IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/inecon/v108y2017icp54-66.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Firm-specific exchange rate shocks and employment adjustment: Evidence from China

Author

Listed:
  • Dai, Mi
  • Xu, Jianwei

Abstract

This paper examines how exchange rate shocks affect intra-industry labor reallocation across firms. Using comprehensive Chinese firm-level data, we examine the employment response to exchange rates of firms that are heterogeneous along two dimensions: external orientation and trading partner distribution. Firm-specific effective exchange rates are constructed to accurately measure exchange rate shocks pertinent to individual firms. We find that exchange rate movements induce significant labor reallocation across firms with different degrees of external orientation and with different trading partners. Trading partner distribution is as important as external orientation in explaining firms' heterogeneous employment response to exchange rates. Compared with effective exchange rate measures at more aggregate levels, using firm-specific effective exchange rates generates estimation results more consistent with theory and substantially increases the estimated impact of exchange rates on intra-industry job reallocation.

Suggested Citation

  • Dai, Mi & Xu, Jianwei, 2017. "Firm-specific exchange rate shocks and employment adjustment: Evidence from China," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 54-66.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:inecon:v:108:y:2017:i:c:p:54-66
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jinteco.2017.05.004
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S002219961730051X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jinteco.2017.05.004?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. Nina Pavcnik, 2002. "Trade Liberalization, Exit, and Productivity Improvements: Evidence from Chilean Plants," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 69(1), pages 245-276.
    2. William H. Branson & James P. Love, 1987. "The Real Exchange Rate and Employment in U.S. Manufacturing: State and Regional Results," NBER Working Papers 2435, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. repec:eee:labchp:v:1:y:1986:i:c:p:473-522 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Burstein, Ariel & Gopinath, Gita, 2014. "International Prices and Exchange Rates," Handbook of International Economics, in: Gopinath, G. & Helpman, . & Rogoff, K. (ed.), Handbook of International Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 0, pages 391-451, Elsevier.
    5. Andrew Atkeson & Ariel Burstein, 2008. "Pricing-to-Market, Trade Costs, and International Relative Prices," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 98(5), pages 1998-2031, December.
    6. Jose Manuel Campa & Linda S. Goldberg, 2001. "Employment Versus Wage Adjustment And The U.S. Dollar," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 83(3), pages 477-489, August.
    7. Linda Goldberg & Joseph Tracy, 2000. "Exchange Rates and Local Labor Markets," NBER Chapters, in: The Impact of International Trade on Wages, pages 269-307, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Daniel S. Hamermesh & Gerard A. Pfann, 1996. "Adjustment Costs in Factor Demand," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 34(3), pages 1264-1292, September.
    9. John Haltiwanger & Scott Schuh, 1999. "Gross job flows between plants and industries," New England Economic Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, issue Mar, pages 41-64.
    10. Christian Broda & David E. Weinstein, 2006. "Globalization and the Gains From Variety," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 121(2), pages 541-585.
    11. Nicolas Berman & Philippe Martin & Thierry Mayer, 2012. "How do Different Exporters React to Exchange Rate Changes?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 127(1), pages 437-492.
    12. Klein, Michael W. & Schuh, Scott & Triest, Robert K., 2003. "Job creation, job destruction, and the real exchange rate," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(2), pages 239-265, March.
    13. Nucci, Francesco & Pozzolo, Alberto Franco, 2010. "The exchange rate, employment and hours: What firm-level data say," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(2), pages 112-123, November.
    14. Joseph Tracy & Linda Goldberg & Stephanie Aaronson, 1999. "Exchange Rates and Employment Instability: Evidence from Matched CPS Data," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(2), pages 204-210, May.
    15. Olley, G Steven & Pakes, Ariel, 1996. "The Dynamics of Productivity in the Telecommunications Equipment Industry," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 64(6), pages 1263-1297, November.
    16. Davis, Steven J. & Haltiwanger, John, 1999. "Gross job flows," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 41, pages 2711-2805, Elsevier.
    17. repec:eee:labchp:v:3:y:1999:i:pb:p:2711-2805 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Ping Hua, 2007. "Real exchange rate and manufacturing employment in China," Post-Print hal-00159151, HAL.
    19. Haltiwanger, John & Scarpetta, Stefano & Schweiger, Helena, 2014. "Cross country differences in job reallocation: The role of industry, firm size and regulations," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 11-25.
    20. Daniel A. Ackerberg & Kevin Caves & Garth Frazer, 2015. "Identification Properties of Recent Production Function Estimators," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 83, pages 2411-2451, November.
    21. Gerard A. Pfann & Franz C. Palm, 1993. "Asymmetric Adjustment Costs in Non-linear Labour Demand Models for the Netherlands and U.K. Manufacturing Sectors," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 60(2), pages 397-412.
    22. Dornbusch, Rudiger, 1987. "Exchange Rates and Prices," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 77(1), pages 93-106, March.
    23. William H. Branson & James P. Love, 1986. "Dollar Appreciation and Manufacturing Employment and Output," NBER Working Papers 1972, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    24. Mary Amiti & Oleg Itskhoki & Jozef Konings, 2014. "Importers, Exporters, and Exchange Rate Disconnect," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(7), pages 1942-1978, July.
