IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/finlet/v41y2021ics1544612320316858.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Do political connections improve corporate performance? Evidence from Chinese listed companies

Author

Listed:
  • Li, Xiaoying
  • Jin, Yue

Abstract

By analyzing the data of private listed companies from 2007 to 2013, this article explores the relationship between political connections and enterprise performance. The study finds that listed companies with local political connections have better performance than those without such ties. Regionally, political connections in eastern and central China can effectively promote corporate performance, while political connections in the western region cannot effectively improve and may even inhibit corporate performance. Political connections from managerial personnels other than CEO can also affect firm performance. This article provides empirical evidence from Chinese listed companies for the relationship between political connections, corporate performance and regional characteristics.

Suggested Citation

  • Li, Xiaoying & Jin, Yue, 2021. "Do political connections improve corporate performance? Evidence from Chinese listed companies," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 41(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:41:y:2021:i:c:s1544612320316858
    DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2020.101871
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1544612320316858
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.frl.2020.101871?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Claessens, Stijn & Feijen, Erik & Laeven, Luc, 2008. "Political connections and preferential access to finance: The role of campaign contributions," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(3), pages 554-580, June.
    2. Federico Cingano & Paolo Pinotti, 2013. "Politicians At Work: The Private Returns And Social Costs Of Political Connections," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 11(2), pages 433-465, April.
    3. Adhikari, Ajay & Derashid, Chek & Zhang, Hao, 2006. "Public policy, political connections, and effective tax rates: Longitudinal evidence from Malaysia," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 25(5), pages 574-595.
    4. Li, Hongbin & Meng, Lingsheng & Wang, Qian & Zhou, Li-An, 2008. "Political connections, financing and firm performance: Evidence from Chinese private firms," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 283-299, October.
    5. Kusnadi, Yuanto, 2019. "Political connections and the value of cash holdings," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 96-102.
    6. Tsai, Li-Chuan & Zhang, Ruhui & Zhao, Cuifang, 2019. "Political connections, network centrality and firm innovation," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 180-184.
    7. Fraumeni, Barbara M & Jorgenson, Dale W, 1980. "Rates of Return by Industrial Sector in the United States, 1948-76," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 70(2), pages 326-330, May.
    8. Yan, Huahong & Li, Xiaoyan & Huang, Ying & Li, Yuanhao, 2020. "The impact of the consistency of carbon performance and carbon information disclosure on enterprise value," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 37(C).
    9. Raymond Fisman, 2001. "Estimating the Value of Political Connections," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(4), pages 1095-1102, September.
    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. Yao, Shouyu & Pan, Yuying & Sensoy, Ahmet & Uddin, Gazi Salah & Cheng, Feiyang, 2021. "Green credit policy and firm performance: What we learn from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    2. Rocca, Maurizio La & Fasano, Francesco & Cappa, Francesco & Neha, Neha, 2022. "The relationship between political connections and firm performance: An empirical analysis in Europe," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    3. Alam, Ahmed W. & Farjana, Ashupta & Houston, Reza, 2023. "State-level economic policy uncertainty (EPU) and firm financial stability: Is there any political insurance?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 225(C).
    4. GuoHua Cao & WenJun Geng & Jing Zhang & Qi Li, 2023. "Social network, financial constraint, and corporate innovation," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 13(3), pages 667-692, September.
    5. Ganguly, Kousik & Mishra, Ajay Kumar & Parikh, Bhavik, 2023. "Do Political connections influence investment decisions? Evidence from India," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    6. Wei Shao & Ziqi Chen & Huaiyu Liu, 2022. "How do political connections affect the formation of zombie firms? Evidence from Chinese manufacturing listed enterprises," Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, The Crawford School, The Australian National University, vol. 36(2), pages 17-31, November.
    7. Wang, Zongrun & Fu, Haiqin & Ren, Xiaohang, 2023. "Political connections and corporate carbon emission: New evidence from Chinese industrial firms," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 188(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. Tang, Xuesong & Lin, Yan & Peng, Qing & Du, Jun & Chan, Kam C., 2016. "Politically connected directors and firm value: Evidence from forced resignations in China," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 148-167.
    2. Rocca, Maurizio La & Fasano, Francesco & Cappa, Francesco & Neha, Neha, 2022. "The relationship between political connections and firm performance: An empirical analysis in Europe," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    3. Sharma, Piyush & Cheng, Louis T.W. & Leung, T.Y., 2020. "Impact of political connections on Chinese export firms' performance – Lessons for other emerging markets," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 24-34.
    4. Wong, Wai-Yan & Hooy, Chee-Wooi, 2018. "Do types of political connection affect firm performance differently?," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 297-317.
    5. Feng Liu & Hui Lin & Huiying Wu, 2018. "Political Connections and Firm Value in China: An Event Study," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 152(2), pages 551-571, October.
    6. Miroslav Palanský, 2021. "The value of political connections in the post-transition period: evidence from Czechia," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 188(1), pages 121-154, July.
    7. Zengji Song & Abraham Nahm & Zongyi Zhang, 2015. "The value of partial state ownership in publicly listed private sector enterprises: evidence from China," Post-Communist Economies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(3), pages 336-353, September.
    8. Michelson, Noam, 2023. "The revolving door of former civil servants and firm value: A comprehensive approach," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    9. Zhang, Min & Liu, Yaosong & Xie, Lu & Ye, Tingting, 2017. "Does the cutoff of “red capital” raise a red flag? Political connections and stock price crash risk," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 89-109.
    10. Coulomb, Renaud & Sangnier, Marc, 2014. "The impact of political majorities on firm value: Do electoral promises or friendship connections matter?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 158-170.
    11. Liu, Qigui & Tang, Jinghua & Tian, Gary Gang, 2013. "Does political capital create value in the IPO market? Evidence from China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 395-413.
    12. Emmanuelle Nys & Amine Tarazi & Irwan Trinugroho, 2013. "Political Connections, Bank Deposits, and Formal Deposit Insurance: Evidence from an Emerging Economy," Working Papers hal-00916513, HAL.
    13. Li, Guoping & Zhou, Hong, 2015. "Political connections and access to IPO markets in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 76-93.
    14. Jaehyuk Choi & Lei Lu & Heungju Park & Sungbin Sohn, 2022. "The financial value of the within-government political network: Evidence from Chinese municipal corporate bonds," Papers 2201.01160, arXiv.org.
    15. Wu, W. & Johan, S.A. & Rui, O.M., 2012. "Institutional investors, political connections and incidence of corporate fraud," Discussion Paper 2012-042, Tilburg University, Tilburg Law and Economic Center.
    16. Cheng, Lei, 2018. "Estimating the value of political connections in China: Evidence from sudden deaths of politically connected independent directors," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(2), pages 495-514.
    17. David Schoenherr, 2019. "Political Connections and Allocative Distortions," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 74(2), pages 543-586, April.
    18. Su, Zhong-qin & Fung, Hung-Gay & Huang, Deng-shi & Shen, Chung-Hua, 2014. "Cash dividends, expropriation, and political connections: Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 260-272.
    19. Zhong-qin Su & Hung-Gay Fung, 2013. "Political Connections and Firm Performance in Chinese Companies," Pacific Economic Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(3), pages 283-317, August.
    20. Schweizer, Denis & Walker, Thomas & Zhang, Aoran, 2019. "Cross-border acquisitions by Chinese enterprises: The benefits and disadvantages of political connections," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 63-85.

    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:eee:finlet:v:41:y:2021:i:c:s1544612320316858. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/frl .

    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.