Import competition, state-owned enterprise prevalence and employment: Evidence from China

Does state-owned enterprise (SOE) prevalence affect the employment adjustments of firms after trade liberalisation? This paper estimates the role of the prevalence of SOEs in the labour market in import competition by using city-industry level panel data in China from 2000 to 2006. Our results indicate that import competition decreases employment in the manufacturing industry and that SOE prevalence could partially offset the negative effect on employment. This offsetting effect is demonstrated at both extensive and intensive margins. Moreover, SOE prevalence has a positive externality for the employment of non-SOEs under the import competition shock. Therefore, we verify the positive externality of SOEs in labour market adjustment in response to import competition.