    25. Broda, Christian & Greenfield, Joshua & Weinstein, David E., 2017. "From groundnuts to globalization: A structural estimate of trade and growth," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(4), pages 759-783.
    26. Menzie Chinn, 2006. "A Primer on Real Effective Exchange Rates: Determinants, Overvaluation, Trade Flows and Competitive Devaluation," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 115-143, January.
    27. Faggio, Giulia & Konings, Jozef, 2003. "Job creation, job destruction and employment growth in transition countries in the 90s," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 129-154, June.
    28. Burgess, Simon M & Knetter, Michael M, 1998. "An International Comparison of Employment Adjustment to Exchange Rate Fluctuations," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 6(1), pages 151-163, February.
    29. Abowd, John M. & Kramarz, Francis, 2003. "The costs of hiring and separations," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 10(5), pages 499-530, October.
    30. Jean Imbs & Isabelle Mejean, 2010. "Trade Elasticities: A Final Report for the European Commission," European Economy - Economic Papers 2008 - 2015 432, Directorate General Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), European Commission.
    31. Marc J. Melitz, 2003. "The Impact of Trade on Intra-Industry Reallocations and Aggregate Industry Productivity," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 71(6), pages 1695-1725, November.
    32. Gourinchas, Pierre-Olivier, 1999. "Exchange rates do matter: French job reallocation and exchange rate turbulence, 1984-1992," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(7), pages 1279-1316, June.
    33. Hua, Ping, 2007. "Real exchange rate and manufacturing employment in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 335-353.
    34. Li, Hongbin & Ma, Hong & Xu, Yuan, 2015. "How do exchange rate movements affect Chinese exports? — A firm-level investigation," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(1), pages 148-161.
    35. Ekholm, Karolina & Moxnes, Andreas & Ulltveit-Moe, Karen Helene, 2012. "Manufacturing restructuring and the role of real exchange rate shocks," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(1), pages 101-117.
    36. Ana L. Revenga, 1992. "Exporting Jobs?The Impact of Import Competition on Employment and Wages in U. S. Manufacturing," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 107(1), pages 255-284.
    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. Tian, Wei, 2024. "Exchange rate, distribution, and outward direct investment," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    2. Lu, Bing & Wang, Yaqi, 2024. "Multinationals' profits in China: Impact of tax avoidance," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    3. Jiazhen Ren & Apurbo Sarkar & Hong Li & Xiaojing Li, 2022. "Does the Host Country’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Restrictiveness Inhibit the Export Sophistication of the Home Country? Evidence from China’s Manufacturing Data," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-20, November.
    4. Christian Eufinger & Andrej Gill & Florian Hett, 2024. "Domestic financial conditions and MNCs’ global competitiveness: evidence from the Swiss franc shock," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 55(8), pages 1057-1068, October.
    5. Sabien Dobbelaere & Catherine Fuss & Mark Vancauteren, 2022. "Does offshoring shape labor market imperfections? A comparative analysis of Belgian and Dutch firms," Working Paper Research 425, National Bank of Belgium.
    6. Li, Yifan & Miao, Zhuang & Tuuli, Maxwell, 2022. "Exchange rate volatility and import of intermediate inputs: Evidence from Chinese firms," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 120-134.
    7. He, Xinming & Rizov, Marian & Zhang, Xufei, 2022. "Workforce size adjustment as a strategic response to exchange rate shocks: A strategy-tripod application to Chinese firms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 203-213.
    8. Dai, Mi & Nucci, Francesco & Pozzolo, Alberto F. & Xu, Jianwei, 2021. "Access to finance and the exchange rate elasticity of exports," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    9. KIKUCHI Shinnosuke & Daniel G. O'CONNOR, 2024. "The Granular Origins of Agglomeration," Discussion papers 24005, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    10. Wang, Rui & Mao, Keqi, 2024. "How does bank competition affect trade-mode transformation? Evidence from Chinese export enterprises," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    11. Li, Hongbin & Li, Lei & Ma, Hong, 2022. "China's skill-biased imports," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    12. Chun Jiang & Fan Wu, 2022. "Exchange Rates, Optimization of Industrial Resources Allocation Efficiency, and Environmental Pollution: Evidence from China Manufacturing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-19, March.
    13. Bo Gao & Jing Ma & Zheng Wang, 2021. "The employment and wage effects of export VAT rebates: evidence from China," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 157(2), pages 347-373, May.
    14. LI Zhigang & WEI Shang-Jin & ZHANG Hongyong, 2018. "Production Chains, Exchange Rate Shocks, and Firm Performance," Discussion papers 18058, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    15. Krishnan, Pramila & Gebrewolde, Tewodros & Koelle, Michael & Mengistu, Andualem Telaye, 2020. "Currency Shocks and Firm Behaviour in Ethiopia and Uganda," CEPR Discussion Papers 15524, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    16. Mao, R., 2018. "A Firm-Level Reappraisal of Real Exchange Rate Undervaluation in China s Agricultural Exports and Growth," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 276987, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    17. Liang Zhang & Bin Qiu & Xiaocong Xu & Shaoqin Sun, 2021. "Offshoring, Wages, and Skill Premiums: Firm‐level Evidence from China," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 29(5), pages 1-27, September.
    18. Izumi Yokoyama & Kazuhito Higa & Daiji Kawaguchi, 2018. "Adjustments of regular and non-regular workers to exogenous shocks: Evidence from exchange rate fluctuation," Bank of Japan Working Paper Series 18-E-2, Bank of Japan.

