Market access deregulation and labor force structure: A quasi-natural experiment based on the “Negative list for market access”

Yuwei Zhou, Lin Cheng and Yuhao Niu

Finance Research Letters, 2025, vol. 82, issue C

Abstract: This study establishes a causal linkage between market access liberalization and labor force structure optimization by exploiting China's Negative List for Market Access (NLMA) reform as a quasi-natural experiment. Leveraging panel data of A-share listed firms in China from 2011 to 2018, we employ a difference-in-differences (DID) approach to demonstrate that deregulation upgrades labor force structures via human capital reallocation. Mechanisms analyses reveal that dismantling local protectionist barriers and enhancing market-driven resource allocation are critical channels. Heterogeneity tests indicate stronger effects among firms with lower financing constraints, higher competition, lower technology intensity, and regions with higher population density. Our findings advance institutional theories of labor allocation and provide policymakers-market practitioners with regulatory innovation pathways to harness heterogeneous market potential.

Keywords: Negative list for market access; Labor force structure; Market access deregulation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:finlet:v:82:y:2025:i:c:s154461232500827x

DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2025.107568

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