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Gains from trade or from catching-up? Value creation and distribution in the era of China’s WTO accession

Author

Listed:
  • Giovanni Dosi

    (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna)

  • Maria Enrica Virgillito

    (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna)

  • Xiaodan Yu

    (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna
    Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
    University of Nottingham Ningbo China)

Abstract

In this article we focus on the role of exports in Chinese economic development in the era of WTO accession. We address a series of different, although connected, questions. First, do Chinese exporting and non-exporting firms differ in terms of their productivity performance and paid wages? Second, to what extent exporting and non-exporting firms have contributed to the process of convergence and catching-up? Third, does the productivity-wage pass-through differ between exporting and non-exporting firms? Overall our findings downplay the role of exporting firms as both carriers of labor productivity and wage growth for the Chinese economy. In this respect, “gains from catching-up” outweigh any “gain from trade”.

Suggested Citation

  • Giovanni Dosi & Maria Enrica Virgillito & Xiaodan Yu, 2023. "Gains from trade or from catching-up? Value creation and distribution in the era of China’s WTO accession," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 13(1), pages 119-166, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:eurasi:v:13:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1007_s40821-022-00212-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s40821-022-00212-5
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    Cited by:

    1. Julien Hanoteau, 2023. "Do foreign MNEs alleviate multidimensional poverty in developing countries?," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 13(4), pages 719-749, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Export; Wage; Productivity; Trade; Event studies;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L6 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Manufacturing
    • F16 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Labor Market Interactions
    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

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