    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. Hu, Cui & Parsley, David & Tan, Yong, 2021. "Exchange rate induced export quality upgrading: A firm-level perspective," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 336-348.
    2. Bo Gao & Jing Ma & Zheng Wang, 2021. "The employment and wage effects of export VAT rebates: evidence from China," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 157(2), pages 347-373, May.
    3. Moser, Christoph & Urban, Dieter & di Mauro, Beatrice Weder, 2010. "International competitiveness, job creation and job destruction--An establishment-level study of German job flows," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(2), pages 302-317, March.
    4. Nucci, Francesco & Pozzolo, Alberto Franco, 2010. "The exchange rate, employment and hours: What firm-level data say," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(2), pages 112-123, November.
    5. Fernando Alexandre & Pedro Bação & João Cerejeira & Miguel Portela, 2011. "Employment and Exchange Rates: The Role of Openness and Technology," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 22(5), pages 969-984, November.
    6. Stewart Ngandu, 2008. "Exchange Rates And Employment," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 76(s2), pages 205-221, August.
    7. Campbell, Douglas L., 2020. "Relative Prices and Hysteresis: Evidence from US Manufacturing," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    8. Mai Dao & Ms. Ruo Chen, 2011. "The Real Exchange Rate and Employment in China," IMF Working Papers 2011/148, International Monetary Fund.
    9. Ekholm, Karolina & Moxnes, Andreas & Ulltveit-Moe, Karen Helene, 2012. "Manufacturing restructuring and the role of real exchange rate shocks," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(1), pages 101-117.
    10. Fernandes, Ana P. & Winters, L. Alan, 2021. "Exporters and shocks: The impact of the Brexit vote shock on bilateral exports to the UK," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    11. Ansgar Belke & Ulrich Volz, 2020. "The Yen Exchange Rate and the Hollowing Out of the Japanese Industry," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 31(2), pages 371-406, April.
    12. Bolatto, Stefano & Grazzi, Marco & Tomasi, Chiara, 2022. "Export modes and firms’ adjustments to exchange rate movements," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    13. Luigi Bonatti & Andrea Fracasso, 2012. "The costs of rebalancing the China-US co-dependency," Rivista Internazionale di Scienze Sociali, Vita e Pensiero, Pubblicazioni dell'Universita' Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, vol. 120(1), pages 59-106.
    14. Fieler, Ana Cecília & Harrison, Ann E., 2023. "Escaping import competition in China," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    15. Winters, L Alan & Fernandes, Ana P., 2018. "The effect of exchange rate shocks on firm-level exports: evidence from the Brexit vote," CEPR Discussion Papers 13253, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    16. Hoekman & Bernard & Winters, L. Alan, 2005. "Trade and employment : stylized facts and research findings," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3676, The World Bank.
    17. Haltiwanger, John & Kugler, Adriana & Kugler, Maurice & Micco, Alejandro & Pagés, Carmen, 2004. "Effects of tariffs and real exchange rates on job reallocation: evidence from Latin America," Discussion Paper Series In Economics And Econometrics 0410, Economics Division, School of Social Sciences, University of Southampton.
    18. Huang, Xiaobing, 2017. "Exchange rate movements and export market dynamics: Evidence from China," Economics Discussion Papers 2017-13, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    19. Guilloux-Nefussi, Sophie, 2020. "Globalization, market structure and inflation dynamics," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    20. Fernando Alexandre & Pedro Bação & João Cerejeira & Miguel Portela, 2017. "Exchange Rates, Employment and Labour Market Rigidity," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(5), pages 993-1011, May.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Exchange rate; Labor reallocation; Export; Import;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • F16 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Labor Market Interactions
    • F31 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - Foreign Exchange

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:inecon:v:108:y:2017:i:c:p:54-66. 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.elsevier.com/locate/inca/505552 .

    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.