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Abstract; Using the microscopic data of China 's industrial enterprises, this paper measures innovation efficiency by the sales revenue of new products as a share in total sales revenue, and examines SOE mixed ownership reform 's innovation efficiency effect using PSM method under a "quasi-natural experiment" theoretical framework Results indicate that: Mixed-ownership reform can significantly increase corporate innovation efficiency. Reformed SOEs are more efficient at innovation than foreign-funded firms, private firms and firms invested by Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. This paper provides robust evidence for evaluating SOE innovation performance after mixed-ownership reform, and offers policy implications for promoting SOE mixed-ownership reform.
Keywords: ownership reform, SOEs, innovation efficiency
JEL Classification Codes: L6; 03
DOI: 10.19602/j. chinaeconomist.2018.05.04
(ProQuest: ... denotes formulae omitted.)
In recent years, SOE mixed-ownership reform aroused a great deal of interest among academicians and government researchers. With the goal to establish and improve modem corporate system, SOE ownership reforms over the past three decades have improved corporate governance, promoted equity diversification, and transformed SOEs into mixed-ownership enterprises. In November 2013, the Third Plenum of the 18th CPC Central Committee made it a priority to develop mixed-ownership system. Mixed-ownership reform aims to integrate China's public ownership economy with market-based economy. The outline of the new round of mixed-ownership reform marks a continuation of China's reform and opening-up over the years. The question is how to evaluate the reform's achievements. If innovation is an entry point for such evaluation, we would like to ask: Does SOE mixed-ownership reform promote innovation? Compared with firms of other ownership types, have SOEs become more innovative after the reform? These questions are important for scholars, government officials and the public at large.
1.Literature Review
1.1 Different Ownership Systems and Innovation and Efficiency
Many studies have been carried out to investigate the relationship between ownership and innovation. Zhang et al. (2003) uncover that foreign-funded firms are the most efficient at innovation, and SOEs are the least efficient at innovation. Using the sample data of China's manufacturing firms dining 1997-1999, Jefferson et al. (2006) find that foreign-funded firms not only have higher R&D intensities than SOEs do but are more efficient at innovation as well. Some studies explain that centralized economy and budgetary constraint lead to innovation efficiency losses (Qian...