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The Legacies of the Soviet Influence in the 1950s: China's 156 Major Industrial Projects

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  • Jin, Zhangfeng

Abstract

This paper investigates whether and how China's adoption of Soviet-aided industrialization programs in the 1950s has affected its long-run innovation. Focusing on 156 major industrial projects aided by the Soviet Union, combined with an instrumental variable approach, I find that the adoption of these programs substantially discourages local firms to innovate in the long run. A causal mediation analysis of instrumental variable settings shows that the negative effect is entirely driven by local firms' lower intensity of incentive pay. This evidence suggests disadvantages of Soviet-aided industrialization programs for long-run innovation due to firms adopting incentive-incompatible management technology.

Suggested Citation

  • Jin, Zhangfeng, 2021. "The Legacies of the Soviet Influence in the 1950s: China's 156 Major Industrial Projects," GLO Discussion Paper Series 932, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:glodps:932
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    1. Hu, Zhi-An & Li, Jinghong & Nie, Zhuo, 2023. "Long Live friendship? The long-term impact of Soviet aid on Sino-Russian trade," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Soviet Aid; Technology Transfers; Incentive Pay; Innovation; China;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O10 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - General
    • O30 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - General
    • L20 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - General
    • M52 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Compensation and Compensation Methods and Their Effects

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