IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ces/ceswps/_10967.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Long-Term Effect of Western Customs Institution on Firm Innovation in China

Author

Listed:
  • Gan Jin
  • Günther G. Schulze

Abstract

Can historical institutions affect today’s firm innovation? We analyze a historical experiment in 1902, when the foreign-run Chinese Maritime Customs Service (CMC), known for its efficient and transparent governance, took over some of the notoriously corrupt Chinese Native Custom stations and improved their governance. Using a large data set of contemporary industrial firms in China, we show that firms in locations historically affected by the CMC rules exhibit higher innovation intensities today, which can be attributed to the persisting norms of honesty and lawfulness embedded in the CMC institution. They reduce local corruption and stimulate firms’ investment in R&D and training to this day. We identify a causal effect by comparing firms in locations affected by the takeover with firms in similar but unaffected regions nearby. We also use an IV strategy that exploits the takeover criterion, which stipulated that Native Customs stations within a 25 km radius of a CMC customs station could be taken over by the Western powers.

Suggested Citation

  • Gan Jin & Günther G. Schulze, 2024. "The Long-Term Effect of Western Customs Institution on Firm Innovation in China," CESifo Working Paper Series 10967, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10967
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.cesifo.org/DocDL/cesifo1_wp10967.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kugler, Maurice, 2006. "Spillovers from foreign direct investment: Within or between industries?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(2), pages 444-477, August.
    2. Nathan Nunn, 2009. "The Importance of History for Economic Development," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 1(1), pages 65-92, May.
    3. Bee Yan Aw & Mark J. Roberts & Daniel Yi Xu, 2011. "R&D Investment, Exporting, and Productivity Dynamics," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(4), pages 1312-1344, June.
    4. Pian Shu & Claudia Steinwender, 2019. "The Impact of Trade Liberalization on Firm Productivity and Innovation," Innovation Policy and the Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 19(1), pages 39-68.
    5. Danzer, Alexander M. & Danzer, Natalia & Feuerbaum, Carsten, 2023. "Military Spending and Innovation: Learning from 19th Century World Fair Exhibition Data," IZA Discussion Papers 16034, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Huang, Qianqian & Yuan, Tao, 2021. "Does Political Corruption Impede Firm Innovation? Evidence from the United States," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 56(1), pages 213-248, February.
    7. Philippe Aghion & Nick Bloom & Richard Blundell & Rachel Griffith & Peter Howitt, 2005. "Competition and Innovation: an Inverted-U Relationship," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 120(2), pages 701-728.
    8. Nathan Nunn & Diego Puga, 2012. "Ruggedness: The Blessing of Bad Geography in Africa," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 94(1), pages 20-36, February.
    9. Ellis, Jesse & Smith, Jared & White, Roger, 2020. "Corruption and Corporate Innovation," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 55(7), pages 2124-2149, November.
    10. Alexander Donges & Jean-Marie Meier & Rui C. Silva, 2023. "The Impact of Institutions on Innovation," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 69(4), pages 1951-1974, April.
    11. Juan A. Correa, 2012. "Innovation and competition: An unstable relationship," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(1), pages 160-166, January.
    12. Mulkay, Benoît, 2019. "How does competition affect innovation behaviour in french firms?," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 237-251.
    13. Luigi Guiso & Paola Sapienza & Luigi Zingales, 2016. "Long-Term Persistence," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 14(6), pages 1401-1436, December.
    14. Toke S. Aidt, 2009. "Corruption, institutions, and economic development," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 25(2), pages 271-291, Summer.
    15. Petra Moser & Alessandra Voena & Fabian Waldinger, 2014. "German Jewish ?migr?s and US Invention," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(10), pages 3222-3255, October.
    16. Daron Acemoglu & Simon Johnson & James A. Robinson, 2001. "The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development: An Empirical Investigation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(5), pages 1369-1401, December.
    17. Loren Brandt & Debin Ma & Thomas G. Rawski, 2014. "From Divergence to Convergence: Reevaluating the History behind China's Economic Boom," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 52(1), pages 45-123, March.
