The impact of environmental regulations on corporate productivity via import behaviour: the case of China’s manufacturing corporations
Tóm tắt
With the widespread implementation of environmental regulations worldwide, their impact on corporate productivity has received increasing attention. Current studies primarily examined the impact of environmental regulations on corporate productivity from the mediating effect of innovation and failed to consider the mediating effect of import behaviour. We scrutinised the relationship between the stringency of environmental regulations and the quality of imported products, and its effects on corporate productivity, in the case of China’s manufacturing corporations. Moreover, we analysed the heterogeneity of these effects from the perspective of ownership and location. The findings show that the increasing stringency of environmental regulations prompts corporations to improve the quality of imported products rather than to transfer polluting industries; thus, it does not pose a threat to the environment of neighbouring countries. Besides, the increasing stringency of environmental regulations also leads to learning effects and improvements in imported product quality, thereby increasing corporate productivity. Finally, the effects of the interaction between environmental regulations and import behaviour on corporate productivity are heterogeneous, as they depend on the type of ownership and corporate location. Therefore, the focus on import behaviour improves the current understanding and contributes a heuristic investigation to the current debate on the relationship between environmental regulations, import behaviour, and corporate productivity.
Tài liệu tham khảo
Agarwal, R., & Audretsch, D. B. (2001). Does entry size matter? The impact of the life cycle and technology on firm survival. The Journal of Industrial Economics, 49(1), 21–43.
Aiken, L. S., & West, S. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Sage Publications Inc.
Albrizio, S., Kozluk, T., & Zipperer, V. (2017). Environmental policies and productivity growth: Evidence across industries and firms. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 81, 209–226. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2016.06.002
Anderson, J. E., & van Wincoop, E. (2004). Trade costs. Journal of Economic Literature, 42(3), 691–751. https://doi.org/10.1257/0022051042177649
Arora, S., & Gangopadhyay, S. (1995). Toward a theoretical model of voluntary overcompliance. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 28(3), 289–309.
Asker, J., Collard-Wexler, A., & Loecker, J. D. (2014). Dynamic inputs and resource (mis)allocation. Journal of Political Economy, 122(5), 1013–1063. https://doi.org/10.1086/677072
Atherton, A. (2008). From “fat pigs” and “red hats” to a “new social stratum”: The changing face of enterprise development policy in China. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 15(4), 640–655. https://doi.org/10.1108/14626000810917771
Augier, P., Cadot, O., & Dovis, M. (2013). Imports and TFP at the firm level: The role of absorptive capacity. Canadian Journal of Economics, 46(3), 956–981. https://doi.org/10.1111/caje.12034
Bajona, C., & Chu, T. (2010). Reforming state owned enterprises in China: Effects of WTO accession. Review of Economic Dynamics, 13(4), 800–823.
Bartelsman, E. J., & Doms, M. (2000). Understanding productivity: Lessons from longitudinal microdata. Journal of Economic Literature, 38(3), 569–594. https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.38.3.569
Bartelsman, E., Haltiwanger, J., & Scarpetta, S. (2013). Cross-country differences in productivity: The role of allocation and selection. American Economic Review, 103(1), 305–334. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.103.1.305
Becker, R. A. (2011). Local environmental regulation and plant-level productivity. Ecological Economics, 70(12), 2516–2522.
Blalock, G., & Veloso, F. M. (2007). Imports, productivity growth, and supply chain learning. World Development, 35(7), 1134–1151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2006.10.009
Bloom, N., Draca, M., & Van Reenen, J. (2015). Trade induced technical change? The impact of Chinese imports on innovation, IT and productivity. The Review of Economic Studies, 83(1), 87–117. https://doi.org/10.1093/restud/rdv039
Brandt, L., Van Biesebroeck, J., & Zhang, Y. (2012). Creative accounting or creative destruction? Firm-level productivity growth in Chinese manufacturing. Journal of Development Economics, 97(2), 339–351. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2011.02.002
Broda, C., Greenfield, J., & Weinstein, D. E. (2017). From groundnuts to globalization: A structural estimate of trade and growth. Research in Economics, 71(4), 759–783. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rie.2017.10.001
Cai, F., Wang, D., & Du, Y. (2002). Regional disparity and economic growth in China: The impact of labor market distortions. China Economic Review, 13(2–3), 197–212.
