金融开放是否有利于抑制僵尸企业?——基于对外资银行开放本币业务的准自然实验

Can Financial Openness Alleviate the Zombie Firm Problem?:Based on the Permission for Local Currency Services of Foreign Banks

在中国的经济发展历程中,僵尸企业所带来的问题日益凸显,解决资源错配及僵尸企业问题迫在眉睫。基于2001年前后不同城市对外资银行开展本币业务限制解除的政策背景,本文探讨了在我国金融对外开放进程中,向外资银行开放本币业务是否有助于减少僵尸企业形成,缓解资源错配的问题。研究发现,对外资银行开放本币业务能够显著降低僵尸企业形成的概率。具体而言,开放本币业务后外资银行因其技术优势、政治独立性、银行业竞争等几个方面特征对僵尸企业的形成造成影响。城市层面的实证结果也得出类似的结论,总体而言,开放外资银行本币业务对解决僵尸企业问题发挥了积极作用。

During the course of China′s economic development,the problems caused by zombie firms have become increasingly prominent,which need to be settled immediately.Based on the removal of restrictions on local currency services of foreign banks in different cities in China around 2001,this paper discusses whether opening local currency services to foreign banks helps to reduce the formation of zombie firms and alleviate the problem of resource mismatch in the process of China′s financial opening.The results show that opening local currency business to foreign banks can significantly reduce the probability of zombie firms’formation.Specifically,after foreign banks start their local currency services,the zombie firm problem has been influenced through several channels,which are foreign banks’technical advantages,political independence,and the change on the competition level of banking industry.The empirical results on the city level suggest a similar conclusion.On the whole,this financial openness has played a positive role in solving the problem of zombie firms.