IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i9p5538-d808843.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Effect of Labor Protection on Firms’ Operational Efficiency: Evidence from China’s Labor Contract Law Implementation

Author

Listed:
  • Mei Xue

    (Department of Organization and Human Resources, School of Business, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, China)

  • Yu Zhou

    (Department of Organization and Human Resources, School of Business, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, China)

  • Zhouhao Liu

    (Sinochem Oil Marketing Co., Ltd., Beijing 100071, China)

Abstract

We explored the effect of labor protection on firms’ operational efficiency, based on empirical data from China. Taking China’s Labor Contract Law implementation in 2008 as a quasi-natural experiment, we constructed a difference-in-differences (DID) model to investigate the relationship between labor protection and firms’ operational efficiency. Based on a sample of Chinese listed companies in the non-financial sector from 2004–2021, the analysis results show that labor protection can significantly improve a firm’s operational efficiency. In addition, we found that the positive effect is more significant among state-owned enterprises and in regions with a higher legal governance degree. This study enriches the research that explores the effects of labor protection on firms’ performance by providing more empirical evidence from China, and reveals that labor protection can positively affect a firm’s operational performance in the long term.

Suggested Citation

  • Mei Xue & Yu Zhou & Zhouhao Liu, 2022. "The Effect of Labor Protection on Firms’ Operational Efficiency: Evidence from China’s Labor Contract Law Implementation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-17, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:9:p:5538-:d:808843
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/9/5538/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/9/5538/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Raghuram G. Rajan & Luigi Zingales, 1998. "Power in a Theory of the Firm," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 113(2), pages 387-432.
    2. Robert C. Bird & John D. Knopf, 2009. "Do Wrongful-Discharge Laws Impair Firm Performance?," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 52(2), pages 197-222, May.
    3. Fauver, Larry & Fuerst, Michael E., 2006. "Does good corporate governance include employee representation? Evidence from German corporate boards," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(3), pages 673-710, December.
    4. repec:bla:rdevec:v:3:y:1999:i:2:p:155-69 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Timothy Besley & Robin Burgess, 2004. "Can Labor Regulation Hinder Economic Performance? Evidence from India," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 119(1), pages 91-134.
    6. Matthew Serfling, 2016. "Firing Costs and Capital Structure Decisions," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 71(5), pages 2239-2286, October.
    7. Stephen G. Bronars & Donald R. Deere, 1991. "The Threat of Unionization, the Use of Debt, and the Preservation of Shareholder Wealth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 106(1), pages 231-254.
    8. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 1976. "Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 305-360, October.
    9. James S. Ang & Rebel A. Cole & James Wuh Lin, 2000. "Agency Costs and Ownership Structure," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 55(1), pages 81-106, February.
    10. David A. Matsa, 2010. "Capital Structure as a Strategic Variable: Evidence from Collective Bargaining," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 65(3), pages 1197-1232, June.
    11. Chen, Huafeng Jason & Kacperczyk, Marcin & Ortiz-Molina, Hernán, 2011. "Labor Unions, Operating Flexibility, and the Cost of Equity," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 46(1), pages 25-58, February.
    12. Julian Atanassov & E. Han Kim, 2009. "Labor and Corporate Governance: International Evidence from Restructuring Decisions," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 64(1), pages 341-374, February.
    13. Jensen, Michael C & Murphy, Kevin J, 1990. "Performance Pay and Top-Management Incentives," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(2), pages 225-264, April.
    14. Bronars, Stephen G & Deere, Donald R, 1993. "Unionization, Incomplete Contracting, and Capital Investment," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 66(1), pages 117-132, January.
    15. Singh, Manohar & Davidson III, Wallace N., 2003. "Agency costs, ownership structure and corporate governance mechanisms," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 27(5), pages 793-816, May.
    16. Julian R. Betts & Cameron W. Odgers & Michael K. Wilson, 2001. "The effects of unions on research and development: an empirical analysis using multi-year data," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 34(3), pages 785-806, August.
    17. Julian R. Betts & Cameron W. Odgers & Michael K. Wilson, 2001. "The effects of unions on research and development: an empirical analysis using multi‐year data," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 34(3), pages 785-806, August.
