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Trade liberalisation and labour shares in China

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  • Fariha Kamal
  • Mary E. Lovely
  • Devashish Mitra

Abstract

We estimate the extent to which firms responded to tariff reductions associated with China's WTO entry by altering labour's share of value. Firm‐level regressions indicate that firms in industries subject to tariff cuts raised labour's share relative to economy‐wide trends, both through input choices and rent sharing. Our estimates suggest that, on average, an industry that experienced no reductions in output or input tariffs would have a 15.7% lower labour share of value in 2007 than it actually did, assuming the same economy‐wide trends. There is significant variation across firms: the impact attenuates with geographic remoteness and union presence and strengthens with foreign ownership.

Suggested Citation

  • Fariha Kamal & Mary E. Lovely & Devashish Mitra, 2019. "Trade liberalisation and labour shares in China," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(12), pages 3588-3618, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:worlde:v:42:y:2019:i:12:p:3588-3618
    DOI: 10.1111/twec.12857
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    Cited by:

    1. Robert Z. Lawrence, 2015. "Recent Declines in Labor's Share in US Income: A Preliminary Neoclassical Account," Working Paper Series WP15-10, Peterson Institute for International Economics.
    2. Hoang, Trang & Mitra, Devashish & Pham, Hoang, 2024. "The Effect of Export Market Access on Labor Market Power: Firm-Level Evidence from Vietnam," IZA Discussion Papers 17196, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Devashish Mitra, 2019. "Responses to Trade Opening: Evidence and Lessons from Asia," ADBI Working Papers 913, Asian Development Bank Institute.
    4. Wang, Liang & Hu, Jun & Yao, Daifei & Skibniewski, Miroslaw J., 2025. "Indelible imprint: CEOs’ poverty experience and corporate labor income share," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    5. Benjamin Bridgman & Ryan Greenaway‐McGrevy, 2022. "Public enterprise and the rise and fall of labor share," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 60(1), pages 320-350, January.
    6. Turgut Ozkan & Gozde Yanginlar & Salih Kalayci, 2016. "Railway Transport Liberalization: A Case Study of Various Countries in the World," Journal of Management and Sustainability, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 6(4), pages 140-148, December.
    7. Sabien Dobbelaere & Quint Wiersma, 2025. "The impact of trade liberalization on firms’ product and labor market power," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 34(1), pages 210-233.
    8. Riandy Laksono & Arianto A. Patunru, 2024. "The dynamics of labor share decline in manufacturing: Evidence from Indonesia," Departmental Working Papers 2024-3, The Australian National University, Arndt-Corden Department of Economics.
    9. Leblebicioğlu, Asli & Weinberger, Ariel, 2021. "Openness and factor shares: Is globalization always bad for labor?," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    10. González-Rozada, Martín & Ruffo, Hernán, 2024. "Do trade agreements contribute to the decline in labor share? Evidence from Latin American countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    11. Aneli Bongers, 2021. "Economic growth and the functional distribution of income: A labor share Kuznets curve," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 41(1), pages 192-200.
    12. Bridgman, Benjamin, 2018. "Is Labor'S Loss Capital'S Gain? Gross Versus Net Labor Shares," Macroeconomic Dynamics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 22(8), pages 2070-2087, December.
    13. Junhong Du & Chuanyue Zhao & Yingying Hu & Xiaohong Chen, 2024. "Impact of Industrial Robots on Labor Income Share: Empirical Evidence from Chinese A-Listed Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-21, August.
    14. Kacou, Kacou Yves Thierry & Kassouri, Yacouba & Evrard, Talnan Hongwopena & Altuntaş, Mehmet, 2022. "Trade openness, export structure, and labor productivity in developing countries: Evidence from panel VAR approach," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 194-205.
    15. Chen, Bo & Xu, Huange & Li, Guangchen, 2023. "Entry deregulation and labor share: Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 58(PD).
    16. Quint Wiersma, 2019. "The impact of WTO accession on Chinese firms' product and labor market power," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 19-037/V, Tinbergen Institute.
    17. Tao, Jin & Ho, Chun-Yu & Luo, Shougui & Sheng, Yue, 2019. "Agglomeration economies in creative industries," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 141-154.

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