Privatization and productivity in China

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Chen, Yuyu; Igami, Mitsuru; Sawada, Masayuki; Xiao, Mo
• 署名单位: Peking University; Yale University; Hitotsubashi University; University of Arizona
• 刊物名称: RAND JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0741-6261
• DOI: 10.1111/1756-2171.12395
• 发表日期: 2021
• 页码: 884-916
• 关键词: patent statistics; wto accession; state; OWNERSHIP; FIRMS; performance; FEDERALISM; INVESTMENT; INNOVATION; markups

摘要

We study how ownership affects productivity in the context of China's privatization of state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Its true impact remains unclear and controversial, partly because the government selectively privatized or liquidated nonperforming SOEs. To address this selection problem, we augment the Gandhi-Navarro-Rivers nonparametric production function to incorporate endogenous ownership changes. Results suggest private firms are 53% more productive than SOEs on average, but the benefits of privatization take several years to fully materialize. This productivity gap is smaller among larger firms and in economically more liberal times and places; it is larger in consumer-facing and high-tech industries.