Efficiency Wages and Work Incentives in Urban and Rural China

This paper examines incentive-wage effects for production and for managerial/technical workers in both urban and rural Chinese nonagricultural enterprises. We report strong evidence of productivity-enhancing wage behavior among enterprises in all ownership categories. There is also evidence that firms paying higher efficiency wages experience less shirking among their employees. We find that the profit-maximizing potential of incentive-wage setting is not fully exploited, although there is weak evidence that joint ventures come closer to profit-maximizing behavior at this margin of wage/employment behavior than do collectives or state-owned enterprises. J. Comp. Econ., December 2001, 29(4), pp. 645–662. The Ohio State University, 1945 North High St., Columbus, OH 43210 and University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822. © 2001 Elsevier ScienceJournal of Economic Literature Classification Numbers: P23, J31, O15.     

城镇集体企业的物权分析

从历史的维度来看，城镇集体企业的生产资料所有制经历了“合作社所有一国家所有一城镇集体企业所有”三个阶段，分配方式中的按股分红方式亦曾遭禁止而后放开，在企业形态上由合作社逐步发展为公司法人。现在，由依据“三分法”所确立的集体企业及其所有权形态在市场经济体制下已仅具政治意义。但是，集体概念本身的不确定性和非科学性，导致城镇集体企业在适用民事法律制度时，必然会产生概念上的混乱，难以与法学概念一一对应，进而阻碍城镇集体企业依据物权法基本原理科学地建立法人财产所有权。唯有明确集体企业法人作为物权法上的主体方能有效化解诸多乱象。     

Industrial development in the inland region of China: A case study of the motorcycle industry

Although the inland region of China has generally been left behind in economic development compared with the coastal region, the motorcycle industry in Chongqing has recorded remarkable growth due to the meteoric rise of private enterprises over the last decade. Based on panel data of enterprises, we attempt to identify the factors behind the dynamic development of this industry. We conclude that the success of the motorcycle industry in Chongqing is attributable to a combination of positive features from the Wenzhou model in the 1990s, in which industrial development is based on clustering of private enterprises, and the Sunan model in the 1980s, in which industrial development is based on the effective use of human resources recruited from existing state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Learning by collective enterprises from SOEs in Chongqing coupled with the growth of the private enterprise sector fostered cluster-based industrial development. Journal of Comparative Economics 34 (4) (2006) 818–838.     

Information, Incentives, and Option Value: The Silicon Valley Model

This paper analyzes the Silicon Valley model as a novel economic institution in the domain of technological product system innovation. We analyze the informational relationship as well as governance relationships between venture capitalists and a cluster of entrepreneurial firms. The informational conditions that make the Silicon Valley model efficient are identified, leading to an understanding of the significance of standardized interfaces, modularization, and information encapsulation. We then examine the governance/incentive aspect by integrating the models of Aoki (Towards a Comparative Institutional Analysis, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2001) and Baldwin and Clark (Design Rules—Vol. 1: The Power of Modularity, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2000). The paper concludes by evaluating the applicability of the model to other localities and industries. J. Comp. Econ., December 2002, 30(4), pp. 759–786. Department of Economics, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, and RIETI, 1-3-1 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0013, Japan; and Faculty of Economics, Toyo University, 5-28-20 Hakusan, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 112-8606, Japan. © 2002 Association for Comparative Economic Studies. Published by Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.Journal of Economic Literature Classification Numbers: D21, L23, O32, P51, P52.     

Township-village enterprises,local governments and rural communities: the Chinese village as a firm during economic transition1

The nature of TVEs and the real functions of township-village governments are rooted in the Chinese township-village organization. The management of common property in a village group or a rural community is quite different from management in a situation where the boundaries of common property are unclear. Before economic reform, the cooperative elements or interspecific resources, such as low information costs, kinship ties, trust and cooperative spirit belonged in common to all villagers, yet cooperation was absent because the Chinese state appropriated the collective benefits. During the course of reform, the link between village official and state is being gradually broken down and the official is returning to his own village organization. The original interspecific resources of villagers and the identity of the village leader as government official are institutionalized as specific contractual relations in China's reform circumstances. The Chinese village behaves as a firm-type organization and the collective benefits can be internalized during the economic transition.     

