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Wage, foreign-owned firms, and productivity spillovers via labour turnover: a non-linear analysis based on Chinese firm-level data

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  • Youxing Huang
  • Yan Zhang

Abstract

Using firm-level panel data from Chinese manufacturing firms over the period 2004–2007, this article investigates the impact of the wage gap between local and foreign-owned firms on foreign direct investment (FDI) spillovers in terms of total factor productivity (TFP). We find a non-linear threshold effect that: a low-level wage gap threshold exists, below which FDI spillovers are significantly negative. This is because FDI spillovers via labour turnover are blocked due to the low wages of local firms, which jeopardizes the flow of skilled workers from foreign firms to local firms. In contrast, when the wage gap reaches a high-level threshold, local firms can get benefits from FDI spillovers. The reason is that high wages of local firms attract skilled employees to leave foreign firms, which yields a large magnitude of worker mobility from foreign firms to local firms. Our article provides evidence that labour turnover as the channel of FDI spillovers only works when the wage gap is beyond some threshold. Also, these thresholds vary across regions and firm ownerships.

Suggested Citation

  • Youxing Huang & Yan Zhang, 2017. "Wage, foreign-owned firms, and productivity spillovers via labour turnover: a non-linear analysis based on Chinese firm-level data," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(20), pages 1994-2010, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:applec:v:49:y:2017:i:20:p:1994-2010
    DOI: 10.1080/00036846.2016.1231899
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    Cited by:

    1. Huiying Zhang & Yikang Liu, 2022. "Do Foreign Direct Investment and Migration Influence the Sustainable Development of Outward Foreign Direct Investment? From the Perspective of Intellectual Property Rights Protection," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-18, April.
    2. Huang, Youxing & Zhang, Yan, 2017. "How does outward foreign direct investment enhance firm productivity? A heterogeneous empirical analysis from Chinese manufacturing," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 1-15.
    3. Hien T. N. Huynh & Phuong V. Nguyen & Hoa D. X. Trieu & Khoa T. Tran, 2021. "Productivity Spillover from FDI to Domestic Firms across Six Regions in Vietnam," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(1), pages 59-75, January.
    4. Wan, Guanghua & Zhang, Yan, 2018. "The direct and indirect effects of infrastructure on firm productivity: Evidence from Chinese manufacturing," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 143-153.
    5. Aurora A. C. Teixeira & Ana Sofia Loureiro, 2019. "FDI, income inequality and poverty: a time series analysis of Portugal, 1973–2016," Portuguese Economic Journal, Springer;Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestao, vol. 18(3), pages 203-249, October.
    6. Bayari, Celal, 2018. "Economy and Market in China: The State, Wage Labour and the Construction of the ‘China Price’," MPRA Paper 100900, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 04 Mar 2018.

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