    18. Leonid Kogan & Dimitris Papanikolaou & Amit Seru & Noah Stoffman, 2017. "Technological Innovation, Resource Allocation, and Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 132(2), pages 665-712.
    19. Poncet, Sandra & Steingress, Walter & Vandenbussche, Hylke, 2010. "Financial constraints in China: Firm-level evidence," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(3), pages 411-422, September.
    20. Bronwyn H. Hall & Adam B. Jaffe & Manuel Trajtenberg, 2001. "The NBER Patent Citation Data File: Lessons, Insights and Methodological Tools," NBER Working Papers 8498, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    21. Remi Jedwab & Edward Kerby & Alexander Moradi, 2017. "History, Path Dependence and Development: Evidence from Colonial Railways, Settlers and Cities in Kenya," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 127(603), pages 1467-1494, August.
    22. Casey, Gregory & Klemp, Marc, 2021. "Historical instruments and contemporary endogenous regressors," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    23. Paunov, Caroline, 2016. "Corruption's asymmetric impacts on firm innovation," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 216-231.
    24. Xu, Gang & Yano, Go, 2017. "How does anti-corruption affect corporate innovation? Evidence from recent anti-corruption efforts in China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(3), pages 498-519.
    25. Baumol, William J., 1996. "Entrepreneurship: Productive, unproductive, and destructive," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 11(1), pages 3-22, January.
    26. Eugen Dimant & Guglielmo Tosato, 2018. "Causes And Effects Of Corruption: What Has Past Decade'S Empirical Research Taught Us? A Survey," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(2), pages 335-356, April.
    27. Nico Voigtländer & Hans-Joachim Voth, 2012. "Persecution Perpetuated: The Medieval Origins of Anti-Semitic Violence in Nazi Germany," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 127(3), pages 1339-1392.
    28. Wolfgang Keller & Ben Li & Carol H. Shiue, 2011. "China’s Foreign Trade: Perspectives From the Past 150 Years," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(6), pages 853-892, June.
    29. Aamir Rafique Hashmi, 2013. "Competition and Innovation: The Inverted-U Relationship Revisited," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 95(5), pages 1653-1668, December.
    30. Nunn, Nathan, 2009. "The Importance of History for Economic Development," Scholarly Articles 33077824, Harvard University Department of Economics.
    31. Blomstrom, Magnus & Sjoholm, Fredrik, 1999. "Technology transfer and spillovers: Does local participation with multinationals matter?1," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(4-6), pages 915-923, April.
    32. Melissa Dell & Nathan Lane & Pablo Querubin, 2018. "The Historical State, Local Collective Action, and Economic Development in Vietnam," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 86(6), pages 2083-2121, November.
    33. Liu, Xiaohui & Buck, Trevor, 2007. "Innovation performance and channels for international technology spillovers: Evidence from Chinese high-tech industries," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 355-366, April.
    34. Alla Lileeva & Daniel Trefler, 2010. "Improved Access to Foreign Markets Raises Plant-level Productivity…For Some Plants," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 125(3), pages 1051-1099.
    35. Gan Jin & Günther G. Schulze, 2024. "Historical Legacies and Urbanization: Evidence from Chinese Concessions," Discussion Paper Series 47 JEL Classification: N9, Department of International Economic Policy, University of Freiburg, revised Feb 2024.
    36. Andrews, Michael J. & Whalley, Alexander, 2022. "150 years of the geography of innovation," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    37. Guisado-González, Manuel & Vila-Alonso, Mercedes & Guisado-Tato, Manuel, 2016. "Radical innovation, incremental innovation and training: Analysis of complementarity," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 48-54.
    38. Sascha O. Becker & Katrin Boeckh & Christa Hainz & Ludger Woessmann, 2016. "The Empire Is Dead, Long Live the Empire! Long‐Run Persistence of Trust and Corruption in the Bureaucracy," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 126(590), pages 40-74, February.
    39. Chen, Yuyu & Wang, Hui & Yan, Se, 2022. "The long-term effects of Protestant activities in China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 394-414.
    40. Kevin M. Murphy & Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 1991. "The Allocation of Talent: Implications for Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 106(2), pages 503-530.
