IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/iza/izadps/dp12170.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Labor Market Dynamics in Urban China and the Role of the State Sector

Author

Listed:
  • Feng, Shuaizhang

    (Shanghai University of Finance and Economics)

  • Guo, Naijia

    (Chinese University of Hong Kong)

Abstract

This paper studies the effect of state-owned enterprises on the dynamics of the Chinese urban labor market. Using longitudinal monthly panel data, we document very low dynamics in the labor market, especially in the state sector. We develop and calibrate an equilibrium search and matching model with three differences between the state and the non-state sector: labor productivity, labor adjustment cost, and workers' bargaining power. Counterfactual analysis shows that the lack of dynamics is mainly driven by the strong bargaining power of state-sector workers. Eliminating the differences between the two sectors substantially reduces the unemployment rate and long-term unemployment rate.

Suggested Citation

  • Feng, Shuaizhang & Guo, Naijia, 2019. "Labor Market Dynamics in Urban China and the Role of the State Sector," IZA Discussion Papers 12170, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp12170
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://docs.iza.org/dp12170.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Knight, John & Yueh, Linda, 2004. "Job mobility of residents and migrants in urban China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 637-660, December.
    2. Pierre Cahuc & Fabien Postel-Vinay & Jean-Marc Robin, 2006. "Wage Bargaining with On-the-Job Search: Theory and Evidence," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 74(2), pages 323-364, March.
    3. Chang-Tai Hsieh & Zheng (Michael) Song, 2015. "Grasp the Large, Let Go of the Small: The Transformation of the State Sector in China," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 50(1 (Spring), pages 295-366.
    4. Christopher A. Pissarides & Barbara Petrongolo, 2001. "Looking into the Black Box: A Survey of the Matching Function," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 39(2), pages 390-431, June.
    5. Costas Meghir & Renata Narita & Jean-Marc Robin, 2015. "Wages and Informality in Developing Countries," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(4), pages 1509-1546, April.
    6. Suqin Ge & Dennis Tao Yang, 2014. "Changes In China'S Wage Structure," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 12(2), pages 300-336, April.
    7. James Albrecht & Lucas Navarro & Susan Vroman, 2009. "The Effects of Labour Market Policies in an Economy with an Informal Sector," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 119(539), pages 1105-1129, July.
    8. Yann Algan & Pierre Cahuc & André Zylberberg, 2002. "Public employment and labour market performance [‘On the benefits from rigid labour markets: Norms, market failures and social insurances’]," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 17(34), pages 7-66.
    9. Shuaizhang Feng & Yingyao Hu, 2013. "Misclassification Errors and the Underestimation of the US Unemployment Rate," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(2), pages 1054-1070, April.
    10. Jake Bradley & Fabien Postel-Vinay & Hélène Turon, 2017. "Public Sector Wage Policy and Labor Market Equilibrium: A Structural Model," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 15(6), pages 1214-1257.
    11. Dong, Xiao-yuan & Bowles, Paul, 2002. "Segmentation and discrimination in China's emerging industrial labor market," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 13(2-3), pages 170-196.
    12. Loren Brandt & Xiaodong Zhu, 2000. "Redistribution in a Decentralized Economy: Growth and Inflation in China under Reform," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 108(2), pages 422-451, April.
    13. James Albrecht & Monica Robayo-Abril & Susan Vroman, 2019. "Public-sector Employment in an Equilibrium Search and Matching Model," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 129(617), pages 35-61.
    14. Vincenzo Quadrini & Antonella Trigari, 2007. "Public Employment and the Business Cycle," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 109(4), pages 723-742, December.
    15. Appleton, Simon & Knight, John & Song, Lina & Xia, Qingjie, 2002. "Labor retrenchment in China: Determinants and consequences," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 13(2-3), pages 252-275.
    16. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/dc0ckec3fcb29ms9850c12h1p is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Christopher A. Pissarides, 2000. "Equilibrium Unemployment Theory, 2nd Edition," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262161877, April.
    18. Brandt, Loren & Zhu, Xiaodong, 2001. "Soft budget constraint and inflation cycles: a positive model of the macro-dynamics in China during transition," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(2), pages 437-457, April.
