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Medical Insurance Contribution and Firm-Level Total Factor Productivity

  • Tao Huang ORCID logo , Rui Sun EMAIL logo und Zhe Zhao ORCID logo EMAIL logo
Veröffentlicht/Copyright: 4. November 2024

Abstract

This paper investigates the relation between medical insurance contribution and firm-level total factor productivity in China. Using a sample of Chinese A-share companies from 2007 to 2022, we find robust evidence that firms exhibit lower total factor productivity when medical insurance contribution is increasing. Specifically, we also show that this negative effect is more profound for state-owned enterprises, enterprises with lower employee compensation, and labor-intensive enterprises. Meanwhile, our findings remain valid after a series of robustness tests and controlling for endogeneity. Finally, we propose that the decreasing employees’ disposable income is plausible channel through which medical insurance contribution discourages firm-level total factor productivity in China. Overall, these results shed light on the real effects of medical insurance contribution and the determinants of firm-level total factor productivity.

JEL Classification: D24; I18

Corresponding authors: Rui Sun, Faculty of Economics, School of Finance and Trade, Liaoning University, Shenyang, China, E-mail: ; and Zhe Zhao, Faculty of Economics, School of Economics, Liaoning University, Shenyang, China; and Anti-Corruption Research Center with Chinese Characteristics, Liaoning University, Shenyang, China, E-mail:

Award Identifier / Grant number: 72303087

  1. Conflicts of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

  2. Research funding: This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 72303087].

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Received: 2024-05-13
Accepted: 2024-10-26
Published Online: 2024-11-04

© 2024 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Heruntergeladen am 2.11.2025 von https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/apjri-2024-0019/html?lang=de
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