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Political uncertainty and revenue sharing in international contracting

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  • Zhang, Yi
  • Roelfsema, Hein
  • Liu, Chun

Abstract

This study investigates a critical source of political uncertainty for foreign investors in a centralised political system: leadership turnover within local governments. Our stylised model suggests that risk-averse foreign investors, faced with this uncertainty, tend to offer a larger revenue share to their local partners in international joint ventures (IJVs). This incentivises local officials to provide the necessary authorisations and public inputs for IJVs. Using a unique Chinese dataset that links city-level leadership changes with firm-level incentive structures, our empirical analysis provides robust evidence supporting this framework.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhang, Yi & Roelfsema, Hein & Liu, Chun, 2024. "Political uncertainty and revenue sharing in international contracting," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:poleco:v:85:y:2024:i:c:s0176268024000892
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2024.102587
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Political uncertainty; International joint ventures; Revenue sharing; China;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D23 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Organizational Behavior; Transaction Costs; Property Rights
    • D80 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - General
    • F21 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Investment; Long-Term Capital Movements
    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill

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