developed.     

Productivity change and the effects of policy reform in China's agriculture since 1979

During China's rural reforms, policies were frequently adjusted. Most policies favoured the continuation and deepening of reform; but some were contradictory or even led to regression in the reform process. How have the rural reforms affected China's agricultural production over the past three decades; and what lessons can be learned to aid the future course of reform? To answer these questions, this study estimates productivity change in China's agriculture and evaluates the effects of policy on agricultural output during the reform period. Aggregated provincial‐level data for the 1979–2008 period are used in a translog production frontier model to estimate indices of total factor productivity (TFP) change and its three components—technical change, technical efficiency change, and a scale effect—with a focus on explaining the variation in technical efficiency. The estimation results show that the impressive improvement of TFP change is dominated by the technical change component. However, technical efficiency change and scale effects have worked against the improvement in TFP change in most periods. To improve technical efficiency, social welfare policies designed to eliminate the rural–urban divide, and reform polices focusing on factor market reforms, such as reform of the household registration system (hukou) and reform of land rights, seem to hold some potential.     

中国林业产权研究热点与变迁趋势——基于CiteSpace和VOSviewer的可视化分析

利用科学知识图谱方法梳理国内林业产权领域研究的热点主题及其变迁趋势,厘清林业产权领域研究的逻辑脉络。综合运用CiteSpace和VOSviewer软件,对中国知网(CNKI)学术期刊数据库中2001—2023年收录的1 540篇相关文献进行知识图谱分析。研究发现：自2001年开始,该领域发文量呈现逐年渐进式增长,至2009年达到顶峰后趋于稳定,但领域内作者和发文机构之间的合作较为松散,且国内林业产权领域研究的发文机构相对集中于高校;结合林业产权领域的研究热点,可大致将该领域的研究内容归纳为关于林业产权制度、碳汇、林业产权交易和中国森林资源产权的研究;结合林业产权领域研究的历史脉络与演化趋势,可以将该领域研究分为3个阶段,包括探索阶段、横向拓展阶段和纵向延伸阶段。未来研究应把握“双碳”新特征,以此推进林业产权领域研究深入发展。     

A view from behavioral political economy on China's institutional change

A behavioral political economy framework is built on the basis of prospect theory to explain the induced and imposed institutional changes during China's market reform, giving special attention to the integrated effects of economic and political institutions. According to prospect theory, how rulers frame their decisions — in the prospects of gains or losses, influences how much risk they will take. China's market reform has been largely framed in the prospects of economic gains, for which the continuously growing private sector is the driving force. China's central government adopts a growth-oriented incremental reform that coincides with the prediction of prospect theory.     

Property rights security and firm survival: Micro-data evidence from China

The security of property rights has been found to play important roles in various aspects of firm behaviors. However, its effects on firm survival have been largely neglected in previous research. Using annual data of Chinese manufacturing firms over the period 1998–2008, we analyze the link between property rights security and firms' survival probabilities, differentiating firms into stated-owned enterprises (SOEs) and non-SOEs, and considering whether the linkage evolves over time. Examining a wide range of specifications, we find that the protection of property rights, by limiting government intervention and promulgating laws and rules, is crucial for firm survival. Moreover, better security of property rights benefits non-SOEs more. We also find that the beneficial effects of secure property rights on firm survival are more pronounced for years after 2003 when China speeded up deregulation to comply with its WTO commitments and reform target to establish a modern system of property rights than for years before 2002.     

国企产权改革要避免三大误区

加强对企业国有产权交易的监督管理,关键是解放思想,克服认识上的误区,尤其是在如何加强产权制度改革,实现国企的可持续发展方面,避免进入产权应按帐面值转让、 “价高者得”和随机选择合作者三大误区。     

Effectiveness of China＇s Monetary Policy and Reform of Its Foreign Exchange System

I. Introduction The background of this research is related to continued disputes between China and its trading partners, and to the resulting international pressure on China’s foreign exchange (Forex) system. As the fastest growing economy in the world, China’s foreign trade has expanded at a fantastic pace and its trade surplus with the rest of the world is huge and rising. This remarkable success has encountered increasing criticism, whether correct or not, from the countries that feel t…     

Has Fiscal Federalism Worked for Macroeconomic Purposes？ The Chinese Experience 1994-2003

China＇s central government undertook major tax regime reform in 1994 that was characterized by fiscal federalism. In hindsight, this reform might be viewed as being more emphatic towards the revenue side than the expenditure side. The reform has resulted in certain success both for revenue shifting and inflation fighting purposes. However, the reform and its subsequent follow-ups have not addressed some fundamental issues pertaining to China＇s government finance system, such as the overhauling of the function of government finance and redrawing lines between the central and regional governments with regard to their fiscal responsibilities and duties. Moreover, fiscal federalism might have actually increased fiscal burden on the economy, especially on domestic sectors of the economy. However, coupled with enhanced policy support for China＇ s external development, fiscal federalism might have helped to further accelerate resource shifts toward the external sector, thus resulting in an unprecedented rapid expansion in China＇ s exports since the mid1990s.     

Blue Box Policy Reform in the Doha Round Negotiations： Effects and China＇s Position

This paper uses an agricultural trade policy simulation model to quantitatively evaluate the effects of Blue Box policy reform on agricultural production and trade, and further provides specific proposals regarding China ＇ s reform position. The results indicate that, if the reform could achieve a reduction in distorting supports in more developed countries, China＇ s total agricultural production would increase, accompanied by a decrease in agricultural imports and a slight increase in exports. In terms of social welfare, producers would gain significantly, consumers would lose and government would not suffer greatly, which is in accordance with current agricultural policies in China. As a core member of G20, China should approve a subsidy level as low as possible required by Blue Box to achieve ＂substantial reductions in trade-distorting domestic supports＂.     

Does Property Rights Reform Improve the Efficiency of China＇s State-owned Banks？

China ＂s state-owned banks have undergone radical changes over the past two decades, including partial privatization and listing in both the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the Shanghai Stock Exchange. This paper evaluates the effects of these changes by analyzing the efficiency of Chinese banks over the period 1998-2012 using two frontier techniques and comparative analysis. The findings suggest that the performance and technical efficiency of the Big Four banks improved considerably after property rights reform, but this improvement is not sufficient to keep the banks at the production frontier. Tobit regressions confirm that static ownership effects are negative but that the property rights reform has had significant and positive effects on the technical efficiency of state-owned commercial banks. GDP growth and the financial crisis have had positive effects on the efficiency of Chinese banks, which is more significant for joint stock commercial banks than state-owned commercial banks. The results indicate the value of ownership reforms of state-owned asset management companies and insurance companies and the establishment of a countercyclical capital buffer.     

Does China＇s Huge External Surplus Imply an Undervalued Renminbi？

A pegged exchange rate regime has been pivotal to China's export-led development strategy. However, its huge trade surpluses and massive build up of international reserves have been matched by large deficits for major trading partners, creating acute policy concerns abroad, especially in the USA. This paper provides a straightforward conceptual framework for interpreting the effect of China's exchange rate policy on its own trade balance and that of trading partners in the context of discrepant economic growth rates. It shows how pegging the exchange rate when output is outstripping expenditure induces China's trade surpluses and counterpart deficits for its trading partners. An important corollary is that given its strictly regulated capital account, China's persistently large surpluses imply a significantly undervalued renminbi, which should gradually become more flexible.