中国劳动收入份额变动的决定机制分析——市场竞争和制度质量的双重视角

The Determination Mechanism of Changes in China's Labor Income Share: Based on the Double Perspectives of Market Competition and Institutional Quality

提高劳动所得在GDP中的份额和让劳动者共享发展成果,是中国特色社会主义新时代全面建设小康社会的重要任务。本文通过拓展Blanchard&Giavazzi(2003)的研究构建劳动收入份额变动模型,使用1998—2013年中国工业企业数据库的数据,首次从市场竞争和制度质量的双重视角重新考察了中国劳动收入份额变动的影响因素、决定机制和传导路径,结果显示:(1)"市场竞争效应"通过技术偏向和资本深化两个渠道显著降低了劳动收入份额;(2)"制度质量效应"通过垄断定价、融资约束两个渠道同样显著降低了劳动收入份额,但通过劳动谈判能力渠道能够直接遏制劳动收入份额下降和间接缓解垄断定价对劳动收入份额的降低作用;(3)目前中国劳动收入份额持续下降的主导机制是"市场竞争效应",主要渠道是技术偏向和资本深化,进一步下降的动力仍然存在。基于上述分析,本文的政策含义是在坚持市场化改革方向不动摇的前提下,加速转变技术发展战略和加快改善制度环境,重点是深化国有企业改革,构建新型政商关系,改善企业融资环境和提高劳动谈判能力。

“Keynes facts”and“Kaldor s facts”,which posit that the labor share remains stable over the long term,have been widely accepted in academic circles.However,aglobal decline in labor income began to appear in the 1980s that has aroused the concern of scholars all over the world.The decline of the labor income share has a number of serious consequences,such as reducing consumption demand,hindering economic growth,widening the income gap,increasing social conflicts,and weakening social and political stability.China has made tremendous strides in development after 40 years of domestic reform and opening-up,not only becoming the world s second largest economy,but also making major contributions to global poverty reduction.However,China currently faces two issues in the field of income distribution:income inequality continues to rise and labor share continues to decline.As socialism with Chinese characteristics has crossed the threshold into a new era,the principal contradiction facing Chinese society has evolved.We now face a contradiction between unbalanced and inadequate development and the people s ever-growing need for a better life.Both governments and scholars are paying more attention to protecting the interests of the workers and safeguarding the rights of laborers.Because labor is a source of wealth and happiness,we must persist in advocating for labor and benefiting workers.Therefore,increasing the labor share of gross domestic product(GDP)and distributing benefits from economic development are important tasks in building a more widely prosperous society in the new era of socialism with Chinese characteristics.The literatureon labor income share of GDP is limited in three aspects.First,it emphasizes macroeconomic analysis;few papers have presented micro-level studies that focus on enterprises.Second,although empirical studies are abundant,research on theoretical mechanisms is rare.Third,studies are usually based on single-factor analysis,and few studies have simultaneously considered the effects of various factors.This paper builds a model of the change of labor share by expanding Blanchard&Giavazzi(2003)using Chinese industrial enterprise data from 1998 to 2013.It is the first paper to investigate the influencing factors,decision mechanisms,and transmission paths of China s labor share from the perspectives of both market competition and institutional quality.The results show that,first,the decline of labor share is affected by both market and institutional factors.Second,the“market competitive effect”and“institutional quality effect”are two mechanisms that determine the change in China s labor share.The former mechanism significantly reduces China s labor share through technology bias and capital deepening.The latter takes effect through monopoly pricing and financing constraints;it can directly curb the decline in labor income share and indirectly mitigate the reducing effect of monopoly pricing on labor income share through the channel of labor bargain power.Third,the“market competitive effect”is the dominant mechanism in recent years.The main channel is technology bias and capital deepening,which are together the impetus of the continuous decline in China s labor share.The findings of this paper have important implications for solving the decline in China s labor share.First,it is necessary to adhere to the direction of marketization.We must redirect the technology development strategy from the catch-up approach of“introduction and imitation”to“R&D and innovation”,and change the path of capital deepening from“strengthening capital and weakening labor”to“optimizing capital and improving skills”.Second,further institutional reform is needed.We must improve the institutional environment by deepening the reform of state-owned enterprises,building a new relationship between government and businesses,alleviating corporate financing constraints,and enhancing labor negotiation capabilities.Third,redistribution requires adjustment.Because the negative effect of the“Market Competitive Effect”is greater than the positive effect of the“institutional quality effect”at present,in addition to the intervention of primary distribution in factor income share,income redistribution policies are needed to effectively adjust income gaps and share the fruits of economic and social development.