Cameron, G., Proudman, J., & Redding, S. (2005). Technological convergence, R&D, trade and productivity growth. European Economic Review, 49(3), 775–807.
Chen, Z., Zhang, J., & Zheng, W. (2017). Import and innovation: Evidence from Chinese firms. European Economic Review, 94, 205–220.
Cheng, Z., Li, L., & Liu, J. (2017). The emissions reduction effect and technical progress effect of environmental regulation policy tools. Journal of Cleaner Production, 149, 191–205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.02.105
China General Administration of Customs (2015) 'China Customs Import and Export Database' China General Administration of Customs. Beijing. Available at: http://www.resset.cn.
Cole, M. A. (2004). Trade, the pollution haven hypothesis and the environmental Kuznets curve: Examining the linkages. Ecological Economics, 48(1), 71–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2003.09.007
Cole, M. A., & Elliott, R. J. R. (2003). Do environmental regulations influence trade patterns? Testing old and new trade theories. World Economy, 26(8), 1163–1186.
Cooke, F. (2005). Vocational and enterprise training in China: Policy, practice and prospect. Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy, 10(1), 26–55.
Córdoba-Pachón, J. R., Garde-Sánchez, R., & Rodríguez-Bolívar, M. P. (2014). A systemic view of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Knowledge and Process Management, 21(3), 206–219.
Ederington, J., Levinson, A., & Minier, J. (2005). Footloose and pollution-free. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 87(1), 92–99. https://doi.org/10.1162/0034653053327658
Fan, H., Li, Y. A., & Yeaple, S. R. (2015). Trade liberalization, quality, and export prices. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 97(5), 1033–1051.
Garicano, L., Lelarge, C., & Van Reenen, J. (2016). Firm size distortions and the productivity distribution: Evidence from France. American Economic Review, 106(11), 3439–3479.
Ghosal, V., Stephan, A., & Weiss, J. F. (2019). Decentralized environmental regulations and plant-level productivity. Business Strategy and the Environment. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2297
Girma, S., & Gong, Y. (2008). FDI, linkages and the efficiency of state-owned enterprises in China. The Journal of Development Studies, 44(5), 728–749.
Gonchar, K., & Kuznetsov, B. (2018). How import integration changes firms’ decisions to innovate. The Annals of Regional Science, 60(3), 501–528.
Gutiérrez, E., & Teshima, K. (2018). Abatement expenditures, technology choice, and environmental performance: Evidence from firm responses to import competition in Mexico. Journal of Development Economics, 133, 264–274.
Hallak, J. C., & Sivadasan, J. (2013). Product and process productivity: Implications for quality choice and conditional exporter premia. Journal of International Economics, 91(1), 53–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinteco.2013.05.001
Halpern, L., Koren, M., & Szeidl, A. (2015). Imported inputs and productivity. American Economic Review, 105(12), 3660–3703. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20150443
Hamamoto, M. (2006). Environmental regulation and the productivity of Japanese manufacturing industries. Resource and Energy Economics, 28(4), 299–312.
Head, K., & Ries, J. (2001). increasing returns versus national product differentiation as an explanation for the pattern of U.S.-Canada trade. American Economic Review, 91(4), 858–876. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.91.4.858
Helpman, E. (1981). International trade in the presence of product differentiation, economies of scale and monopolistic competition: A Chamberlin-Heckscher-Ohlin approach. Journal of International Economics, 11(3), 305–340. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-1996(81)90001-5
Hering, L., & Poncet, S. (2014). Environmental policy and exports: Evidence from Chinese cities. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 68(2), 296–318. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2014.06.005
Hofman, P. S., Moon, J., & Wu, B. (2017). Corporate social responsibility under authoritarian capitalism: Dynamics and prospects of state-led and society-driven CSR. Business & Society, 56(5), 651–671. https://doi.org/10.1177/0007650315623014
Hsieh, C.-T., & Klenow, P. J. (2009). Misallocation and manufacturing TFP in China and India. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 124(4), 1403–1448. https://doi.org/10.1162/qjec.2009.124.4.1403
Huang, J., Cai, X., Huang, S., Tian, S., & Lei, H. (2019). Technological factors and total factor productivity in China: Evidence based on a panel threshold model. China Economic Review, 54, 271–285.
