IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i13p9982-d1177631.html

Impact of Economic Policy Uncertainty on Industrial Convergence: Evidence from China

Author

Listed:
  • Jianjia He

    (Business School, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093, China)

  • Danyuan Wang

    (Business School, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093, China)

Abstract

The uncertainties in current economic policies have increased, and Decisions about industrial convergence by businesses are impacted by uncertain macroeconomic policy. Using a fixed-effects model, the article selects annual data from A-share listed Chinese companies from 2010 to 2021 and empirically analyzes the relationship between economic policy uncertainty (EPU) and industrial convergence, as well as the mediating and moderating effects of diversification strategies and financial distress under this path of action. The findings are as follows: (1) EPU has a significant negative impact on industrial convergence, and this phenomenon is most obvious for non-state enterprises. (2) Enterprise diversification strategy mediate the relationship between industrial convergence and EPU (3) Corporate financial distress has a negative moderating effect on the relationship between EPU and industrial convergence. (4) The nature of firm property rights has a negative moderating effect on the relationship between EPU and industrial convergence. The aforementioned conclusions have implications for policy: the government should always ensure the long-term stability of economic policies and direct and encourage the development of cross-industry convergence of enterprises. Enterprises need to actively empower development with joint efforts to achieve win-win cooperation.

Suggested Citation

  • Jianjia He & Danyuan Wang, 2023. "Impact of Economic Policy Uncertainty on Industrial Convergence: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-15, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:13:p:9982-:d:1177631
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/13/9982/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/13/9982/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Meng Wang & Wanlong Zhao & Lei Yin, 2022. "Economic policy uncertainty, investor sentiment, and voluntary disclosure on internet platform," Asia-Pacific Journal of Accounting & Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(4), pages 896-915, July.
    2. Kim, Namil & Lee, Hyeokseong & Kim, Wonjoon & Lee, Hyunjong & Suh, Jong Hwan, 2015. "Dynamic patterns of industry convergence: Evidence from a large amount of unstructured data," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(9), pages 1734-1748.
    3. Jens Frøslev Christensen, 2011. "Industrial evolution through complementary convergence: the case of IT security," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 20(1), pages 57-89, February.
    4. Tran, Dung Viet & Hoang, Khanh & Nguyen, Cuong, 2021. "How does economic policy uncertainty affect bank business models?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 39(C).
    5. Nicholas Bloom, 2009. "The Impact of Uncertainty Shocks," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 77(3), pages 623-685, May.
    6. Kong, Qunxi & Li, Rongrong & Wang, Ziqi & Peng, Dan, 2022. "Economic policy uncertainty and firm investment decisions: Dilemma or opportunity?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    7. Daniel Kahneman & Amos Tversky, 2013. "Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision Under Risk," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Leonard C MacLean & William T Ziemba (ed.), HANDBOOK OF THE FUNDAMENTALS OF FINANCIAL DECISION MAKING Part I, chapter 6, pages 99-127, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    8. Robert McDonald & Daniel Siegel, 1986. "The Value of Waiting to Invest," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 101(4), pages 707-727.
    9. Scott R. Baker & Nicholas Bloom & Steven J. Davis, 2016. "Measuring Economic Policy Uncertainty," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 131(4), pages 1593-1636.
    10. Hoang, Khanh & Nguyen, Cuong & Zhang, Hailiang, 2021. "How does economic policy uncertainty affect corporate diversification?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 254-269.
    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. Liu, Yang & Zhao, Congyu & Kong, Zhaoyang & Taghizadeh-Hesary, Farhad, 2025. "Pathways to stable economic policy: The role of industrial robotics and energy transition," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 244(C).
    2. Koirala, Niraj P. & Koirala, Dhiroj Prasad & Nyiwul, Linus & Hu, Zhining, 2024. "Economic uncertainty, households’ credit situations, and higher education," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    3. K Shiljas & Dilip Kumar, 2024. "The interplay of cash flow uncertainty and firm life cycle on sustainability disclosure," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(8), pages 8471-8492, December.
    4. Sohag, Kazi & Karass, Vsevolod & Alam, Khorshed, 2025. "European industrial production in the face of energy dynamics and geopolitical shocks," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 316(C).
    5. Ravita Kharb & Charu Shri & Pragati Singh & Shabani Bhatia & Neha Saini, 2026. "Modelling the barriers of green financing in achieving environmental sustainability: an analysis using TISM," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 28(3), pages 7173-7206, March.