    19. Zheng Song & Kjetil Storesletten & Fabrizio Zilibotti, 2011. "Growing Like China," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(1), pages 196-233, February.
    20. Hongbin Cai & Yuyu Chen & Li-An Zhou, 2010. "Income and Consumption Inequality in Urban China: 1992-2003," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 58(3), pages 385-413, April.
    21. Démurger, Sylvie & Li, Shi & Yang, Juan, 2012. "Earnings differentials between the public and private sectors in China: Exploring changes for urban local residents in the 2000s," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 138-153.
    22. Loren Brandt & Trevor Tombe & Xiadong Zhu, 2013. "Factor Market Distortions Across Time, Space, and Sectors in China," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 16(1), pages 39-58, January.
    23. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/4ra95789n9nrr59b6lmini6tp is not listed on IDEAS
    24. Robert Shimer, 2006. "On-the-Job Search and Strategic Bargaining," Contributions to Economic Analysis, in: Structural Models of Wage and Employment Dynamics, pages 37-59, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    25. Loren Brandt & Trevor Tombe & Xiadong Zhu, 2013. "Factor Market Distortions Across Time, Space, and Sectors in China," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 16(1), pages 39-58, January.
    26. Pascal Michaillat, 2014. "A Theory of Countercyclical Government Multiplier," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 6(1), pages 190-217, January.
    27. Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 1994. "Politicians and Firms," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 109(4), pages 995-1025.
    28. Chang-Tai Hsieh & Zheng (Michael) Song, 2015. "Grasp the Large, Let Go of the Small: The Transformation of the State Sector in China," NBER Working Papers 21006, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    29. Knight, John & Li, Shi, 2006. "Unemployment duration and earnings of re-employed workers in urban China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 103-119.
    30. Pedro Gomes, 2015. "Optimal Public Sector Wages," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 125(587), pages 1425-1451, September.
    31. Dong, Xiao-Yuan & Putterman, Louis, 2003. "Soft budget constraints, social burdens, and labor redundancy in China's state industry," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 110-133, March.
    32. Bosch, Mariano & Esteban-Pretel, Julen, 2012. "Job creation and job destruction in the presence of informal markets," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(2), pages 270-286.
    33. Daniel Berkowitz & Hong Ma & Shuichiro Nishioka, 2017. "Recasting the Iron Rice Bowl: The Reform of China's State-Owned Enterprises," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 99(4), pages 735-747, July.
    34. Russell Cooper & Guan Gong & Ping Yan, 2015. "Dynamic labor demand in China: public and private objectives," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 46(3), pages 577-610, September.
    35. Johannes Hörner & L. Rachel Ngai & Claudia Olivetti, 2007. "Public Enterprises And Labor Market Performance," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 48(2), pages 363-384, May.
    36. Feng, Shuaizhang & Hu, Yingyao & Moffitt, Robert, 2017. "Long run trends in unemployment and labor force participation in urban China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 304-324.
    37. Xiaodong Zhu, 2012. "Understanding China's Growth: Past, Present, and Future," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 26(4), pages 103-124, Fall.
    38. Xin Meng, 2012. "Labor Market Outcomes and Reforms in China," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 26(4), pages 75-102, Fall.
    39. Guofu Tan & Justin Yifu Lin, 1999. "Policy Burdens, Accountability, and the Soft Budget Constraint," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(2), pages 426-431, May.
    40. Chang-Tai Hsieh & Zheng (Michael) Song, 2015. "Grasp the Large, Let Go of the Small: The Transformation of the State Sector in China," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 46(1 (Spring), pages 295-366.
    41. Yang Yao & Ninghua Zhong, 2013. "Unions and Workers' Welfare in Chinese Firms," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 31(3), pages 633-667.
    42. Robert Shimer, 2005. "The Cyclical Behavior of Equilibrium Unemployment and Vacancies," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(1), pages 25-49, March.
    43. Pissarides, Christopher A, 1988. "The Search Equilibrium Approach to Fluctuations in Employment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 78(2), pages 363-368, May.
    44. Gordon, Roger H. & Li, David D., 1999. "The effects of wage distortions on the transition:: Theory and evidence from China," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(1), pages 163-183, January.
    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. Jiang, Kun & Wang, Susheng, 2022. "Internal labor markets with two types of promotion and two tiers of salary: theory and evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).

