IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecanpo/v69y2021icp410-420.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Ethnic diversity, investment efficiency, mediating roles of trust and agency cost

Author

Listed:
  • Zou, Ying
  • Zhong, Zhuoming
  • Luo, Jia

Abstract

This study explores the relationship between ethnic diversity and corporate investment in Chinese listed firms. Based on data from China’s A-share market companies and the national census dataset, we find that local ethnic diversity is negatively related to corporate investment efficiency. Furthermore, we explore the channel through which ethnic diversity affects corporate investment efficiency, and our study indicates that both social trust and agency cost play mediating roles between ethnic diversity and investment efficiency. Robustness tests verify our conclusions.

Suggested Citation

  • Zou, Ying & Zhong, Zhuoming & Luo, Jia, 2021. "Ethnic diversity, investment efficiency, mediating roles of trust and agency cost," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 410-420.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecanpo:v:69:y:2021:i:c:p:410-420
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eap.2020.12.017
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0313592620304641
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.eap.2020.12.017?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. Hodler, Roland & Srisuma, Sorawoot & Vesperoni, Alberto & Zurlinden, Noémie, 2020. "Measuring ethnic stratification and its effect on trust in Africa," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    2. Ernest Gyapong & Reza M. Monem & Fang Hu, 2016. "Do Women and Ethnic Minority Directors Influence Firm Value? Evidence from Post-Apartheid South Africa," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(3-4), pages 370-413, March.
    3. Alberto Alesina & Johann Harnoss & Hillel Rapoport, 2016. "Birthplace diversity and economic prosperity," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 101-138, June.
    4. Alberto Alesina & Eliana La Ferrara, 2000. "Participation in Heterogeneous Communities," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 115(3), pages 847-904.
    5. Marianne Bertrand & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2003. "Enjoying the Quiet Life? Corporate Governance and Managerial Preferences," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 111(5), pages 1043-1075, October.
    6. Esteban, Joan & Ray, Debraj, 1994. "On the Measurement of Polarization," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 62(4), pages 819-851, July.
    7. Zingales, Luigi & Dyck, Alexander, 2002. "Private Benefits of Control: An International Comparison," CEPR Discussion Papers 3177, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    8. William Easterly & Ross Levine, 1997. "Africa's Growth Tragedy: Policies and Ethnic Divisions," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(4), pages 1203-1250.
    9. La Porta, Rafael & Lopez-de-Silanes, Florencio & Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert, 1999. "The Quality of Government," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 15(1), pages 222-279, April.
    10. Changyun Wang & Zonglong Li & Teng Zhong, 2019. "Social Trust, Rule of Law, and Economic Exchange: Evidence from China and Its Major Trading Partners," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(14), pages 3134-3150, November.
    11. Bengtsson, Ola & Hsu, David H., 2015. "Ethnic matching in the U.S. venture capital market," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 338-354.
    12. Li Dang & Qiaoling Fang, 2011. "Audit quality and owner-manager agency costs: evidence from China," International Journal of Business Innovation and Research, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 5(1), pages 46-62.
    13. Berdiev, Aziz N. & Goel, Rajeev K. & Saunoris, James W., 2020. "The path from ethnic inequality to development: The intermediary role of institutional quality," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    14. Østergaard, Christian R. & Timmermans, Bram & Kristinsson, Kari, 2011. "Does a different view create something new? The effect of employee diversity on innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(3), pages 500-509, April.
    15. Keld Laursen & Volker Mahnke & Per Vejrup-Hansen, 2005. "Do Differences Make a Difference? The Impact of Human Capital Diversity, Experience and Compensation on Firm Performance in Engineering Consulting," DRUID Working Papers 05-04, DRUID, Copenhagen Business School, Department of Industrial Economics and Strategy/Aalborg University, Department of Business Studies.
    16. Yue Cao & Yizhe Dong & Yu Lu & Diandian Ma, 2020. "Does Institutional Ownership Improve Firm Investment Efficiency?," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(12), pages 2772-2792, September.
    17. Shi Young Lee & Eun Jung Lim & Qinglei Meng, 2019. "Ethnic Diversity and Economic Performance in China: The Role of Education, FDI, and Trade," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(2), pages 337-350, January.
    18. Jensen, Michael C, 1986. "Agency Costs of Free Cash Flow, Corporate Finance, and Takeovers," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(2), pages 323-329, May.
    19. Eliana La Ferrara, 2003. "Kin Groups and Reciprocity: A Model of Credit Transactions in Ghana," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(5), pages 1730-1751, December.
    20. Urbi Garay & Maximiliano González & Carlos A. Molina, 2007. "Firm Performance and CEO Reputation Costs: New Evidence from the Venezuelan Banking Crisis," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(3), pages 16-33, June.
    21. Parrotta, Pierpaolo & Pozzoli, Dario & Pytlikova, Mariola, 2010. "Does Labor Diversity Affect Firm Productivity?," Working Papers 10-12, University of Aarhus, Aarhus School of Business, Department of Economics.
    22. Greif, Avner, 1993. "Contract Enforceability and Economic Institutions in Early Trade: the Maghribi Traders' Coalition," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 83(3), pages 525-548, June.
    23. Alberto Alesina & Eliana La Ferrara, 2003. "Ethnic Diversity and Economic Performance," Harvard Institute of Economic Research Working Papers 2028, Harvard - Institute of Economic Research.
    24. Finseraas, Henning & Hanson, Torbjørn & Johnsen, Åshild A. & Kotsadam, Andreas & Torsvik, Gaute, 2019. "Trust, ethnic diversity, and personal contact: A field experiment," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 173(C), pages 72-84.
    25. Xingqiang Du, 2013. "Does Religion Matter to Owner-Manager Agency Costs? Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 118(2), pages 319-347, December.
    26. Anthony Annett, 2001. "Social Fractionalization, Political Instability, and the Size of Government," IMF Staff Papers, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 48(3), pages 1-7.
    27. Olsen, Robert A., 2008. "Trust as risk and the foundation of investment value," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 37(6), pages 2189-2200, December.
    28. Qianhua Lei & Huili Chen, 2019. "Corporate Governance Boundary, Debt Constraint, and Investment Efficiency," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(5), pages 1091-1108, April.
    29. Brixy, Udo & Brunow, Stephan & D'Ambrosio, Anna, 2020. "The unlikely encounter: Is ethnic diversity in start-ups associated with innovation?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(4).
    30. Jefferson Duarte & Stephan Siegel & Lance Young, 2012. "Trust and Credit: The Role of Appearance in Peer-to-peer Lending," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 25(8), pages 2455-2484.
    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. Tran Phuong, Thao & Le, Anh-Tuan & Ouyang, Puman, 2022. "Board tenure diversity and investment efficiency: A global analysis," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    2. Bhaskar, Ratikant & Bansal, Shashank & Abbassi, Wajih & Pandey, Dharen Kumar, 2023. "CEO compensation and CSR: Economic implications and policy recommendations," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 232-256.
    3. Wang, Baixun & Zhao, Wenjuan, 2022. "Interplay of renewable energy investment efficiency, shareholder control and green financial development in China," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 199(C), pages 192-203.
    4. Wenzhen Mai & Nik Intan Norhan Binti Abdul Hamid, 2021. "The Moderating Effect of Family Business Ownership on the Relationship between Short-Selling Mechanism and Firm Value for Listed Companies in China," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-20, May.
    5. Gaowen Kong & T. Dongmin Kong & Ni Qin & Li Yu, 2023. "Ethnic Diversity, Trust and Corporate Social Responsibility: The Moderating Effects of Marketization and Language," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 187(3), pages 449-471, October.

