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Trade policy and industrial policy in China: What motivates public authorities to apply restrictions on exports?

Author

Listed:
  • Julien Gourdon

    (CEPII - Centre d'Etudes Prospectives et d'Informations Internationales - Centre d'analyse stratégique)

  • Stéphanie Monjon

    (LEDa - Laboratoire d'Economie de Dauphine - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - Université Paris Dauphine-PSL - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Sandra Poncet

    (CEPII - Centre d'Etudes Prospectives et d'Informations Internationales - Centre d'analyse stratégique)

Abstract

This work investigates the motivations behind the Chinese fiscal policy on exports. It relies on very detailed product level (HS 6 digit) data over the period 2002-12 covering both export tax and export VAT rebate. It aims to uncover the respective importance of the various policy motivations and how they evolved over time. Our empirical analysis relates the tax rates to proxies of official objectives pursued by the Chinese public authorities such as those related to the promotion of technology or protection of the environment but also other unstated motives pertaining to subsidization of downstream sectors and terms of trade. Our results suggest that the Chinese fiscal policy targeting exports followsa variety of objectives whose relative importance changed over the period 2002-2012.

Suggested Citation

  • Julien Gourdon & Stéphanie Monjon & Sandra Poncet, 2017. "Trade policy and industrial policy in China: What motivates public authorities to apply restrictions on exports?," Working Papers hal-01496419, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-01496419
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-01496419
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    Cited by:

    1. Wang Zhenhua & Zhang Guangsheng, 2016. "Industrial policy, production efficiency improvement and the Chinese county economic growth," Zbornik radova Ekonomskog fakulteta u Rijeci/Proceedings of Rijeka Faculty of Economics, University of Rijeka, Faculty of Economics and Business, vol. 34(2), pages 505-528.
    2. Mario Cimoli & Jose Antonio Ocampo & Gabriel Porcile & Nunzia Saporito, 2020. "Choosing sides in the trilemma: international financial cycles and structural change in developing economies," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(7), pages 740-761, October.
    3. Bond, Eric W. & Duan, Yuwan & Ji, Ting & Lu, Yi, 2023. "Trade and welfare effects of export tax: Theory and evidence from China's incomplete export VAT rebate," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 214(C), pages 542-560.
    4. Isabel-Maria Bodas Freitas & Jojo Jacob & Lili Wang & Zibiao Li, 2023. "Energy use and exporting: an analysis of Chinese firms," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 33(1), pages 179-207, January.
    5. Garred, Jason, 2018. "The persistence of trade policy in China after WTO accession," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 130-142.
    6. Baoqing Tang & Bo Gao & Jing Ma, 2021. "The impact of export VAT rebates on firm productivity: Evidence from China," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(10), pages 2798-2820, October.
    7. Bo Gao & Jing Ma & Zheng Wang, 2021. "The employment and wage effects of export VAT rebates: evidence from China," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 157(2), pages 347-373, May.
    8. Yue Lin, 2018. "Post-crisis China impact on trade integration and manufacturing competitiveness between Argentina and Brazil," Journal of Chinese Economic and Business Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(2), pages 147-170, April.
    9. Julien Gourdon & Laura Hering & Stéphanie Monjon & Sandra Poncet, 2022. "Estimating the Repercussions from China’s Export VAT Rebate Policy," PSE-Ecole d'économie de Paris (Postprint) hal-03274542, HAL.
    10. Sun, Churen & Wu, Han, 2023. "The impact of export VAT rebate on firm-product markups: Evidence from Chinese industrial enterprises," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    11. Julien Gourdon & Laura Hering & Stéphanie Monjon & Sandra Poncet, 2019. "Trade policy repercussions: the role of local product space -Evidence from China," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) hal-02065779, HAL.
    12. Braakmann, Nils & Gao, Bo & Maioli, Sara, 2020. "VAT rebates as trade policy: Evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    13. Zhu, Xuehong & Li, Xinyuan & Zhang, Hongwei & Huang, Jianbai, 2019. "International market power analysis of China’s tungsten export market -- from the perspective of tungsten export policies," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 643-652.
    14. Xu, Zhiwei & Wen, Qiang & Zhang, Teng, 2023. "Trade policy and air pollution: Evidence from the adjustment of the export tax rebate in China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    15. Hau, Liya & Zhu, Huiming & Yu, Yang & Yu, Dongwei, 2022. "Time-frequency coherence and quantile causality between trade policy uncertainty and rare earth prices: Evidence from China and the US," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    16. Julien Gourdon & Laura Hering & Stéphanie Monjon & Sandra Poncet, 2022. "Estimating the repercussions from China's export value‐added tax rebate policy," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 124(1), pages 243-277, January.
    17. Huasheng Song & Guili Sun, 2022. "Investment Promotion, Tax Competition, and Industrial Land Price in China—Evidence from the Corporate Tax Collection Reform," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-17, May.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    VAT system; China; industrial policy; export tax; Trade policy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F10 - International Economics - - Trade - - - General
    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth

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