    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. Shuaizhang Feng & Naijia Guo, 2019. "Labor Market Dynamics in Urban China and the Role of the State Sector," Working Papers 2019-008, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    2. Feng, Shuaizhang & Guo, Naijia, 2021. "Labor market dynamics in urban China and the role of the state sector," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(4), pages 918-932.
    3. Daniel Berkowitz, 2020. "Declining Market Competition in China," Working Paper 6897, Department of Economics, University of Pittsburgh.
    4. Jofre-Monseny, Jordi & Silva, José I. & Vázquez-Grenno, Javier, 2020. "Local labor market effects of public employment," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    5. Daniel Berkowitz, 2018. "Market Distortions and Labor Share Distributions: Evidence from Chinese Manufacturing Firms," Working Paper 6466, Department of Economics, University of Pittsburgh.
    6. Geromichalos, Athanasios & Kospentaris, Ioannis, 2022. "The unintended consequences of meritocratic government hiring," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    7. Lucas Navarro & Mauricio Tejada, 2022. "Does Public Sector Employment Buffer the Minimum Wage Effects?," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 43, pages 168-196, January.
    8. Zheng Liu & Pengfei Wang & Zhiwei Xu, 2021. "Interest Rate Liberalization and Capital Misallocations," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 13(2), pages 373-419, April.
    9. Bhatt, Vipul & Liao, Mouhua & Zhao, Min Qiang, 2023. "Government policy and land price dynamics: A quantitative assessment of China’s factor market reforms," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    10. Tang, Le, 2022. "The dynamic demand for capital and labor: Evidence from Chinese industrial firms," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    11. Kritkorn Nawakitphaitoon & Xuan Chen & Yuhao Ge, 2016. "State and Non-state Earnings Differentials over Time in China’s Urban Labor Market: Evidence from the Urban Household Survey (1994–2007)," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 37(3), pages 287-316, September.
    12. Shang-Jin Wei & Zhuan Xie & Xiaobo Zhang, 2017. "From "Made in China" to "Innovated in China": Necessity, Prospect, and Challenges," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 31(1), pages 49-70, Winter.
    13. Clement Imbert & Marlon Seror & Yifan Zhang & Yanos Zylberberg, 2022. "Migrants and Firms: Evidence from China," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 112(6), pages 1885-1914, June.
    14. repec:zbw:bofitp:2021_015 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Fontaine, Idriss & Gálvez-Iniesta, Ismael & Gomes, Pedro & Vila-Martin, Diego, 2020. "Labour market flows: Accounting for the public sector," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    16. Pedro Gomes, 2009. "Labour market effects of public sector employment and wages," 2009 Meeting Papers 313, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    17. Yi Huang & Marco Pagano & Ugo Panizza, 2020. "Local Crowding‐Out in China," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 75(6), pages 2855-2898, December.
    18. Tang, Le, 2021. "Investment dynamics and capital distortion: State and non-state firms in China," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    19. David Autor & David Dorn & Gordon Hanson, 2021. "On the Persistence of the China Shock," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 52(2 (Fall)), pages 381-476.
    20. Daniel Berkowitz & Hong Ma & Shuichiro Nishioka, 2017. "Recasting the Iron Rice Bowl: The Reform of China's State-Owned Enterprises," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 99(4), pages 735-747, July.
    21. Fabrizio Zilibotti, 2017. "Growing and Slowing Down Like China," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 15(5), pages 943-988.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    China; search and matching; labor market dynamics; state sector; long-term unemployment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search
    • J45 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Public Sector Labor Markets
    • P23 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies - - - Factor and Product Markets; Industry Studies; Population

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:iza:izadps:dp12170. 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: Holger Hinte (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/izaaade.html .

    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.