Technological catching-up, sales dynamics and employment growth: evidence from China’s manufacturing firms
This paper investigates the microeconomics of employment dynamics, using a Chinese manufacturing firm-level dataset over the period 1998-2007. It does so in the light of a scheme of “circular and cumulative causation”, whereby firms’ heterogeneous productivity gains and sales dynamics, and innovation activities ultimately shape the patterns of employment dynamics. Using firm’s productivity growth as a proxy for process innovation, our results show that the latter correlates negatively with firm-level employment growth. Conversely, relative productivity levels, as such a general proxy for the broad technological advantages/disadvantages of each firm, do show positive effect on employment growth in the long-run through replicator-type dynamics. Moreover, firm-level demand dynamics play a significant role in driving employment growth, which more than compensate the labour-saving effect due to technological progress. Finally, and somewhat puzzlingly, the direct effects of product innovation and patenting activities on employment growth appear to be negligible.
Year of publication: |
2018
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Authors: | Dosi, Giovanni ; Yu, Xiaodan |
Publisher: |
Maastricht : Global Labor Organization (GLO) |
Subject: | Employment Growth | Demand | Product Innovation | Process Innovation | Export | China catching-up |
Saved in:
freely available
Series: | GLO Discussion Paper ; 177 |
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Type of publication: | Book / Working Paper |
Type of publication (narrower categories): | Working Paper |
Language: | English |
Other identifiers: | 1684880602 [GVK] hdl:10419/173398 [Handle] RePEc:zbw:glodps:177 [RePEc] |
Classification: | d22 ; J01 - Labor Economics: General ; O33 - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes |
Source: |
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10011784120