资本劳动相对价格、替代弹性与劳动收入份额

Capital-Labour Relative Price, Substitution Elasticity and Labour Income Share

资本劳动相对价格变动是影响劳动收入份额最为直接的因素。然而,由于估计资本劳动替代弹性所面临的挑战,鲜有文献定量地探讨这一重要问题。本文在测算出资本劳动替代弹性的基础上,通过拓展最新劳动收入份额分解框架,定量考察了中国资本劳动相对价格与劳动收入份额的关系。研究发现:中国资本劳动替代弹性显著大于1;在研究样本期内,资本劳动相对价格下降导致劳动收入份额累计下降0.16;进一步的计量回归分析表明,控制劳动收入份额主要影响因素后,资本劳动相对价格下降显著拉低了中国劳动收入份额。

The change in capital-labour relative price is one of the most direct factors affecting labour income share.However,due to the challenges faced in estimating capital-labour substitution elasticity,there is limited literature in this field when dealing quantitatively with this important issue.In light of this,on the basis of estimating China s capital-labour substitution elasticity,the present paper quantitatively explores the relationship between capital-labour relative price and labour income share in China by developing the latest labour income share decomposition framework.Our results suggest that:China s capital-labour substitution elasticity is significantly greater than 1;during the study sampling period,the reduction of China s capital-labour relative price results in a cumulative decline in China s labour income share by 0.16;further econometric regression analysis shows that,after controlling the main factors affecting the labour income share,the capital-labour relative price decline still significantly reduces labour income share.