    41. Lily Fang & Josh Lerner & Chaopeng Wu & Qi Zhang, 2018. "Corruption, Government Subsidies, and Innovation: Evidence from China," NBER Working Papers 25098, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    42. Daron Acemoglu & Simon Johnson & James A. Robinson, 2002. "Reversal of Fortune: Geography and Institutions in the Making of the Modern World Income Distribution," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 117(4), pages 1231-1294.
    43. Chen, Yongmin & Jiang, Haiwei & Liang, Yousha & Pan, Shiyuan, 2022. "The impact of foreign direct investment on innovation: Evidence from patent filings and citations in China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(4), pages 917-945.
    44. Stefan Bauernschuster & Oliver Falck & Stephan Heblich, 2009. "Training and Innovation," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 3(4), pages 323-353.
    45. Stelios Michalopoulos & Elias Papaioannou, 2013. "Pre‐Colonial Ethnic Institutions and Contemporary African Development," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 81(1), pages 113-152, January.
    46. Anokhin, Sergey & Schulze, William S., 2009. "Entrepreneurship, innovation, and corruption," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 24(5), pages 465-476, September.
    47. Philippe Askenazy & Christophe Cahn & Delphine Irac, 2013. "Competition, R&D, and the cost of innovation: evidence for France," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 65(2), pages 293-311, April.
    48. Federica Coelli & Andreas Moxnes & Karen Helene Ulltveit-Moe, 2022. "Better, Faster, Stronger: Global Innovation and Trade Liberalization," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 104(2), pages 205-216, May.
    49. Benoit Mulkay, 2019. "How does competition affect innovation behaviour in french firms?," Post-Print hal-03511763, HAL.
    50. Sara Lowes & Nathan Nunn & James A. Robinson & Jonathan L. Weigel, 2017. "The Evolution of Culture and Institutions: Evidence From the Kuba Kingdom," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 85, pages 1065-1091, July.
    51. Hu, Albert Guangzhou & Jefferson, Gary H., 2009. "A great wall of patents: What is behind China's recent patent explosion?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(1), pages 57-68, September.
    52. Daniel P. Gross & Bhaven N. Sampat, 2023. "America, Jump-Started: World War II R&D and the Takeoff of the US Innovation System," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 113(12), pages 3323-3356, December.
    53. Bronwyn Hall & Christian Helmers & Mark Rogers & Vania Sena, 2014. "The Choice between Formal and Informal Intellectual Property: A Review," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 52(2), pages 375-423, June.
    54. Zoltan J. Acs & Luc Anselin & Attila Varga, 2008. "Patents and Innovation Counts as Measures of Regional Production of New Knowledge," Chapters, in: Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy, chapter 11, pages 135-151, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    55. Daron Acemoglu, 1997. "Training and Innovation in an Imperfect Labour Market," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 64(3), pages 445-464.
    56. Hongbin Cai & Hanming Fang & Lixin Colin Xu, 2011. "Eat, Drink, Firms, Government: An Investigation of Corruption from the Entertainment and Travel Costs of Chinese Firms," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 54(1), pages 55-78.
    57. Cheung Kui-yin & Lin, Ping, 2004. "Spillover effects of FDI on innovation in China: Evidence from the provincial data," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 15(1), pages 25-44.
    58. Jin, Gan, 2023. "Circle of fortune: The long-term impact of Western customs institution in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    59. Jiang, Ting & Nie, Huihua, 2014. "The stained China miracle: Corruption, regulation, and firm performance," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 123(3), pages 366-369.
    60. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Wang, Chih-Wei & Ho, Shan-Ju, 2020. "Country governance, corruption, and the likelihood of firms’ innovation," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 326-338.
    61. Chen, Sheng-Syan & Chen, Yan-Shing & Liang, Woan-lih & Wang, Yanzhi, 2013. "R&D Spillover Effects and Firm Performance Following R&D Increases," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 48(5), pages 1607-1634, October.
    62. Paolo Mauro, 1995. "Corruption and Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 110(3), pages 681-712.
    63. Audretsch, David B. & Belitski, Maksim, 2020. "The role of R&D and knowledge spillovers in innovation and productivity," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    64. Yiming Cao & Shuo Chen, 2022. "Rebel on the Canal: Disrupted Trade Access and Social Conflict in China, 1650–1911," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 112(5), pages 1555-1590, May.
