IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecanpo/v69y2021icp450-460.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Political promotion and pay gap: Evidence from SOEs in China

Author

Listed:
  • Kong, Gaowen
  • Zhang, Hui
  • Wang, Di
  • Yang, Zhiqing
  • Liu, Hua

Abstract

This paper investigates how CEO political promotion incentive affects the within-firm pay gap in SOEs of China. We find that CEO political promotion significantly reduces the within-firm pay gap. This effect is pronounced for SOEs with good past performance, without political connection, with a CEO who could be promoted to important duty, or with a female CEO. Further test shows that CEO power is one of the influencing mechanisms of the effect of political promotion on within-firm pay gap. Lastly, additional tests and a placebo test show that our findings are robust after eliminating the effect of measurement methods of within-firm pay gap or CEO political promotion incentives, the effect of local government, or the effect of time trend and endogeneity. Overall, this study sheds light on the corporate compensation policy from the perspective of the political career concerns of CEOs in China.

Suggested Citation

  • Kong, Gaowen & Zhang, Hui & Wang, Di & Yang, Zhiqing & Liu, Hua, 2021. "Political promotion and pay gap: Evidence from SOEs in China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 450-460.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecanpo:v:69:y:2021:i:c:p:450-460
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eap.2020.12.023
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0313592620304707
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.eap.2020.12.023?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Xiaping Cao & Michael Lemmon & Xiaofei Pan & Meijun Qian & Gary Tian, 2019. "Political Promotion, CEO Incentives, and the Relationship Between Pay and Performance," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 65(7), pages 2947-2965, July.
    2. Xiuhong Qin & Guoliang Huang & Huayu Shen & Mengyao Fu, 2020. "COVID-19 Pandemic and Firm-level Cash Holding—Moderating Effect of Goodwill and Goodwill Impairment," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(10), pages 2243-2258, August.
    3. Yingyi Qian & Chenggang Xu, 1993. "Why China's economic reforms differ: the M‐form hierarchy and entry/expansion of the non‐state sector," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 1(2), pages 135-170, June.
    4. Piotroski, Joseph D. & Zhang, Tianyu, 2014. "Politicians and the IPO decision: The impact of impending political promotions on IPO activity in China," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(1), pages 111-136.
    5. Fan, Joseph P.H. & Wong, T.J. & Zhang, Tianyu, 2007. "Politically connected CEOs, corporate governance, and Post-IPO performance of China's newly partially privatized firms," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(2), pages 330-357, May.
    6. Firth, Michael & Fung, Peter M.Y. & Rui, Oliver M., 2006. "Corporate performance and CEO compensation in China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 12(4), pages 693-714, September.
    7. Xu, Mingli & Kong, Gaowen & Kong, Dongmin, 2017. "Does wage justice hamper creativity? Pay gap and firm innovation in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 186-202.
    8. Joseph D. Piotroski & T. J. Wong & Tianyu Zhang, 2015. "Political Incentives to Suppress Negative Information: Evidence from Chinese Listed Firms," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(2), pages 405-459, May.
    9. Li, Hongbin & Zhou, Li-An, 2005. "Political turnover and economic performance: the incentive role of personnel control in China," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(9-10), pages 1743-1762, September.
    10. Holger M. Mueller & Paige P. Ouimet & Elena Simintzi, 2017. "Within-Firm Pay Inequality," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 30(10), pages 3605-3635.
    11. Zhen Yu & Yao Xiao & Yuankun Li, 2020. "The Response of the Labor Force Participation Rate to an Epidemic: Evidence from a Cross-Country Analysis," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(10), pages 2390-2407, August.
    12. Hao Xiong & Zuofeng Wu & Fei Hou & Jun Zhang, 2020. "Which Firm-specific Characteristics Affect the Market Reaction of Chinese Listed Companies to the COVID-19 Pandemic?," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(10), pages 2231-2242, August.
    13. Xin Gu & Shan Ying & Weiqiang Zhang & Yewei Tao, 2020. "How Do Firms Respond to COVID-19? First Evidence from Suzhou, China," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(10), pages 2181-2197, August.
    14. Huayu Shen & Mengyao Fu & Hongyu Pan & Zhongfu Yu & Yongquan Chen, 2020. "The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Firm Performance," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(10), pages 2213-2230, August.
    15. Qian, Yingyi & Xu, Cheng-Gang, 1993. "Why China's economic reforms differ: the m-form hierarchy and entry/expansion of the non-state sector," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 3755, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    16. Rajeev K. Goel & Michael A. Nelson, 2020. "Presidential Versus Parliamentary Systems: Where Do Female Entrepreneurs Thrive?," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 101(5), pages 1773-1788, September.
    17. Rajiv D. Banker & Danlu Bu & Mihir N. Mehta, 2016. "Pay Gap and Performance in China," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 52(3), pages 501-531, September.
    18. C. T. Vidya & K. P. Prabheesh, 2020. "Implications of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Global Trade Networks," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(10), pages 2408-2421, August.