Hummels, D., Jørgensen, R., Munch, J., & Xiang, C. (2014). The wage effects of offshoring: Evidence from Danish matched worker-firm data. American Economic Review, 104(6), 1597–1629. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.104.6.1597
Johnstone, N., Managi, S., Rodríguez, M. C., Haščič, I., Fujii, H., & Souchier, M. (2017). Environmental policy design, innovation and efficiency gains in electricity generation. Energy Economics, 63, 106–115.
Kasahara, H., & Lapham, B. (2013). Productivity and the decision to import and export: Theory and evidence. Journal of International Economics, 89(2), 297–316. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinteco.2012.08.005
Khandelwal, A. (2010). The long and short (of) quality ladders. The Review of Economic Studies, 77(4), 1450–1476.
Lall, S. (1992). Technological capabilities and industrialization. World Development, 20(2), 165–186.
Lanoie, P., Laurent-Lucchetti, J., Johnstone, N., & Ambec, S. (2011). Environmental policy, innovation and performance: New insights on the Porter hypothesis. Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, 20(3), 803–842.
Lanoie, P., Patry, M., & Lajeunesse, R. (2008). Environmental regulation and productivity: Testing the porter hypothesis. Journal of Productivity Analysis, 30(2), 121–128.
Leffler, K. B. (1982). Ambiguous changes in product quality. The American Economic Review, 72(5), 956–967.
Li, D., Zheng, M., Cao, C., Chen, X., Ren, S., & Huang, M. (2017). The impact of legitimacy pressure and corporate profitability on green innovation: Evidence from China top 100. Journal of Cleaner Production, 141, 41–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.08.123
Liu, X., & Buck, T. (2007). Innovation performance and channels for international technology spillovers: Evidence from Chinese high-tech industries. Research Policy, 36(3), 355–366. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2006.12.003
Long, C., & Zhang, X. (2011). Cluster-based industrialization in China: Financing and performance. Journal of International Economics, 84(1), 112–123.
Majumdar, S. K. (1997). The impact of size and age on firm-level performance: Some evidence from India. Review of Industrial Organization, 12(2), 231–241. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007766324749
Megginson, W. L. (2017). Privatization, state capitalism, and state ownership of business in the 21st century. Foundations and Trends in Finance, 11(1–2), 1–153.
Moretti, E. (2004). Workers’ education, spillovers, and productivity: Evidence from plant-level production functions. American Economic Review, 94(3), 656–690.
Naegele, H., & Zaklan, A. (2019). Does the EU ETS cause carbon leakage in European manufacturing? Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 93, 125–147.
National Bureau of Statistics of China (2018) 'China Industrial Enterprise Database' National Bureau of Statistics of China. 1998–2013. Beijing. Available at: http://162.105.134.150.
National Bureau of Statistics of China. (2002). China City Statistical Yearbook 2002. China Statistics Press.
National Bureau of Statistics of China. (2003). China City Statistical Yearbook 2003. China Statistics Press.
National Bureau of Statistics of China. (2004). China City Statistical Yearbook 2004. China Statistics Press.
National Bureau of Statistics of China. (2005). China City Statistical Yearbook 2005. China Statistics Press.
National Bureau of Statistics of China. (2006). China City Statistical Yearbook 2006. China Statistics Press.
National Bureau of Statistics of China. (2007). China City Statistical Yearbook 2007. China Statistics Press.
Nickell, S., & Nicolitsas, D. (1999). How does financial pressure affect firms? European Economic Review, 43(8), 1435–1456.
Olley, G. S., & Pakes, A. (1996). The dynamics of productivity in the telecommunications equipment industry. Econometrica, 64(6), 1263–1297.
Pan, X., Ai, B., Li, C., Pan, X., & Yan, Y. (2017). Dynamic relationship among environmental regulation, technological innovation and energy efficiency based on large scale provincial panel data in China. Technological Forecasting and Social Change.
Peters, B., Riley, R., Siedschlag, I., Vahter, P., & McQuinn, J. (2018). Internationalisation, innovation and productivity in services: Evidence from Germany, Ireland and the United Kingdom. Review of World Economics, 154(3), 585–615.
