IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/pubeco/v102y2013icp13-22.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

VAT rebates and export performance in China: Firm-level evidence

Author

Listed:
  • Chandra, Piyush
  • Long, Cheryl

Abstract

A destination-based VAT system without a complete export tax rebate is detrimental to a country's exports, while an increase in the VAT rebate rate helps reduce the negative effects. In this paper, we study the role of VAT rebates in affecting Chinese exports using firm-level panel data for 2000–2006. To address potential endogeneity, we rely on a quasi-natural policy experiment in 2004, when the fiscal conditions of local governments became important in determining the actual VAT rebate rates for exports. The empirical findings demonstrate significant and large effects of VAT rebates on export volume. On average, for each percentage point increase in the VAT rebate rate, the amount of exports increased by 13%, which translates into an additional $4.70 of exports for each $1 of export tax rebates paid.

Suggested Citation

  • Chandra, Piyush & Long, Cheryl, 2013. "VAT rebates and export performance in China: Firm-level evidence," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 13-22.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:pubeco:v:102:y:2013:i:c:p:13-22
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2013.03.005
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0047272713000534
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2013.03.005?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. Bela Balassa, 1978. "Export incentives and export performance in developing countries: A comparative analysis," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 114(1), pages 24-61, March.
    2. Mr. Michael Keen & Mr. Murtaza H Syed, 2006. "Domestic Taxes and International Trade: Some Evidence," IMF Working Papers 2006/047, International Monetary Fund.
    3. Holger Görg & Michael Henry & Eric Strobl, 2008. "Grant Support and Exporting Activity," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 90(1), pages 168-174, February.
    4. Zhi Wang & Shang-Jin Wei, 2010. "What Accounts for the Rising Sophistication of China's Exports?," NBER Chapters, in: China's Growing Role in World Trade, pages 63-104, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Branstetter, Lee G. & Feenstra, Robert C., 2002. "Trade and foreign direct investment in China: a political economy approach," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(2), pages 335-358, December.
    6. Martin S. Feldstein & Paul R. Krugman, 1990. "International Trade Effects of Value-Added Taxation," NBER Chapters, in: Taxation in the Global Economy, pages 263-282, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Sourafel Girma & Yundan Gong & Holger Görg & Zhihong Yu, 2009. "Can Production Subsidies Explain China's Export Performance? Evidence from Firm‐level Data," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 111(4), pages 863-891, December.
    8. Andrew B. Bernard & J. Bradford Jensen & Stephen J. Redding & Peter K. Schott, 2007. "Firms in International Trade," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 21(3), pages 105-130, Summer.
    9. Ahn, JaeBin & Khandelwal, Amit K. & Wei, Shang-Jin, 2011. "The role of intermediaries in facilitating trade," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(1), pages 73-85, May.
    10. ECKAUS, Richard S., 2006. "China's exports, subsidies to state-owned enterprises and the WTO," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 1-13.
    11. Elena Ianchovichina & Will Martin, 2004. "Impacts of China's Accession to the World Trade Organization," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 18(1), pages 3-27.
    12. James H. Stock & Mark W. Watson, 2008. "Heteroskedasticity-Robust Standard Errors for Fixed Effects Panel Data Regression," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 76(1), pages 155-174, January.
    13. Jeffrey M. Wooldridge, 2003. "Cluster-Sample Methods in Applied Econometrics," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(2), pages 133-138, May.
    14. Andrew B. Bernard & J. Bradford Jensen, 2004. "Why Some Firms Export," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 86(2), pages 561-569, May.
    15. Marianne Bertrand & Esther Duflo & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2004. "How Much Should We Trust Differences-In-Differences Estimates?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 119(1), pages 249-275.
    16. Bird,Richard & Gendron,Pierre-Pascal, 2011. "The VAT in Developing and Transitional Countries," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107401440.
    17. Chao, Chi-Chur & Chou, W. L. & Yu, Eden S. H., 2001. "Export Duty Rebates and Export Performance: Theory and China's Experience," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 314-326, June.
    18. Tokarick, Stephen, 2007. "How large is the bias against exports from import tariffs?," World Trade Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 6(2), pages 193-212, July.
    19. Chen, Chien-Hsun & Mai, Chao-Cheng & Yu, Hui-Chuan, 2006. "The effect of export tax rebates on export performance: Theory and evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 226-235.
    20. Marc J. Melitz, 2003. "The Impact of Trade on Intra-Industry Reallocations and Aggregate Industry Productivity," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 71(6), pages 1695-1725, November.