    65. Francesco Cinnirella & Jochen Streb, 2017. "The role of human capital and innovation in economic development: evidence from post-Malthusian Prussia," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 193-227, June.
    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. Jin, Gan, 2023. "Circle of fortune: The long-term impact of Western customs institution in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    2. Leonardo M. Klüppel & Lamar Pierce & Jason A. Snyder, 2018. "Perspective—The Deep Historical Roots of Organization and Strategy: Traumatic Shocks, Culture, and Institutions," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 29(4), pages 702-721, August.
    3. Nunn, Nathan, 2014. "Historical Development," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 7, pages 347-402, Elsevier.
    4. Gan Jin & Günther G. Schulze, 2024. "Historical Legacies and Urbanization: Evidence from Chinese Concessions," CESifo Working Paper Series 10976, CESifo.
    5. Chen, Yongmin & Jiang, Haiwei & Liang, Yousha & Pan, Shiyuan, 2022. "The impact of foreign direct investment on innovation: Evidence from patent filings and citations in China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(4), pages 917-945.
    6. Luigi Aldieri & Cristian Barra & Nazzareno Ruggiero & Concetto Paolo Vinci, 2023. "Corruption and firms’ efficiency: international evidence using an instrumental variable approach," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 40(2), pages 731-759, July.
    7. Okoye, Dozie, 2021. "Things fall apart? Missions, institutions, and interpersonal trust," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    8. Davide Cantoni & Franziska Kugler & Ludger Wößmann & Franziska Pfaehler, 2014. "The Long Shadow of History: Persistency Mechanisms in Economic History," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 67(02), pages 13-22, January.
    9. Liu, Xianda & Hou, Wenxuan & Main, Brian G.M., 2022. "Anti-market sentiment and corporate social responsibility: Evidence from anti-Jewish pogroms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    10. Alexander Donges & Jean-Marie Meier & Rui C. Silva, 2023. "The Impact of Institutions on Innovation," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 69(4), pages 1951-1974, April.
    11. Enrico Spolaore & Romain Wacziarg, 2013. "How Deep Are the Roots of Economic Development?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 51(2), pages 325-369, June.
    12. Xu, Gang & Yano, Go, 2017. "How does anti-corruption affect corporate innovation? Evidence from recent anti-corruption efforts in China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(3), pages 498-519.
    13. Donna Feir & Rob Gillezeau & Maggie E. C. Jones, 2019. "The Slaughter of the Bison and Reversal of Fortunes on the Great Plains," Center for Indian Country Development series 1-2019, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
    14. Leander Heldring, 2019. "The Origins of Violence in Rwanda," HiCN Working Papers 299, Households in Conflict Network.
    15. Natkhov, T. & Polishchuk, L., 2017. "Political Economy of Institutions and Development: The Importance of Being Inclusive. Reflection on "Why Nations Fail" by D. Acemoglu and J. Robinson. Part I. Institutions and Economic Devel," Journal of the New Economic Association, New Economic Association, vol. 34(2), pages 12-38.
    16. Walker, Sarah, 2020. "Historical legacies in savings: Evidence from Romania," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 76-99.
    17. Bai, Yu & Arabadzhyan, Anastasia & Li, Yanjun, 2022. "The legacy of the Great Wall," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 120-147.
    18. Focacci, Chiara Natalie & Kovac, Mitja & Spruk, Rok, 2023. "Ethnolinguistic diversity, quality of local public institutions, and firm-level innovation," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    19. Maseland, Robbert, 2021. "Contingent determinants," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    20. Impullitti, Giammario & Akcigit, Ufuk & Ates, Sina T., 2018. "Innovation and Trade Policy in a Globalized World," CEPR Discussion Papers 15804, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    innovation; persistence; institutions; corruption; China;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N75 - Economic History - - Economic History: Transport, International and Domestic Trade, Energy, and Other Services - - - Asia including Middle East
    • N45 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation - - - Asia including Middle East
    • D73 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Bureaucracy; Administrative Processes in Public Organizations; Corruption
    • Z10 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - General
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:ces:ceswps:_10967. 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: Klaus Wohlrabe (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/cesifde.html .

    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.