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Gains from trade or from catching-up? Value creation and distribution in the era of China's WTO accession

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  • Giovanni Dosi
  • Maria Enrica Virgillito
  • Xiaodan Yu

Abstract

In this article we focus on the role of exports in Chinese economic development in the era of WTO accession. We address a series of different, although connected, questions. First, do Chinese exporting and non-exporting firms differ in terms of their productivity performance and paid wages? Second, to what extent exporting and non-exporting firms have contributed to the process of convergence and catching-up? Third, does the productivity-wage pass-through differ between exporting and non-exporting firms? Overall our findings downplay the role of exporting firms as both carriers of labour productivity and wage growth for the Chinese economy. In this respect, ''gains from catching-up'' outweigh any ''gain from trade''.

Suggested Citation

  • Giovanni Dosi & Maria Enrica Virgillito & Xiaodan Yu, 2020. "Gains from trade or from catching-up? Value creation and distribution in the era of China's WTO accession," LEM Papers Series 2020/22, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    • Handle: RePEc:ssa:lemwps:2020/22
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    1. Julien Hanoteau, 2023. "Do foreign MNEs alleviate multidimensional poverty in developing countries?," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 13(4), pages 719-749, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Export; Wage; Productivity; Trade; Event studies;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L6 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Manufacturing
    • F16 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Labor Market Interactions
    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

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