    21. Peter K. Schott, 2008. "The relative sophistication of Chinese exports [‘Manufacturing Earnings and Compensation in China’]," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 23(53), pages 6-49.
    22. Chao, Chi-Chur & Yu, Eden S.H. & Yu, Wusheng, 2006. "China's import duty drawback and VAT rebate policies: A general equilibrium analysis," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 17(4), pages 432-448.
    23. Moulton, Brent R, 1990. "An Illustration of a Pitfall in Estimating the Effects of Aggregate Variables on Micro Unit," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 72(2), pages 334-338, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. repec:wyi:journl:002196 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. L. An & C. Hu & Yong Tan, 2017. "Regional effects of export tax rebate on exporting firms: Evidence from China," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(4), pages 774-798, September.
    3. Lu, Bing & Ma, Hong, 2023. "The “Matthew effect” in rebates: How does VAT rebates allocation affect firm export performance," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 225(C).
    4. Sourafel Girma & Yundan Gong & Holger Görg & Zhihong Yu, 2009. "Can Production Subsidies Explain China's Export Performance? Evidence from Firm‐level Data," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 111(4), pages 863-891, December.
    5. Defever, Fabrice & Reyes, José-Daniel & Riaño, Alejandro & Varela, Gonzalo, 2020. "All these worlds are yours, except india: The effectiveness of cash subsidies to export in nepal," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    6. Ariel Weinberger & Qian Xuefeng & Mahmut Yaşar, 2021. "Export tax rebates and resource misallocation: Evidence from a large developing country," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 54(4), pages 1562-1608, November.
    7. Fernandes, Ana P. & Tang, Heiwai, 2014. "Learning to export from neighbors," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(1), pages 67-84.
    8. Eisenbarth, Sabrina, 2017. "Is Chinese trade policy motivated by environmental concerns?," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 74-103.
    9. Kalina Manova & Zhiwei Zhang, 2012. "Export Prices Across Firms and Destinations," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 127(1), pages 379-436.
    10. Liu, Xuepeng & Shi, Huimin & Ferrantino, Michael, 2016. "Tax evasion through trade intermediation: Evidence from Chinese exporters," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 518-535.
    11. Pedro Albarran & Raquel Carrasco & Adelheid Holl, 2013. "Domestic transport infrastructure and firms’ export market participation," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 40(4), pages 879-898, May.
    12. Cadot, Olivier & Fernandes, Ana M. & Gourdon, Julien & Mattoo, Aaditya, 2015. "Are the benefits of export support durable? Evidence from Tunisia," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(2), pages 310-324.
    13. Andrew B. Bernard & Marco Grazzi & Chiara Tomasi, 2010. "Intermediaries in International Trade: direct versus indirect modes of export," LEM Papers Series 2010/19, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    14. Klishchuk Bogdan & Zelenyuk Valentin, 2012. "Impact of Services LIberalization on Firm Level Productivity in Eastern Europe and Central Asia," EERC Working Paper Series 12/03e, EERC Research Network, Russia and CIS.
    15. Ma, Yue & Tang, Heiwai & Zhang, Yifan, 2014. "Factor Intensity, product switching, and productivity: Evidence from Chinese exporters," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(2), pages 349-362.
    16. Lili Wang & Yong Zhao, 2013. "Does Experience Facilitate Entry into New Export Destinations?," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 21(5), pages 36-59, September.
    17. Anna Fornalska-Skurczynska, 2015. "How To Effectively Support Export Activity?," Oeconomia Copernicana, Institute of Economic Research, vol. 6(3), pages 61-71, September.
    18. Alberto Abadie & Susan Athey & Guido W Imbens & Jeffrey M Wooldridge, 2023. "When Should You Adjust Standard Errors for Clustering?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 138(1), pages 1-35.
    19. A. Colin Cameron & Douglas L. Miller, 2010. "Robust Inference with Clustered Data," Working Papers 106, University of California, Davis, Department of Economics.
    20. Alessia Lo Turco & Daniela Maggioni, 2017. "“Glocal” ties: banking development and SEs’ export entry," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 48(4), pages 999-1020, April.
    21. Olivier Cadot & Ana Fernandes & Julien Gourdon & Aaditya Mattoo & Jaime Melo, 2014. "Evaluating Aid for Trade: A Survey of Recent Studies," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(4), pages 516-529, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    VAT rebate; Export growth; Trade policy; China;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade
    • F13 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade Policy; International Trade Organizations
    • H20 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - General
    • O25 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Development Planning and Policy - - - Industrial Policy

    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:pubeco:v:102:y:2013:i:c:p:13-22. 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.elsevier.com/locate/inca/505578 .

    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.