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Minimum Wage Competition between Local Governments in China

Author

Listed:
  • Yanan Li
  • Ravi Kanbur
  • Carl Lin

Abstract

The theory of fiscal and regulatory competition between jurisdictions is more advanced than its empirical testing. This is particularly true of labour regulation in general, and minimum wage regulation in particular, and especially so for developing countries. This paper utilises the spatial lag methodology to study city-level strategic interactions in setting and enforcing minimum wage standards during 2004–2012 in China. We manually collect a panel data set of city-level minimum wage standards from China’s government websites. This analysis finds strong evidence of spatial interdependence in minimum wage standards and enforcement among main cities in China. If other cities decrease minimum wage standards by 1 RMB, the host city will decrease its standard by about 0.7–3.2 RMB. If the violation rate in other cities increases by 1 per cent, the host city will respond by an increase of roughly 0.4–1.0 percentage points. The results are robust to using three estimation methods, Maximum Likelihood, IV/GMM, and a dynamic panel data model. Our findings of strategic interactions suggest the need for policy coordination in labour regulation in China.

Suggested Citation

  • Yanan Li & Ravi Kanbur & Carl Lin, 2019. "Minimum Wage Competition between Local Governments in China," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(12), pages 2479-2494, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:jdevst:v:55:y:2019:i:12:p:2479-2494
    DOI: 10.1080/00220388.2018.1536263
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    Cited by:

    1. Liu, Dan & Robone, Silvana & Turati, Gilberto, 2024. "The effect of minimum wages on self-reported physical and mental health in China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    2. Jin, Yige & Dong, Nanyan & Tian, Gaoliang & Zhang, Junrui, 2023. "Wisdom of the masses: Employee education and corporate risk taking," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    3. Koichi Fukumura & Atsushi Yamagishi, 2020. "Minimum wage competition," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 27(6), pages 1557-1581, December.
    4. Kong, Dongmin & Liu, Lihua & Yang, Zhiqing, 2021. "High-speed rails and rural-urban migrants’ wages," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 1030-1042.
    5. Ronconi, Lucas & Raphael, Steven, 2024. "Measuring Effective Labor Regulation in the Less Developed World: Recent Advances and Challenges Ahead," IZA Policy Papers 210, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Ravi Kanbur, 2017. "Working Paper 266 - Structural Transformation and Income Distribution: Kuznets and Beyond," Working Paper Series 2377, African Development Bank.
    7. Kwak, Kiho & Kim, Namil, 2022. "Industrial Leadership Changes without Technological Discontinuity: Modularization, Institution-Led Market Discontinuity, and Market Development Strategy," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    8. Kanbur, Ravi & Wang, Yue & Zhang, Xiaobo, 2021. "The great Chinese inequality turnaround," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(2), pages 467-482.
    9. Kanbur, Ravi, 2017. "Structural Transformation and Income Distribution: Kuznets and Beyond," IZA Discussion Papers 10636, IZA Network @ LISER.
    10. Zhang, Ming-ang & Lu, Shuling & Zhang, Sihan & Bai, Yanfeng, 2023. "The unintended consequence of minimum wage hikes: Evidence based on firms' pollution emission," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    11. Wannaphong Durongkaveroj, 2024. "Structural transformation and inequality: Does trade openness matter?," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(6), pages 2631-2663, June.
    12. Haili Ren & Ming Zhu & Bofei Lyu, 2024. "Greening the Economy from the Ground Up: How the Minimum Wage Affects Firms’ Pollution Emissions in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(14), pages 1-21, July.
    13. Achim Schmillen & Michael Stops & Dewen Wang, 2023. "The Determinants of China's Minimum Wage Rates," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 31(3), pages 59-91, May.
    14. Muriel Périsse & Clément Séhier, 2019. "Analysing wages and labour institutions in China: An unfinished transition," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 30(3), pages 400-421, September.
    15. Chung-Khain Wye & Elya Nabila Abdul Bahri, 2021. "How does employment respond to minimum wage adjustment in China?," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 32(1), pages 90-114, March.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J38 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Public Policy

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