The economics of joint ventures in centrally planned and labor-managed economies

The paper analyzes the allocational and distributional issues connected with the operation of joint ventures by firms in Yugoslavia, several Eastern European countries and the People's Republic of China with Western firms. A variable-bargaining-power model is used to examine the behavior of joint ventures under the various institutional circumstances of these countries. Contrary to Brada's conclusions (J. Comp. Econ.1(2):167–181, June 1977), the present study indicates that the behavior of joint ventures in most of these countries is likely to be quite similar.     

The Art of Reforming Centrally Planned Economies: Comparing China, Poland, and Russia

The three reasons for gradualism, (1) agricultural reform should precede industrial reforms, (2) state-owned enterprises (SOEs) can be reformed, and (3) economic liberalization should precede political liberalization, are not generalizable. China′s gradualism is the product of political deadlock over the final form of the economy. China has been most successful in the areas where reforms have been radical and lackluster where reforms have been incremental. The output performance across reforming countries reflected differences mainly in economic structures rather than in policies. China′s growth comes from the movement of surplus agricultural labor into industry, and Poland′s and Russia′s decline come from the closing of noncompetitive enterprises to release factors of production to the new efficient enterprises. J. Comp. Econom., June 1994, 18(3), pp. 000-000. University of California, Davis, California 95616-8617.     

Static and Dynamic Productivity among Yugoslav Enterprises: Components and Correlates

This paper calculates both static and dynamic measures of productivity for a sample of Yugoslav enterprises over the five-year period 1975–1979 using Farrell measures of efficiency and the frontier Malmquist index of productivity change. The influences of market share, export orientation, joint ventures, labor groupings, capital intensity, and regional development on the static efficiency measures and on the dynamic Malmquist index and its components are also examined. We find that the analysis of single-period efficiency scores does not necessarily provide much insight into performance over time.J. Comp. Econom.,December 1998, 26(4), pp. 805–821. University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701; University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, Mississippi 39406; and University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701.     

中国工业企业的所有制结构对效率差异的影响——1995年全国工业企业普查数据的实证分析

本文以 1 995年全国工业普查的数据为基础 ,从全部 75万家企业中选择了2 0余个产业 ,共计大约 1 7万家具有竞争性特点的企业进行了效率测定和比较。分析方法主要采用了生产函数模型和OLS计量方法 ,分别对普查数据中提供的所有制变量和企业隶属等级制变量对于企业效率的影响进行了分析和比较。对于所有制变量比较的结果发现 ,私营个体企业的效率最高 ,三资企业其次 ,股份和集体企业再次 ,国有企业效率最低。同样 ,对于等级制变量的效率比较发现 ,由于较低隶属等级的非国有企业效率高于那些等级地位高的国有企业 ,结果使得后者的规模优势丧失。因而旧体制中的隶属等级地位对于企业的发展是消极的。     

Hardened Budgets and Enterprise Restructuring: Theory and an Application to Romania

We identify the presence of soft budgets and analyze their impact on enterprise restructuring in Romania over the initial transition period. A simple analytical framework is developed to show that hardened budget constraints foster rationalization of costs but not new investment. The latter requires availability of external financing. The model emphasizes the importance of the credibility of hardened budgets and the empirical findings are consistent with its predictions. Using a sample of over 4000 Romanian enterprises from 1992 to 1995, we show that hardened budget constraints induce labor shedding. However, there is no evidence of new investments. J. Comp. Econ., December 2001, 29(4), pp. 749–763. University of Sienna, Central European University, and CEPR; and World Bank and CEPR. © 2001 Elsevier ScienceJournal of Economic Literature Classification Numbers: G32, G34.     

Ownership, Productivity Change, and Financial Performance in Chinese Industry

This paper investigates Chinese industrial productivity from 1980 to 1996. Results include series for foreign-linked, shareholding, and private enterprises. We find long-term productivity increase, with growth rates declining during the 1990's. Productivity outcomes outside the state and collective sectors are modest, with shareholding enterprises suffering productivity declines. The paper examines differences in marginal factor productivity across ownership types, considers the impact of business cycles on the interpretation of productivity trends, and documents a statistical relationship among the profitability of state enterprises, the relative productivity performance of state firms, and the entry of new firms outside the state sector.J. Comp. Econom., December 2000, 28(4), pp. 786–813. Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts 02254; University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260; Institute of Quantitative and Technical Economics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, 5 Jianguomennei Street, Beijing, China 100732.     

