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Does Ethnicity Pay? Evidence from Overseas Chinese FDI in China

Author

Listed:
  • Yasheng Huang

    (MIT Sloan School of Management)

  • Li Jin

    (Harvard Business School)

  • Yi Qian

    (Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University)

Abstract

Most of the economic analyses of the overseas Chinese network focus on trade and investment flows at the country level. In this paper, we analyze the effects of the ethnic Chinese network at the firm level. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, we find that ethnic Chinese FDI firms in China in fact underperform nonethnic Chinese FDI firms. We also find that the performance of ethnic Chinese firms deteriorates over time. We present evidence consistent with the hypothesis that ethnic Chinese firms underinvest in those firm attributes that may contribute to long-term performance, such as human capital and technology. Our findings raise both empirical and normative implications of ethnic ties. © 2013 The President and Fellows of Harvard College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Suggested Citation

  • Yasheng Huang & Li Jin & Yi Qian, 2013. "Does Ethnicity Pay? Evidence from Overseas Chinese FDI in China," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 95(3), pages 868-883, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:tpr:restat:v:95:y:2013:i:3:p:868-883
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Ejaz Ghani & William R. Kerr & Christopher Stanton, 2014. "Diasporas and Outsourcing: Evidence from oDesk and India," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 60(7), pages 1677-1697, July.
    2. Wang, Jian & Wang, Xiao, 2015. "Benefits of foreign ownership: Evidence from foreign direct investment in China," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(2), pages 325-338.
    3. C. Fritz Foley & William R. Kerr, 2013. "Ethnic Innovation and U.S. Multinational Firm Activity," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 59(7), pages 1529-1544, July.
    4. Sari Pekkala Kerr & William R. Kerr, 2018. "Global Collaborative Patents," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 128(612), pages 235-272, July.
    5. Huang, Wei & Goodell, John W. & Goyal, Abhinav, 2021. "In times of crisis does ownership matter? Liquidity extraction through dividends during the 2007–2009 financial crisis," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    6. Bengtsson, Ola & Hsu, David H., 2015. "Ethnic matching in the U.S. venture capital market," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 338-354.
    7. repec:zbw:bofrdp:2017_003 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Yoonseok Lee & Mary E. Lovely & Hoang Pham, 2023. "Dynamic and non‐neutral productivity effects of foreign ownership: A nonparametric approach," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 38(1), pages 24-48, January.
    9. Yao, Yao & Chen, George S. & Zhang, Lin, 2021. "Local financial intermediation and foreign direct investment: Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 198-216.
    10. Jackie M. L. Chan & Huanhuan Zheng, 2022. "FDI on the move: cross-border M&A and migrant networks," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 158(3), pages 947-985, August.
    11. Gerald Yong Gao & Danny Tan Wang & Yi Che, 2018. "Impact of historical conflict on FDI location and performance: Japanese investment in China," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 49(8), pages 1060-1080, October.
    12. Sari Pekkala Kerr & William R. Kerr, 2018. "Global Collaborative Patents," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 128(612), pages 235-272, July.
    13. Qiliang, Mao & Xianzhuang, Mao, 2024. "The shaping of inter-regional industrial linkages by institutional and cultural division in China: Characteristics and differences," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 1113-1132.
    14. Zhu, Hua & Cantwell, John & Jia, Fei & Wang, Chengqi, 2023. "Location choice of Chinese outward FDI – An ethnicity-based population ecology perspective," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 29(1).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ethnicity; relationship; foreign direct investment; performance; intangible assets;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business

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