Do China's anti-corruption efforts improve corporate productivity? A difference-in-difference exploration of Chinese listed enterprises

Miaomiao Tao, Abd Alwahed Dagestani, Lim Thye Goh, Yuhang Zheng and Wen Le

Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, 2023, vol. 87, issue PB

Abstract: Corruption affects corporate investment and diverts resources away from growth-improving factors, including R&D activities and human capital, thereby lowering productivity. Using a time-varying difference-in-differences approach, we identified the causal effect of China's anti-corruption campaign on corporate productivity during 2011–2021. The findings uncovered that China's anti-corruption campaign increased corporate productivity by approximately 18.43%. Results from heterogeneity analysis showed that the promoting effect was particularly significant in non-state-owned firms, firms without political ties, and firms in areas with weak legal systems. Additional mechanism analysis revealed that firm productivity could be significantly boosted by improving resource allocation efficiency and advancing technological innovation.

Keywords: Anti-corruption campaign; Productivity; Quasi-natural experiment; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:soceps:v:87:y:2023:i:pb:s0038012123000940

DOI: 10.1016/j.seps.2023.101594

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