How Successful Has Chinese Enterprise Reform Been? Pitfalls in Opposite Biases and Focus

We analyze two new data sets: one on state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and another on town and village enterprises (IVEs). We find zero TFP growth in SOEs and positive TFP growth in COEs. The evidence suggests that the positive TFP growth in SOEs found by some recent studies might be due to underdeflation of gross output and overdeflation of intermediate inputs. The criterion for successful SOE reform should also include intertemporal efficiency and SOEs′ contribution so macroeconomic stability. Increases in technical efficiency do not necessarily improve SOEs′ financial performance. SOE personnel have received an increasing proportion of value added, hence creating a fiscal crisis for the state. J. Comp. Econom., June 1994, 18(3), pp. 410-437. University of California, Davis, California 95616; Fort Lewis College, Durango, Colorado 81301; University of California, Davis, California 95616; and Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing 100836, People′s Republic of China.     

JOINT VENTURES, POLLUTION AND ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY

We examine the impact of emission taxes on the pollution level in a duopoly framework with endogenous market structure. We demonstrate that an increase in emission taxes could trigger a regime switch from joint ventures to Cournot competition, causing the pollution level to increase. Such a phenomenon is likely to happen when the concerned industry is reasonably profitable, and the synergistic gain between joint venture partners is not too strong. Moreover, emission taxes can implement the first best outcome if and only if the industry is not too polluting. In case it is, the second best level of taxes may or may not equal the optimal tax under either joint venture or Cournot competition.     

The Effects of Market Liberalization on the Relative Earnings of Chinese Women

In this paper, we explore the effects of differences in labor market institutions and the degree of market liberalization on the size and composition of gender wages gaps in China's urban labor markets. We use enterprise-ownership type, enterprise age, and workers' methods of finding employment as proxies for the extent of market liberalization. We find both the size of the wage gaps and the proportion of the gap left unexplained by differences in observed characteristics largest in the most liberalized joint-venture sector and smallest in the least liberalized state sector. We next investigate the effects of differences in the wage structure on the gender wage gaps. We find that differences in the wage structure, in general, and the degree of wage dispersion, in particular, are extremely important in accounting for the larger wage gaps in the joint-venture and collective sectors relative to the state-owned sector. J. Comp. Econ., June 2002 30(4), pp. 709–731. Department of Economics, Bates College, Lewiston, Maine 04240. © 2002 Association for Comparative Economic Studies. Published by Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.Journal of Economic Literature Classification Numbers: Numbers: J16, J31, J71, O15, O53, P23.     

装备制造业协同创新网络结构演化与空间特征研究——黑龙江1985-2017年专利数据分析

随着创新资源和知识流动性日益增强,装备制造业逐渐从企业内部独立研发转向协同创新,协同创新网络成为装备制造业的重要创新形式。以黑龙江1985-2017年专利合作数据为基础,对装备制造业协同创新网络演化及特征进行分析。结果表明：①企业是最重要的创新主体,并呈现出“国退民进”特征,民营企业地位迅速提升,国有企业地位有所下降但仍占据关键节点,高校与科研院所参与创新数量较少但为重要的创新实践者和桥接者;②创新网络结构等级性明显,创新网络空间结构存在结构洞现象,高校、国有企业或主要城市占据结构洞位置;③城市尺度、省级尺度协同创新地位不断下降,国家尺度创新成为最重要的空间载体。因此,欠发达地区应拓展创新合作尺度和范围,发挥企业创新主体和技术守门员作用,构建有利于创新资源有序流动和创新主体合作的创新市场体系,建立创新发展共同体和产学研“创新三角”等。     

Earnings Differentials between State and Non-State Enterprises in Urban China

The present paper estimates earnings differentials between state and non-state sectors for Chinese urban residents in 1996 by taking into account differences in non-wage benefits. Household survey data are used to estimate wage differentials while aggregate statistics are utilised in estimating non-wage benefits. We find that state-sector workers earned significantly more than workers in urban collective and domestic private enterprises in 1996. Unskilled workers in foreign invested enterprises (FIE) earned significantly less than those in the state sector but skilled workers earned more in FIE than in the state sector. These findings shed light on the source of labour immobility that state-owned enterprise had experienced until recently.     

