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Climate policy uncertainty and enterprise labor outsourcing

Author

Listed:
  • Li, WeiWei
  • Huang, Zhenxing
  • Huang, Ruilei
  • Ning, Zihao

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of climate policy uncertainty on labor outsourcing among Chinese-listed companies from 2012 to 2022. We find that increased climate policy uncertainty prompts firms to choose labor outsourcing. The results hold even after several robustness tests and controlling for endogeneity. Moreover, our cross-sectional analyses indicate that the main effect is more pronounced in non-state-owned enterprises and firms without government employment stability subsidies.

Suggested Citation

  • Li, WeiWei & Huang, Zhenxing & Huang, Ruilei & Ning, Zihao, 2025. "Climate policy uncertainty and enterprise labor outsourcing," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 246(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:246:y:2025:i:c:s0165176524005500
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2024.112066
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Chen, Yanlong & Wang, Bencheng, 2025. "Does the deleveraging policy increase corporate labor outsourcing? —Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 85(PE).
    2. Rabbani, Mustafa Raza & Kiran, Madiha & Bouri, Elie & Alsharif, Mohammad, 2026. "Corporate carbon risk amidst world policy uncertainty: An international perspective," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    3. Zhao, Zexia & Sun, Licheng, 2025. "How does climate policy uncertainty affect the uncertainty of stock returns of industrial enterprises in typical policy markets? Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 86(PD).
    4. Rahim, Noraimah Farah & Sulong, Zunaidah & Abdullah, Mohammad & Wali Ullah, G. M., 2025. "Geopolitical risk and firm climate change risk," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 85(PD).
    5. Wang, Xiaosong & Tian, Siyuan & Zhou, Yuding & Li, Le, 2026. "Climate policy uncertainty, environmental risk aversion, and import structure adjustment," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    6. Cui, Di & Ding, Mingfa & Han, Yikai & Shen, Mi, 2025. "Labor union beyond borders: How customer unionization reshapes supplier labor strategies," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 257(C).
    7. Zhao, Chen & Yu, Jian & Liu, Peng & Shen, Bo, 2026. "Climate policy uncertainty and firm decarbonization challenge: Insights from energy transition and technological innovation," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    8. Zheng, Pengju & Ning, Zihao & Wu, Qingyang & Li, WeiWei, 2025. "Climate policy uncertainty and labor demand in high-carbon industries," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • G18 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • J20 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - General
    • M51 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Firm Employment Decisions; Promotions

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