China is facing the serious problem of ‘low-end locking’ in the global value chain as it becomes deeply integrated into world trade. Deciphering how to upgrade Chinese enterprises’ positions in the global value chain is crucial to China’s economic transformation and sustainable development. This study explores the feasibility of upgrading China’s global value chain from the perspective of financial constraints. Based on a theoretical framework, this study applies firm-level production data and trade data, using a documented method of measuring domestic value added at the firm level. Besides, we apply three methods to comprehensively measure the financial constraints faced by enterprises. In our study, we verify the findings of previous empirical studies that reducing financial constraints can significantly increase enterprises’ domestic value added, and this conclusion remains valid after considering various robustness tests. Our heterogeneity analysis indicates that easing financial constraints can significantly contribute to Chinese private enterprises’ upgrade in the global value chain, which could be related with “ownership discrimination” of Chinese banks. Finally, this study analyses the two mechanisms by which relaxing financial constraints could promote global value chain upgrading: (i) directly transfer enterprises’ trade mode from processing trade to general trade and (ii) allowing enterprises to climb up in the global value chain.
KIBS is a kind of advanced production factor which could increase the added value and the productivity of manufacturing in the global value chain by industry association effect. This paper empirically tests the dynamic relationship between KIBS and manufacturing upgrading by VAR model. The results show that there is a long-term dynamic equilibrium and causal relationship between KIBS and manufacturing. The positive effect of the former on the latter is obvious and long-lasting.
This paper established a three-stage DEA model to measure the innovation efficiency of Chinese listed companies over the period 2008 to 2019, and then tested the impact of the Belt and Road Initiative on innovation efficiency with DID model. The results show that: (1) The innovation efficiency of enterprises along the Belt and Road are slightly lower than that of other enterprises, but the former improves faster. (2) The impact of the Belt and Road Initiative on innovation efficiency is mainly spillover and the impact tends to fluctuate upwards year by year. (3) The Belt and Road Initiative has effectively expanded the R&D capital stock, which is an important mediating factor in boosting the innovation efficiency.
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