scholarly journals Government Subsidies and Firm-Level Markups: Impact and Mechanism

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 2726
Author(s):  
Wen Yue ◽  
Jianhua Wang

This paper investigates the impact of government subsidies on the firm-level markups and its mechanism of action by measuring the firm-level markups based on a micro dataset of Chinese manufacturing firms from 2000 to 2007. The findings suggest that government subsidies significantly reduce the markups of Chinese firms. Moreover, there is significant heterogeneity in the negative impact of government subsidies among different types of firms. Furthermore, analysis of the impact mechanism based on the mediation effect model shows that the increase in rent-seeking cost is an important way for government subsidies to reduce the firm-level markups. Finally, based on the dynamic decomposition of the aggregate markup of the Chinese manufacturing industry, it is found that government subsidies significantly reduce the industry-level aggregate markup through within-firm and cross-firm effects. This study enriches the literature on government subsidies and markups, and provides a new perspective for understanding the micro-performance of government subsidies.

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (20) ◽  
pp. 8446
Author(s):  
Bin Li ◽  
Shuai Shi ◽  
Yating Zeng

The core issue for China’s economy to shift from high-speed growth to high-quality development is to raise total factor productivity (TFP). Based on the data of A-share listed companies from 2013 to 2017 and the air quality monitoring data released by the China National Environmental Monitoring Centre, this paper conducts an empirical test on the relationship between haze pollution, labor productivity, and firm-level TFP by using the mediation effect test model. The results show the following: First, haze pollution will reduce a firm’s TFP. Second, labor productivity plays a partial intermediary role between haze pollution and a firm’s TFP. Haze pollution will not only have a direct negative impact on a firm-level TFP but also reduce a firm-level TFP by reducing labor productivity. Subsequently, the robustness test was carried out by means of a substitution of independent variables and dependent variables, and the results all supported the hypotheses in this paper. In addition, the heterogeneity of the industry and the ownership of listed companies was analyzed, and the two-stage least squares (2SLS) method was used to solve the endogeneity problem. The conclusions of this paper are helpful to clarify the relationship between haze pollution, firm factor productivity, and firm-level TFP. The paper’s findings also provide a practical basis for firms to further improve TFP from the perspective of air pollution problems such as haze.


Processes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 1261
Author(s):  
Aiping Tao ◽  
Qun Liang ◽  
Peng Kuai ◽  
Tao Ding

Based on the panel data of 224 prefecture-level and above cities in China from 2003 to 2016, this paper empirically studies the impact of urban sprawl on air pollution and introduces a mediating effect model to test the mediating role of vehicle ownership concerning the impact of urban sprawl on air pollution. The research in this paper arrives at three conclusions. First, urban sprawl has a significant positive effect on air pollution, and this conclusion is still valid after solving the endogeneity problem and conducting a robustness test. Second, the results of mediating effect test show that urban sprawl indirectly affects air pollution through the partial mediating effect of vehicle ownership. By removing the mediating effect, urban sprawl has a significant negative impact on air pollution, indicating that the mediating effect of vehicle ownership is higher concerning the impact of urban sprawl on air pollution. Third, further panel quantile regression results show that the higher the level of air pollution, the weaker the mediating effect of vehicle ownership and the stronger the direct effect of urban sprawl on air pollution. These conclusions can provide some empirical support for solving the air pollution problems caused by urban sprawl in China.


