Relationship between city size and firm productivity – A new interpretation using the Chinese experience

This paper contributes to the literature on the relationship between city size and firm productivity by focusing on agglomeration, selection (market competition), and sorting (presence of firms with diverse productivity) effects using Chinese firm-level data for 1998–2013. Contrary to the existing literature, our parametric regression estimates from nearly two million firms show that when the selection effect is controlled, productivity advantage in big cities is reversed. This outcome is explained through a quantile regression showing the existence of left-sided sorting (inefficient firms sort themselves to larger cities) in big cities which is not captured in existing empirical literature. We further find that (1) left-sided sorting is stronger in exporters than non-exporters; (2) is also generated mainly in enterprises with high asset-liability ratios; and (3) selection has a positive effect on firm productivity, suggesting that market competition is key in an explanation of the rapid growth of big cities in China.     

State ownership and firm performance: Empirical evidence from Chinese listed companies

While the relationship between state ownership and firm performance has been widely researched, the empirical evidence has provided mixed results. This study applies panel data regression techniques to 10,639 firm-year observations of non-financial Chinese listed firms during 2003–2010 to examine the relationship between state ownership and firm performance. The results show that state ownership has a U-shaped relationship with firm performance. The Split Share Structure Reform in 2005–2006 played a positive role in enhancing the relationship between state ownership and firm profitability ratios. Although state ownership decreased significantly after 2006, it remains high in strategically important industry sectors such as the oil, natural gas and mining sector and the publishing, broadcasting and media sector. The findings reveal that a higher level of state ownership is superior to a dispersed ownership structure due to the benefits of government support and political connections. The Split Share Structure Reform made previously non-tradable shares legally tradable, improving corporate governance and reducing the negative effect of non-tradable state shares.     

The provision of long-term credit and firm growth in developing countries

Do small and young firms benefit from an increase in the provision of long-term loans? By combining firm-level data from 62 countries (over the period 2006–2016) with a new database on short-term and long-term credit provided to the private sector, this article shows a higher provision of long-term credit does not stimulate growth of small and young firms. On the contrary, an increase in the availability of short-term credit spurs firm growth. The main explanation of this (counter-intuitive) result is the differential impact of short-term and long-term credit provision on small and young firms’ access to credit. Young and small firms are able to take advantage of an increase of short-term loans, which allow them to switch from informal finance to bank loans. However, a higher level of long-term credit does not alleviate credit constraints faced by opaque firms because these funds are allocated towards transparent borrowers.     

创始人技术知识资产、两职合一与创新绩效

以2012—2015年中关村新三板挂牌的180个科技型中小企业为样本,以创始人技术知识资产为切入视角,以创始人持股比例为作用路径,采用中介效应回归法,分析创始人两职合一的原因,并进一步使用倾向匹配得分法（PSM）研究创始人两职合一对创新绩效的影响。结果发现：①创始人技术知识资产与创始人两职合一的比例显著正相关;②创始人技术知识资产通过创始人持股比例的部分中介效应能够促进创始人两职合一;③创始人两职合一可以显著提升企业创新绩效。分析拥有技术知识资产的创始人提高公司创新绩效的内部机理,并证实了两职合一的创始人能够更好地推动技术创新,为科技型中小企业优化公司治理结构和提高创新水平提供了新思路。     

产业结构调整的收入分配效应研究--基于1998-2012年中国省际面板数据模型的分析

产业结构调整作为政府实现宏观发展战略目标的重要调控手段,具有显著的收入分配效应。构建产业结构调整对城乡收入差距影响机理的分析框架,利用中国30个省份1998-2012年的面板数据,运用联立方程模型和内生分布滞后模型,研究产业结构调整的收入分配效应,结果发现：由于产业结构调整与人力资本结构负相关,在即期会强化农村居民在就业市场中的弱势地位,扩大城乡收入差距;在长期,城乡居民根据产业结构调整重塑就业预期,通过调整人力资本投资结构、提升人力资本水平实现职业转换,第5年以后将出现农村居民收入增幅高于城镇居民的格局,形成乡城收入赶超效应,产生缩小城乡收入差距的正面效应。     

基于技术学习的区域创新网络升级研究:以浙江台州为例

技术学习是影响区域创新网络升级的核心因素,外向型和内向型技术学习是其两种典型模式。通过对浙江台州146家集群企业的问卷调查发现:区域创新网络中的技术学习活动非常活跃,非正式技术学习活动居于主导地位,龙头企业在技术学习中扮演着关键角色。从完善内部网络和开拓外部联系两个角度,提出了进一步推动产业集群创新网络升级,提升集群企业技术创新能力的对策建议。     

Location factors of FDI and the growing services economy1

Foreign direct investment (FDI) has increasingly shifted toward the service sector. This change in the industrial composition of FDI and the non‐tradable nature of services may have altered the importance of location factors for investment decisions. To capture potential changes in FDI determinants, a contrasting sectoral analysis is performed. Based on FDI stock data from eight new EU member states for the period 1998–2004, we implement a dynamic panel approach allowing the speed of adjustment to the equilibrium investment level to vary across sectors. Results support our assumption that investment into the service sector, which is characterized by low installation costs, adjusts much faster to its desired level than manufacturing FDI. Thus, government interventions to attract FDI are likely to boost the service sector immediately while having a slower impact on manufacturing FDI. Furthermore, as services are mostly non‐tradable, FDI into this sector is largely based on market‐seeking motives while FDI in the manufacturing sector is also driven by international price competitiveness measured by real unit labour costs.     

The role of accelerators in firm survival: An fsQCA analysis of Italian startups

Accelerators are a recent yet rapidly growing phenomenon within entrepreneurial ecosystems. The distinctive characteristics exhibited by accelerators, relative to previous incubation models, imply that accelerators may play a different role and have a different impact on the survival rates of participating firms. In this study, we explore the relationship between participation in an accelerator program and firm survival using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) with key variables related to firm survival. We analyze 38 accelerated startups from five Italian accelerators and a control group of 38 non-accelerated Italian startups. Our findings support the business accelerator literature that regards accelerators as a new and distinct generation of business incubators. Our results suggest that participation in accelerator programs on its own does not influence firm survival. However, we found a relationship between firm survival and accelerated technology-based firms that do not export and between firm survival and accelerated firms in the service sector with a small team that do not export. We conclude that factors affecting the survival of accelerated firms are different from factors affecting the survival of incubated firms, providing further evidence of the characteristics that distinguish accelerators from incubators.     

关于对《证券投资学》课程教学重心进行调整的几点思考

作为经济类专业的一门重要课程,《证券投资学》目前的教学重心的存在着其优势,也有其不足,因此有必要对这一课程的教学重心进行调整。《证券投资学》的教学重心应调整为使学生掌握证券市场在国民经济中的资源配置功能为核心,实现这一调整需要一系列配套措施。     

国有经济结构分析与调整对策

国有经济战略调整是中央提出的国有企业改革和发展的重要目标。在计划经济体制向市场经济体制的转轨过程中，国有经济的分布仍不够合理，国有企业在竞争领域仍然占有很大的比重，在经济结构的优化方面仍然存在着一些不容忽视的问题。因此，对这一问题的深入研究，具有重要意义。