    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. Alberto Alesina & Eliana La Ferrara, 2003. "Ethnic Diversity and Economic Performance," Harvard Institute of Economic Research Working Papers 2028, Harvard - Institute of Economic Research.
    2. Desmet, Klaus & Gomes, Joseph Flavian & Ortuño-Ortín, Ignacio, 2020. "The geography of linguistic diversity and the provision of public goods," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    3. Rodríguez-Pose, Andrés & Von Berlepsch, Viola, 2017. "Does population diversity matter for economic development in the very long-term? Historic migration, diversity and county wealt," CEPR Discussion Papers 12347, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    4. Andrés Rodríguez-Pose & Viola Berlepsch, 2019. "Does Population Diversity Matter for Economic Development in the Very Long Term? Historic Migration, Diversity and County Wealth in the US," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 35(5), pages 873-911, December.
    5. Elissaios Papyrakis, 2013. "Environmental Performance in Socially Fragmented Countries," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 55(1), pages 119-140, May.
    6. Arusha Cooray, 2014. "Ethnic or Political Fractionalisation? A District Level Analysis of the Provision of Public Goods in Sri Lanka," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(4), pages 640-666, December.
    7. Klaus Desmet & Ignacio Ortuño-Ortín & Romain Wacziarg, 2009. "The political economy of ethnolinguistic cleavages," Working Papers 2009-17, Instituto Madrileño de Estudios Avanzados (IMDEA) Ciencias Sociales.
    8. Alberto Alesina & Johann Harnoss & Hillel Rapoport, 2016. "Birthplace diversity and economic prosperity," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 101-138, June.
    9. Victor Ginsburgh & Shlomo Weber, 2020. "The Economics of Language," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 58(2), pages 348-404, June.
    10. Pooja Karnane & Michael A. Quinn, 2019. "Political instability, ethnic fractionalization and economic growth," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 16(2), pages 435-461, April.
    11. Alesina, Alberto & Devleeschauwer, Arnaud & Easterly, William & Kurlat, Sergio & Wacziarg, Romain, 2003. "Fractionalization," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 8(2), pages 155-194, June.
    12. repec:zbw:hohpro:352 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Joseph Flavian Gomes, 2020. "The health costs of ethnic distance: evidence from sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 25(2), pages 195-226, June.
    14. Nauro F. Campos & Vitaliy S. Kuzeyev, 2007. "On the Dynamics of Ethnic Fractionalization," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 51(3), pages 620-639, July.
    15. Mª Ángeles Caraballo & Eva Mª Buitrago, 2019. "Ethnolinguistic Diversity and Education. A Successful Pairing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-18, November.
    16. Casey, Gregory P. & Owen, Ann L., 2014. "Inequality and Fractionalization," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 32-50.
    17. Alberto Alesina & Stelios Michalopoulos & Elias Papaioannou, 2016. "Ethnic Inequality," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 124(2), pages 428-488.
    18. Ying, Zheng & Liu, Shibao & Bao, Shuming & Zhou, Jianbo, 2017. "Religious diversity and regional development in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 1-9.
    19. repec:old:wpaper:352 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Eris, Mehmet, 2010. "Population heterogeneity and growth," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 27(5), pages 1211-1222, September.
    21. Willemien Kets & Alvaro Sandroni, 2021. "A Theory of Strategic Uncertainty and Cultural Diversity," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 88(1), pages 287-333.
    22. Marie-Anne Valfort, 2007. "Containing ethnic conflicts through ethical voting? Evidence from Ethiopia," HiCN Working Papers 35, Households in Conflict Network.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Ethnic diversity; Investment efficiency; Social trust; Agency cost;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General
    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility
    • Z10 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:ecanpo:v:69:y:2021:i:c:p:410-420. 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.journals.elsevier.com/economic-analysis-and-policy .

    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.