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The Impact of State-Owned Enterprises on China’s Economic Growth

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  • Hao Qi
  • David M. Kotz

Abstract

This paper considers the impact of state-owned enterprises on economic growth in China. We consider several possible channels through which state-owned enterprises might play a pro-growth role: first, stabilizing growth in economic downturns by carrying out massive investments; second, promoting technical progress by investing in riskier areas of technology; third, by following a high-road approach to treating workers by paying a living wage which is favorable for China to move toward a more sustainable growth model in the future. Our empirical analysis finds that a higher share of state-owned enterprises is favorable to long-run growth and tends to offset the adverse effect of economic downturns on the regional level. JEL Classification : E11, O47, P31

Suggested Citation

  • Hao Qi & David M. Kotz, 2020. "The Impact of State-Owned Enterprises on China’s Economic Growth," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 52(1), pages 96-114, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:reorpe:v:52:y:2020:i:1:p:96-114
    DOI: 10.1177/0486613419857249
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    state-owned enterprises; economic growth; stabilizer; Chinese economy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E11 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General Aggregative Models - - - Marxian; Sraffian; Kaleckian
    • O47 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Empirical Studies of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence
    • P31 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions - - - Socialist Enterprises and Their Transitions

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