    18. Lin, Chen & Schmid, Thomas & Xuan, Yuhai, 2018. "Employee representation and financial leverage," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(2), pages 303-324.
    19. Finegold, David & Soskice, David, 1988. "The Failure of Training in Britain: Analysis and Prescription," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 4(3), pages 21-53, Autumn.
    20. Dore, Ronald, 2000. "Stock Market Capitalism: Welfare Capitalism: Japan and Germany versus the Anglo-Saxons," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199240616.
    21. Fang, Tony & Ge, Ying, 2012. "Unions and firm innovation in China: Synergy or strife?," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 170-180.
    22. Francisco G. Carneiro, 1999. "Insider Power in Wage Determination: Evidence from Brazilian Data," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 3(2), pages 155-169, June.
    23. Holmlund, Bertil & Zetterberg, Johnny, 1991. "Insider effects in wage determination : Evidence from five countries," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 35(5), pages 1009-1034, July.
    24. Walter Y. Oi, 1962. "Labor as a Quasi-Fixed Factor," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 70(6), pages 538-538.
    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. Li, Guangzhong & Fujiyama, Keishi & Wu, Cen & Zheng, Ying, 2024. "Employment protection, corporate governance, and labor productivity around the World," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    2. In‐Mu Haw & Bingbing Hu & Donghui Wu & Xu Zhang, 2018. "Having a Finger in the Pie: Labor Power and Corporate Payout Policy," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 47(4), pages 993-1027, December.
    3. Shangguan, Yiwen & Feng, Qiyangfan, 2024. "Environmental bonuses of employment protection: Evidence from labor contract law in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    4. David A. Matsa, 2018. "Capital Structure and a Firm’s Workforce," NBER Working Papers 25125, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Kerstin Lopatta & Katarina Böttcher & Sumit K. Lodhia & Sebastian A. Tideman, 2020. "Parity codetermination at the board level and labor investment efficiency: evidence on German listed firms," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 90(1), pages 57-108, February.
    6. Jiang, Jiaoliang & Chen, Yulin, 2021. "How does labor protection influence corporate risk-taking? Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    7. Xing, Xuejing & Yan, Shan, 2018. "Labor unions and information asymmetry among investors," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 174-187.
    8. Chen, I-Ju & Chen, Yan-Shing & Chen, Sheng-Syan, 2018. "The strategic choice of payment method in corporate acquisitions: The role of collective bargaining against unionized workers," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 408-422.
    9. Nguyen, Justin Hung & Qiu, Buhui, 2022. "Right-to-Work laws and corporate innovation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    10. Dessaint, Olivier & Golubov, Andrey & Volpin, Paolo, 2017. "Employment protection and takeovers," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 125(2), pages 369-388.
    11. Ormazabal, Gaizka, 2018. "The Role of Stakeholders in Corporate Governance: A View from Accounting Research," CEPR Discussion Papers 12775, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    12. Karpuz, Ahmet & Kim, Kirak & Ozkan, Neslihan, 2020. "Employment protection laws and corporate cash holdings," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    13. Li, Guangzhong & Wu, Cen & Zheng, Ying, 2020. "Employee protection and the tax sensitivity of wages: International evidence," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    14. Dang, Viet A. & De Cesari, Amedeo & Phan, Hieu V., 2021. "Employment protection and share repurchases: Evidence from wrongful discharge laws," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    15. François Belot & Timothée Waxin, 2017. "Labor Conflicts in French Workplaces: Does (the Type of) Family Control Matter?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 146(3), pages 591-617, December.
    16. repec:dau:papers:123456789/5892 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Hamdi Ben-Nasr & Abdullah Alshwer, 2015. "How Informed Stock Trading Can Affect Labor Investment Efficiency," Proceedings of Business and Management Conferences 2304077, International Institute of Social and Economic Sciences.
    18. Behr, Patrick & Wang, Weichao & Adasi Manu, Sylvester, 2024. "Bank's balance sheet management as a bargaining tool: Evidence from Brazilian labor strikes," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    19. Lin, Chen & Schmid, Thomas & Xuan, Yuhai, 2018. "Employee representation and financial leverage," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(2), pages 303-324.
    20. Riyanka Baral & Debasis Patnaik, 2021. "Banking Governance Parameters Differentiated by size: Impact on Agency Cost," Indian Journal of Corporate Governance, , vol. 14(1), pages 86-109, June.
    21. Ahmad, Muhammad Farooq & Kowalewski, Oskar, 2021. "Collective bargaining power and corporate cash policy," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).

    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:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:9:p:5538-:d:808843. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.