The Internationalisation of Cooperatives: The Case of the Mondragon Cooperative Corporation

Abstract: This paper outlines the internationalisation process of cooperatives in an economic environment determined by economic globalisation. The analysis is focused on the Mondragon Cooperative Corporation (MCC) in the Basque Country which is a point of reference for participatory enterprises all over the world. MCC is currently adapting to changing market conditions and pursuing a strategy of direct investment (joint ventures, greenfield investment and acquisitions) in priority international markets. Thus, the first part of the study is about the current situation: the problems and consequences related to the internationalisation process of the MCC. In the second part, we consider an analytical framework for developing measures and strategies which could facilitate international expansion but in a manner which is more in line with cooperative values. The third part focuses on the presentation and discussion, based on this analytical framework, of a number of proposals made within the MCC on international social‐economic policy.     

Use of borrowed start-up capital and micro enterprises in Mexico: existence of liquidity constraints

Using the National Survey of Micro enterprises (ENAMIN, Encuesta Nacional de Micronegocios) data I test for the presence of liquidity constraints for obtaining start-up capital in Mexico’s credit markets (formal and informal). I use the bivariate probit model with partial observability to recognize two important decisions in the credit allocation process: first, whether an owner of a micro enterprise wants to apply start-up loan and, second, whether financial institutions decide to provide or not to provide the loan. Finally, I compare the results from this model to those of a simple probit model that looks at whether a micro enterprise owner gets funding or not (i.e. the probit model implicitly assumes that no liquidity constraints exist). The findings of this study show that there is substantial heterogeneity in the socioeconomic background of borrowers, as well as in the sources for start-up capital employed by micro enterprises in Mexico. Moreover, there is clear evidence of liquidity constraints in the market for start-up capital that could hinder the creation and growth of small enterprises. Applying the findings of the study, policy makers could fundamentally increase the effectiveness in establishing an economic environment that fosters growth.

Direct effect of ownership and technology import: Firm level evidence from large and medium-enterprises in Shanghai

This paper explores the direct effect of ownership and technology imports under the framework of neoclassical economic theory. The econometric analysis is based on panel data from a random sample of large and medium-enterprises in Shanghai, during the period of 1998 to 2003. The results show that Sino-foreign joint ventures, Sino-foreign cooperative enterprises and foreign-funded enterprises (SANZI) enjoy higher labor productivity and total factor productivity (TFP) than domestic enterprises. Intra-firm diffusion of non-codified technology, proxied by ownership, is the main source of their better performance, whereas internally transferred codified technology makes little contribution to TFP. For state-owned enterprises, codified technology imports have significantly raised both labor productivity and TFP, but such positive effect is significantly dependent on the S&T human resource. In contrast, no evidence supports that introduction of foreign technology has enhanced the productivity in domestic nonstate-owned enterprises. The empirical results indicate that SANZI do not have a distinct advantage in their codified technology. In addition, inadequate investment in assimilation process and research and development together with inefficient management of science and technology activities, may impede the use of imported technology. __________ Translated from Jingji Yanjiu 经济研究 (Economic Research Journal), 2006, (3): 90–102     

Has China crossed the river? The evolution of wage structure in urban China during reform and retrenchment

In this paper, we examine the determinants of urban wages in China from 1988 to 2002. We find increased returns to education but a decrease in the returns to experience. The 2002 data imply that the widening pure gender gap and the growth in the premium to Communist Party membership may have come to an end. The reform of the state-owned enterprise (SOE) sector and the shift in industrial structure out of heavy industry is shown to impact wages of workers within those sectors. We use recall panel data for 1998 to 2002 to provide fixed effects estimates of the impact of sector ownership, Communist Party membership and unemployment on wages. Journal of Comparative Economics 33 (4) (2005) 644–663.