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Union and Debt: Evidence from Chinese Private Firms

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  • Mingyue Fang
  • Yuxiao Zhang

Abstract

Do unions really matter in China? Using a dataset containing more than 110 thousand Chinese private manufacturing firms, this paper is the first attempt to examine how unions' bargaining power affects firms' capital structures. We find that: (1) the firms' debt levels are often positively associated with their unions' bargaining powers; (2) when a firm is in financial distress, the management is more likely to issue more debt to strengthen its bargaining power against the union and increase its residual income; (3) compared with long-term debt, short-term debt is a better option for the management to increase its bargaining power and residual income. Our research indicates that the unions of private Chinese firms are an important policy instrument for the management rather than useless decorations, which provides valuable insights for us to understand the employee--employer relations and firms' capital structures in emerging economies.

Suggested Citation

  • Mingyue Fang & Yuxiao Zhang, 2016. "Union and Debt: Evidence from Chinese Private Firms," Global Economic Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(1), pages 63-77, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:glecrv:v:45:y:2016:i:1:p:63-77
    DOI: 10.1080/1226508X.2015.1137482
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