    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. Szczygielski, Jan Jakub & Charteris, Ailie & Obojska, Lidia & Brzeszczyński, Janusz, 2025. "Energy in turmoil: Industry resilience to uncertainty during the global energy crisis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 389(C).
    2. Huang, Ying Sophie & Wu, Jiajia & Guo, Feng, 2022. "Venture capital staging under economic policy uncertainty," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 572-596.
    3. Hoang, Khanh & Arif, Muhammad & Nguyen, Cuong, 2022. "Corporate investment and government policy during the COVID-19 crisis," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 677-696.
    4. Dang, Van Dan & Nguyen, Hoang Chung, 2022. "Bank profitability under uncertainty," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 119-134.
    5. Lan, Sushan & Meng, Wanshan, 2024. "Impact of economic policy uncertainty on systemic risk of real enterprises: Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 69(PB).
    6. Gerek, Caner & Tuncez, Ahmet M., 2025. "Anatomy of a fall: Economic policy uncertainty and foreign income in large European banks," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    7. Kiosses, Nikolaos & Leventis, Stergios & Subeniotis, Demetres & Tampakoudis, Ioannis, 2025. "The impact of policy uncertainty on shareholder wealth: Evidence from bank M&A," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    8. Nguyen, Giang & Vo, Vinh, 2024. "Economic policy uncertainty around the world: Implications for Vietnam," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    9. Ongsakul, Viput & Chatjuthamard, Pattanaporn & Chintrakarn, Pandej & Jiraporn, Pornsit, 2025. "Climate change exposure in uncertain times: A text-based approach," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    10. Zada, Hassan & Khan, Naveed & Rehman, Mobeen Ur & Vo, Xuan Vinh & Ghardallou, Wafa, 2025. "Portfolio diversification amid economic uncertainty in Pakistan: empirical evidence from the quantile-on-quantile approach," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    11. Hoang, Khanh & Nguyen, Cuong & Huynh, Toan Luu Duc & Zhang, Hailiang & Vu, Van Thi Thuy, 2025. "How does carbon transition risk drive corporate diversification? Evidence from heavy emitter firms in China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 1971-1994.
    12. Aiping Wang & Bin Dou & Xingfang Guo & Haifeng Hu, 2023. "Economic Policy Uncertainty: Does It Truly Matter?—Evidence from Corporate Fraudulent Behaviors in Chinese Capital Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-31, March.
    13. Pieter Nel & Renee van Eyden, 2026. "From News to Noise: Does Media Sentiment Drive Stock Market Volatility?," Working Papers 202605, University of Pretoria, Department of Economics.
    14. Buu Kiem Dang & Duc Toan Vo & Nguyen Tuyet Minh Ha, 2025. "The impact of economic uncertainty and institutional quality on bank profitability: global evidence," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 22(3), pages 1-29, July.
    15. Tung Nguyen & Dimitris Petmezas & Nikolaos Karampatsas, 2023. "Does Terrorism Affect Acquisitions?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 69(7), pages 4134-4168, July.
    16. Sharon Belenzon & Victor Manuel Bennett & Andrea Patacconi, 2019. "Flexible Production and Entry: Institutional, Technological, and Organizational Determinants," Strategy Science, INFORMS, vol. 4(3), pages 193-216, September.
    17. Hitesh Doshi & Praveen Kumar & Vijay Yerramilli, 2018. "Uncertainty, Capital Investment, and Risk Management," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(12), pages 5769-5786, December.
    18. Gabriel P. Mathy, 2020. "How much did uncertainty shocks matter in the Great Depression?," Cliometrica, Springer;Cliometric Society (Association Francaise de Cliométrie), vol. 14(2), pages 283-323, May.
    19. Tosapol Apaitan & Pongsak Luangaram & Pym Manopimoke, 2022. "Uncertainty in an emerging market economy: evidence from Thailand," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 62(3), pages 933-989, March.
    20. Boyan Jovanovic & Sai Ma, 2022. "Uncertainty and Growth Disasters," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 44, pages 33-64, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    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:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:13:p:9982-:d:1177631. 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.