    19. Raymond Fisman, 2001. "Estimating the Value of Political Connections," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(4), pages 1095-1102, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Li, Xiao-Lin & Li, Jingya & Wang, Jia & Si, Deng-Kui, 2021. "Trade policy uncertainty, political connection and government subsidy: Evidence from Chinese energy firms," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    2. Li, Rui & Xu, Shoufu & Zhang, Yun, 2023. "Can digital transformation reduce within-firm pay inequality? Evidence from China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    3. Yuan, Sai & Zhou, Ran & Li, Mengna & Lv, Chengchao, 2023. "Investigating the influence of digital technology application on employee compensation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    4. Lou, Zhukun & Wang, Chong & Liu, Yaxin & Xu, Jing, 2023. "It takes two to tango: Impact of salary co-movement between top executives and ordinary employees on corporate innovation," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 55(PB).
    5. Yiyang Gu & Peng Wu & Lei Gao, 2024. "RETRACTED ARTICLE: Does the political promotion incentive of state-owned enterprise executives facilitate green innovation?," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 57(2), pages 1-31, April.
    6. Wang, Jinbo & Ran, Maosheng & Huang, Qing & Li, Wanli, 2022. "Nationalization of private enterprises and default risk: Evidence from mixed-ownership reform in China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 534-553.
    7. Yi, Shangkun & Wang, Jian & Wang, Xiaoting & Feng, Hongrui, 2022. "CEO political connection and stock sentiment beta: Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kong, Gaowen & Ji, Mianmian & Guo, Yuemei, 2021. "Political promotion events and energy conservation decisions: Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    2. Padhan, Rakesh & Prabheesh, K.P., 2021. "The economics of COVID-19 pandemic: A survey," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 220-237.
    3. Sui, Bo & Chang, Chun-Ping & Jang, Chyi-Lu & Gong, Qiang, 2021. "Analyzing causality between epidemics and oil prices: Role of the stock market," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 148-158.
    4. Qiankun Gu & Jeong‐Bon Kim & Ke Liao & Yi Si, 2023. "Decentralising for local information? Evidence from state‐owned listed firms in China," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(5), pages 5245-5276, December.
    5. Chen, Yin-E & Li, Chunyan & Chang, Chun-Ping & Zheng, Mingbo, 2021. "Identifying the influence of natural disasters on technological innovation," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 22-36.
    6. Kong, Dongmin & Cheng, Xu & Jiang, Xiandeng, 2021. "Effects of political promotion on local firms’ social responsibility in China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 418-429.
    7. Zhang, Chenyu & Qian, Aimin & Lou, Xu & Zhang, Guiling, 2024. "The politics of corporate social responsibility disclosure: Evidence from China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 1406-1428.
    8. Kong, Dongmin & Liu, Shasha & Xiang, Junyi, 2018. "Political promotion and labor investment efficiency," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 273-293.
    9. Fuxiu Jiang & Kenneth A Kim, 2020. "Corporate Governance in China: A Survey [The role of boards of directors in corporate governance: a conceptual framework and survey]," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 24(4), pages 733-772.
    10. Lou, Xu & Qian, Aimin & Zhang, Chenyu, 2021. "Do CEO's political promotion incentives influence the value of cash holdings: Evidence from state-owned enterprises in China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    11. Liu, Shasha & Yin, Shanshan & Yin, Chuan & Sheng, Yan, 2021. "Does the price of natural resources affect firms’ total factor productivity? Evidence from a natural experiment in China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 37-50.
    12. Gong, Min & He, Wei & Zhang, Nan, 2021. "Political promotion incentives and local employment," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 492-502.
    13. Talavera, Oleksandr & Yin, Shuxing & Zhang, Mao, 2024. "Political motives of excess leverage in state firms," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    14. Zhang, Cui, 2017. "Political connections and corporate environmental responsibility: Adopting or escaping?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 539-547.
    15. Narayan, Paresh Kumar & Devpura, Neluka & Wang, Hua, 2020. "Japanese currency and stock market—What happened during the COVID-19 pandemic?," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 191-198.
    16. Zhang, Min & Liu, Yaosong & Xie, Lu & Ye, Tingting, 2017. "Does the cutoff of “red capital” raise a red flag? Political connections and stock price crash risk," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 89-109.
    17. Chen, Yunsen & Huang, Jianqiao & Xiao, Sheng & Zhao, Ziye, 2020. "The “home bias” of corporate subsidiary locations," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    18. Huang, Zhi-xiong & Yang, Xiandong, 2021. "Carbon emissions and firm innovation," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 503-513.
    19. Sun, Rui & Zou, Ganna, 2021. "Political connection, CEO gender, and firm performance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    20. Xu, Nianhang & Chen, Qinyuan & Xu, Yan & Chan, Kam C., 2016. "Political uncertainty and cash holdings: Evidence from China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 276-295.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecanpo:v:69:y:2021:i:c:p:450-460. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/economic-analysis-and-policy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.