Working Paper: NBER ID: w13376
Authors: Bruce Blonigen; Alyson Ma
Abstract: Foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) account for well over half of all Chinese exports and this share continues to grow. While the substantial presence of FIEs has contributed greatly to the recent export-led growth of China, an important objective of the Chinese government is to ultimately obtain foreign technologies and develop their own technological capabilities domestically. This paper uses detailed data on Chinese exports by sector and type of enterprise to examine the extent to which domestic enterprises are "keeping up" or even "catching up" to FIEs in the volume, composition and quality of their exports. We also use a newly-created dataset on Chinese policies encouraging or restricting FIEs across sectors to examine the extent to which such policies can affect the evolving composition of Chinese exports.
Keywords: Chinese exports; foreign-invested enterprises; technology transfer; government policy
JEL Codes: F14; L11; L15
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Technology Transfer (O39) | Market Share of Chinese Firms (F23) |
| Technology Transfer (O39) | Unit Values of Exports (F14) |
| Government Policies Encouraging FDI (F21) | Market Share of Foreign Firms (F23) |
| Government Policies Restricting FDI (F23) | Market Share of Foreign Firms (F23) |
| Technology Transfer Costs (F16) | Market Share of Chinese Firms (F23) |
| Technology Transfer Costs (F16) | Unit Values of Exports (F14) |