Südosteuropa ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 505-529
Author(s):  
Kujtim Zylfijaj ◽  
Dimitar Nikoloski ◽  
Nadine Tournois

AbstractThe research presented here investigates the impact of the business environment on the formalization of informal firms, using firm-level data for 243 informal firms in Kosovo. The findings indicate that business-environment variables such as limited access to financing, the cost of financing, the unavailability of subsidies, tax rates, and corruption have a significant negative impact on the formalization of informal firms. In addition, firm-level characteristics analysis suggests that the age of the firm also exercises a significant negative impact, whereas sales volume exerts a significant positive impact on the formalization of informal firms. These findings have important policy implications and suggest that the abolition of barriers preventing access to financing, as well as tax reforms and a consistent struggle against corruption may have a positive influence on the formalization of informal firms. On the other hand, firm owners should consider formalization to be a means to help them have greater opportunities for survival and growth.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 6294
Author(s):  
Peiqing Zhu ◽  
Jianbo Song

Internal control plays a role in risk prevention for firms when dealing with serious emergencies, which ensures the sustainable development of firms during a crisis. Based on the rapid outbreak of COVID-19 in China, this paper empirically tests whether internal control alleviates the negative impact of the pandemic on firm performance. Using a sample of Chinese listed firms from the first quarter of 2019 to the third quarter of 2020 and employing the difference-in-difference (DID) method, we find that the firms with a higher quality of internal control achieve better financial performance during the pandemic period; the more serious the pandemic is, the more obvious effect internal control plays. Furthermore, we consider the industry heterogeneity and firm heterogeneity of the risk resistance effect of internal control. In the manufacturing industry, which is a “disaster zone” of the pandemic, and the non-high-tech industry with a low degree of digitization, internal control can play a more important role in firms’ performance. Moreover, for state-owned enterprises, and firms with strong financing constraints, the role of internal control is more prominent. The above results provide empirical evidence for the risk prevention function of internal control and shed new light on the measures for firms to resist emergencies in the future.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 3458
Author(s):  
Jingli Li ◽  
Min Zhao ◽  
Guanjun Xia ◽  
Chao Liu

Since no specialized work has researched the relationship between team members’ hometown diversity (team hometown diversity) and team creativity, we investigated their underlying relationship by conducting a two-wave survey from 304 employees in 54 teams and 54 team leaders from 17 companies. The results proved that team hometown diversity was negatively related to both team information exchange and team creativity, while team information exchange was significantly positively associated with team creativity and the mediation effect of team information exchange between team hometown diversity and team creativity was verified. The moderation role of team identification in the relationship between team hometown diversity and team information exchange as well as the moderation function of team conformity on the relationship between team information exchange and team creativity were both verified. This work made at least four contributions. Firstly, it was among the first to research the impact of team hometown diversity on team creativity, which supplemented the gap and provided a new perspective for exploration of team creativity in future. Secondly, we adopted a two-wave design to check the dynamic impact of earlier team information exchange and team conformity on team creativity afterwards, which can be replicated for future studies. Thirdly, by using supervisor and subordinate ratings together and conducting electronic and paper surveys together, the results were more persuasive. Finally, we included a large dataset from a broad range of companies, which maximized the variables and generated our results. The implications and limitations were also illustrated.


2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-254
Author(s):  
Soma Patra

Nine out of the last ten recessions in the United States have been preceded by an increase in the price of oil as noted by Hamilton [Palgrave Dictionary of Economics]. Given the small share of energy in gross domestic product this phenomenon is difficult to explain using standard models. In this paper, I show that firm entry can be an important transmission and amplifying channel for energy price shocks. The results from the baseline dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model predict a drop in output that is two times the impact in a model without entry. The model also predicts an increase in energy prices would lead to a decline in real wages, investment, consumption, and return on investment. Additionally, using US firm level data, I demonstrate that a rise in energy prices has a negative impact on firm entry as predicted by the DSGE model. This lends further support toward endogenizing firm entry when analyzing the effects of energy price shocks.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Asier Minondo

Purpose This paper aims to analyze the impact of COVID-19 on the trade of goods and services in Spain. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses monthly trade data at the product, region and firm level. Findings The COVID-19 crisis has led to the sharpest collapse in the Spanish trade of goods and services in recent decades. The containment measures adopted to arrest the spread of the virus have caused an especially intense fall of trade in services. The large share of transport equipment, capital goods, products that are consumed outdoors (i.e., outdoor goods) and tourism in Spanish exports has made the COVID-19 trade crisis more intense in Spain than in the rest of the European Union. Practical implications The nature of the collapse suggests that trade in goods can recover swiftly when the health crisis ends. However, COVID-19 may have a long-term negative impact on the trade of services that rely on the movement of people. Originality/value It contributes to understand how COVID-19 has affected the trade in goods and services in Spain.


