Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/149191 
Year of Publication: 
2016
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 10332
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
This paper empirically analyzes the impact of Chinese minimum wage regulations on the firm decision to invest in physical and human capital. We exploit the geographical and inter-temporal variations of county-level minimum wages in a panel data set of all state-owned and all above-scale non-state-owned Chinese firms covering the introduction of the new Chinese minimum wage regulations in 2004. In our basic regressions including all Chinese firms, we find significant negative effects of the minimum wage on human capital investment rates and no overall effects on fixed capital investment rates. When grouping firms by their ownership structure, we find that these results hold for most firms. Foreign-owned firms are an exception to some extent, because the likelihood that they invest in human capital has not decreased in response to the policy.
Subjects: 
minimum wage
firm investment
fixed capital
human capital
JEL: 
J31
J38
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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