制造业企业劳资收入分配改善了么?--来自劳动力市场竞争性角度的实证证据

Has the Income Distribution between Labor and Capital in Manufacturing Firms Improved?Empirical Evidence from the Perspective of Labor Market Competition

合理有序的收入分配格局是新发展阶段促进共同富裕的根本性要求。劳资收入分配作为初次分配的重要组成部分,对最终的收入分配格局起决定性作用。企业在劳动力市场上的市场势力的强弱,决定了企业和劳动者之间收入的分配,是理解劳动收入份额的关键。本文利用2007~2016年中国企业税收调查数据库对制造业企业的劳动力市场势力进行准确估计和分析。研究发现:(1)中国企业在劳动力市场上拥有显著的市场势力。平均而言,劳动者所创造的价值中,只有44%分配给劳动者。企业的劳动力市场势力越强,企业的劳动收入份额越低;(2)2007年以后,特别是党的十八大以来企业的劳动力市场势力的水平和异质性均在下降,表明劳资收入分配改善、资源配置效率得到提高。本文进一步佐证了马克思主义剩余价值理论的科学性,即劳资市场势力的强弱对比决定了剩余价值在劳资之间的分配。在政策制定上,本文建议加强对企业在劳动力市场上垄断行为的规制、增强劳动力在职业和地域上的流动性,同时从剥离国有企业“办社会”职能的角度进一步深化国有企业改革、增强要素市场的竞争中性。通过改善劳资收入分配,最终实现进一步解放和发展生产力。

A rational and orderly income distribution is a fundamental requirement for promoting common prosperity in the new development stage. The distribution of income between labor and capital, as an important component of the primary distribution, plays a decisive role in the final income distribution. The strength of firms' labor market power determines the distribution of revenue between firms and their workers, and is a key factor in understanding the labor income shares. This paper use the China National Tax Survey Data during the period of 2007-2016 to accurately estimate and analyze manufacturing firm's labor market power. We find that:(1) Chinese firms possess significant market power in the labor market. On average, 44% of the value created by workers is distributed to workers. The higher the monopsony power, the lower the labor share within firms;(2) After 2007, especially since the 18thNational Congress of the Communist Party of China(CPC), the level and heterogeneity of firms' labor market power has experienced a decline, indicating that the income distribution between capital and labor is gradually balanced and resource allocation efficiency has been improved. Our paper provides more empirical evidence of Marx's surplus value theory, which is the distribution of surplus value between labor and capital is determined by their market power in the labor market. Our paper advocates for strengthening regulations on monopolistic behaviors of firms in the labor market, enhancing the mobility of labor in terms of both occupation and location, while further deepening the reform of state-owned enterprises from the perspective of divesting them from social functions and enhancing the competitive neutrality of factor markets. By improving the income distribution between labor and capital, China can ultimately liberate and foster productivity.