2021 ◽  
pp. oemed-2020-107206
Author(s):  
Yan Ge ◽  
Shanshan He ◽  
Yan Xu ◽  
Weina Qu

ObjectiveTo explore the impact of the dietary patterns of truck drivers on their driving behaviours and the mediation effect of fatigue between these factors.MethodsA sample of 389 male truck drivers from a transport company in Suzhou, China completed the Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ), the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI), the Positive Driver Behaviours Scale (PDBS) and the Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ). The associations among dietary patterns, fatigue and driving behaviour were examined using pathway analysis.ResultsFour dietary patterns were identified based on principal component analysis: animal-derived foods, staple foods, snacks and vegetables. The pathway analysis showed that the vegetable-rich pattern had a direct positive impact on positive driving behaviour (β=0.211, p<0.001); the animal-derived pattern had a direct positive impact on errors (β=0.094, p<0.05) and ordinary violations (β=0.071, p<0.05); the snacks pattern had a direct negative impact on positive driving behaviour (β=−0.191, p<0.001); fatigue mediated the effect of dietary patterns on driving behaviours (p<0.001); and the staple foods had an indirect effect on driving behaviours.ConclusionsOverall, the driving behaviours of truck drivers are correlated with their dietary patterns. Drivers who preferred vegetables and staple foods had more positive driving behaviour, while the animal-derived food and snack patterns were related to dangerous driving behaviour. The experience of fatigue could explained the underlying mechanism between these factors.


Author(s):  
Zhiyuan Chen ◽  
Xin Jin ◽  
Xu Xu

Abstract We study the impact of anticorruption efforts on firm performance, exploiting an unanticipated corruption crackdown in China’s Heilongjiang province in 2004. We compare firms in the affected regions with those in other inland regions before and after the crackdown. Our main finding is an overall negative impact of the crackdown on firm productivity and entry rates. Furthermore, these negative impacts are mainly experienced by private and foreign firms, while state-owned firms are mostly unaffected. We present evidence concerning two potential explanations for our findings. First, the corruption crackdown may have limited bribery opportunities that helped private firms operate. Second, the corruption crackdown may have interfered with personal connections between private firms and government officials to a greater extent than institutional connections between state-owned firms and the government. Overall, our findings suggest that corruption crackdowns may not restore efficiency in the economy, but instead lead to worse economic outcomes, at least in the short run (JEL L2, M1, O1).


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 96-110
Author(s):  
Rana-Al-Mosharrafa ◽  
Md. Shahidul Islam

Bank profitability plays a significant role in the growth and development of an emerging economy. The purpose of the study was to examine the impact of bank characteristics, industry concentration and macroeconomics variables on commercial bank profitability in Bangladesh from 2007-2017. Bank profitability is proxied by return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE) and net interest margin (NIM). The study is based on secondary data and Hausman test has been performed using STATA software in favor of fixed effect modeling. Panel regressions shows that cost efficiency has significant negative impact on ROA and NIM. The positive impact of loan to deposit ratio with ROA suggests that efficient fund management including investment and assessed expenditure should be emphasized. Bank size has significant negative impact on all the measures of profitability, which indicates that monopolistic competition will reduce banking profit. Credit risk has significant positive impacts on ROE. Industry concentration measured by CR3 is positively related with ROE and has significant negative relation with bank profitability (ROA). Among macroeconomic variables inflation has significant positive and bank spread has significant negative impact on ROE. The coefficients of all the macroeconomic variables have been found to be significantly related to bank profitability while measured by NIM. Our study recommends further research with other explanatory variables such as, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and deposit insurance to accelerate the model and construct the econometric model by using structural equation modeling, mediation effect modeling etc.


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