论文| Labor Contract Law and Inventor Mobility：Evidence from China

Labor Contract Law and Inventor Mobility: Evidence from China

党的十八大以来，以习近平同志为核心的党中央高度重视企业在国家创新体系建设中的地位。近年来，在各类政策措施的激励下，我国企业的创新产出能力稳步提升。在这一过程中，提升劳动者权益的法治保障扮演着什么样的角色呢？由中山大学刘贯春、广东外语外贸大学刘媛媛、四川大学杨金玉与复旦大学张延人共同完成的论文“Labor Contract Law and Inventor Mobility: Evidence from China”试图回答这个问题。研究团队利用中国国家知识产权局的专利申请数据和上市制造业公司2004至2012年间的数据进行了分析。研究结果显示，劳动合同法的实施可以使研发团队更加稳定，从而提高企业的创新产出。此外，他们还发现，处于不同发展阶段的国家对劳动保护的反应可能不同。在中国这样的新兴市场中，强化劳动保护有助于提升企业的创新能力。这一研究为理解新兴市场国家中劳动保护的经济效应提供了新的视角。该论文已在人口经济学国际顶级期刊《Journal of Polulation Economics》上发表。

Authors

Guanchun Liu  Lingnan College & Institute of Mezzoeconomics, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou

Yuanyuan Liu  School of Finance & Southern China Institute of Fortune Management Research, Guangdong  University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou

Jinyu Yang  Business School, Sichuan University, Chengdu

Yanren Zhang  Fudan Development Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai

Abstract

This paper investigates the causal effect of employment protection on inventor mobility. Taking the enactment of China’s Labor Contract Law in 2008 as a quasinatural experiment, our difference-in-difference estimate utilizes two-dimensional  variations: firm ownership (i.e., SOEs vs. non-SOEs) and year (i.e., before and after 2008). Using combined data on patent applications filed at the State Intellectual Property Office of China and listed manufacturing companies over 2004–2012, we find that the law plays a sizeable positive role in reducing the likelihood of inventor mobility. This effect is more pronounced for firms with higher labor intensity, stricter law enforcement, higher innovation dependence, lower R&D team stability, and inventors that work outside the core of R&D networks. Further, we provide consistent evidence for two plausible mechanisms for the positive effect: limiting  the ability of employers to unfairly dismiss inventors and substituting low-skilled  workers with inventors. In addition, the law causes firms to obtain more high-quality patents and reduces bankruptcy risk. Overall, our findings shed new light on the  economic effects of labor protection in a typical emerging market.

Keywords

Employment protection ；Inventor mobility ；Labor Contract Law ；China

了解更多论文信息请点击阅读原文或参考以下链接：https://doi.org/10.1007/s00148-024-00991-3

排版 | 蒲云涛

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