Piveteau, P., & Smagghue, G. (2019). Estimating firm product quality using trade data. Journal of International Economics, 118, 217–232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinteco.2019.02.005
Porter, M., & Van der Linde, C. (1995). Green and competitive: Ending the stalemate. Harvard Business Review, 73(5), 120–134.
Qian, G., Liu, B., & Wang, Q. (2018). Government subsidies, state ownership, regulatory infrastructure, and the import of strategic resources: Evidence from China. Multinational Business Review, 26(4), 319–336. https://doi.org/10.1108/MBR-10-2017-0080
Ren, S., Li, X., Yuan, B., Li, D., & Chen, X. (2018). The effects of three types of environmental regulation on eco-efficiency: A cross-region analysis in China. Journal of Cleaner Production, 173, 245–255. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.08.113
Rizov, M., & Zhang, X. (2014). Regional disparities and productivity in China: Evidence from manufacturing micro data. Papers in Regional Science, 93(2), 321–339.
Rubashkina, Y., Galeotti, M., & Verdolini, E. (2015). Environmental regulation and competitiveness: Empirical evidence on the Porter Hypothesis from European manufacturing sectors. Energy Policy, 83, 288–300.
Shang, L., Tan, D., Feng, S., & Zhou, W. (2021). Environmental regulation, import trade, and green technology innovation. Environmental Science and Pollution Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-13490-9
Shao, S., Tian, Z., & Fan, M. (2018). Do the rich have stronger willingness to pay for environmental protection? New evidence from a survey in China. World Development, 105, 83–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2017.12.033
Shi, X., & Xu, Z. (2018). Environmental regulation and firm exports: Evidence from the eleventh Five-Year Plan in China. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 89, 187–200. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2018.03.003
Tang, D., Tang, J., Xiao, Z., Ma, T., & Bethel, B. J. (2017). Environmental regulation efficiency and total factor productivity—Effect analysis based on Chinese data from 2003 to 2013. Ecological Indicators, 73, 312–318. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.08.040
Wagner, J. (2015). A note on firm age and the margins of imports: First evidence from Germany. Applied Economics Letters, 22(9), 679–682. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504851.2014.967378
Wang, C., Wu, J., & Zhang, B. (2018). Environmental regulation, emissions and productivity: Evidence from Chinese COD-emitting manufacturers. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 92, 54–73.
Wang, Y., & Shen, N. (2016). Environmental regulation and environmental productivity: The case of China. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 62, 758–766.
Williamson, P. J. (1990). Domestic pricing under import threat. Applied Economics, 22(2), 221–235. https://doi.org/10.1080/00036849000000064
Wilson, J. S., Mann, C. L., & Otsuki, T. (2005). Assessing the benefits of trade facilitation: A global perspective. The World Economy, 28(6), 841–871. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9701.2005.00709.x
Xie, R.-H., Yuan, Y.-J., & Huang, J.-J. (2017). Different types of environmental regulations and heterogeneous influence on “green” productivity: Evidence from china. Ecological Economics, 132, 104–112.
Xu, B., & Lu, J. (2009). Foreign direct investment, processing trade, and the sophistication of China’s exports. China Economic Review, 20(3), 425–439.
Xu, H., Lai, M., & Qi, P. (2008). Openness, human capital and total factor productivity: Evidence from China. Journal of Chinese Economic and Business Studies, 6(3), 279–289. https://doi.org/10.1080/14765280802283576
Yang, C.-H., Tseng, Y.-H., & Chen, C.-P. (2012). Environmental regulations, induced R&D, and productivity: Evidence from Taiwan’s manufacturing industries. Resource and Energy Economics, 34(4), 514–532.
Yasar, M. (2013). Imported capital input, absorptive capacity, and firm performance: Evidence from firm-level data. Economic Inquiry, 51(1), 88–100.
Yu, M. (2015). Processing trade, tariff reductions and firm productivity: Evidence from Chinese firms. The Economic Journal, 125(585), 943–988. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecoj.12127
Zhu, S., He, C., & Liu, Y. (2014). Going green or going away: Environmental regulation, economic geography and firms’ strategies in China’s pollution-intensive industries. Geoforum, 55, 53–65.