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Local political corruption and M&As

Author

Listed:
  • Liu, Chun
  • Chen, Yang
  • Li, Shanmin
  • Sun, Liang
  • Yang, Mengjie

Abstract

We examine the relation between local political corruption and firms' cross-province M&As using provincial-level data on corruption in China. The results show that firms in more corrupt regions are less likely to engage in cross-province M&As. Further analyses reveal that the effects of local corruption on the probability of cross-province M&As are stronger when corrupt officers have greater impeding benefits or lower impeding costs. Meanwhile, Both ex-ante intervention and ex-post punishment are important channels through which corrupt officers hinder firms' cross-province M&As. Moreover, informal institutions, such as social capital and informal networks can help to alleviate the negative impact of political corruption on firms' cross-province M&As.Our findings show that in the context of highly government intervention, cross-province M&As not only cannot be an effective channel to shield from expropriation, but are themselves highly distorted and lead to significant economic efficiency losses.

Suggested Citation

  • Liu, Chun & Chen, Yang & Li, Shanmin & Sun, Liang & Yang, Mengjie, 2021. "Local political corruption and M&As," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:chieco:v:69:y:2021:i:c:s1043951x2100095x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2021.101677
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Political corruption; Anti-corruption campaign; M&As;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • D73 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Bureaucracy; Administrative Processes in Public Organizations; Corruption
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance

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