Subsidies with export share requirements in China

A subsidy is subject to an export share requirement (ESR) when firms must export more than a certain share of their output to receive it. Such incentives are frequently found in free trade zones, export processing regimes and measures targeted at foreign investors, both in China and other developing...

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Main Authors: Defever, Fabrice, Riaño, Alejandro
Format: Article
Published: Elsevier 2017
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Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/39428/
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author Defever, Fabrice
Riaño, Alejandro
author_facet Defever, Fabrice
Riaño, Alejandro
author_sort Defever, Fabrice
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description A subsidy is subject to an export share requirement (ESR) when firms must export more than a certain share of their output to receive it. Such incentives are frequently found in free trade zones, export processing regimes and measures targeted at foreign investors, both in China and other developing countries. In this paper we provide the first quantitative assessment of the effect that using subsidies with ESR has on exports, the intensity of competition and welfare, both in the enacting country and its trading partners, using a two-country model of trade with heterogeneous firms. We find that the subsidy with ESR boosts exports more than an equivalent unconditional subsidy available to all exporters. Crucially, the subsidy with ESR provides greater protection to low-profitability firms, while the unconditional subsidy does the opposite. The combination of export promotion and lower intensity of domestic competition generated by the subsidy with ESR can be described as "protectionism through exporting." The imposition of an ESR, however, greatly exacerbates the welfare loss associated with subsidizing exporters.
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spelling nottingham-394282020-05-04T19:57:27Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/39428/ Subsidies with export share requirements in China Defever, Fabrice Riaño, Alejandro A subsidy is subject to an export share requirement (ESR) when firms must export more than a certain share of their output to receive it. Such incentives are frequently found in free trade zones, export processing regimes and measures targeted at foreign investors, both in China and other developing countries. In this paper we provide the first quantitative assessment of the effect that using subsidies with ESR has on exports, the intensity of competition and welfare, both in the enacting country and its trading partners, using a two-country model of trade with heterogeneous firms. We find that the subsidy with ESR boosts exports more than an equivalent unconditional subsidy available to all exporters. Crucially, the subsidy with ESR provides greater protection to low-profitability firms, while the unconditional subsidy does the opposite. The combination of export promotion and lower intensity of domestic competition generated by the subsidy with ESR can be described as "protectionism through exporting." The imposition of an ESR, however, greatly exacerbates the welfare loss associated with subsidizing exporters. Elsevier 2017-05 Article PeerReviewed Defever, Fabrice and Riaño, Alejandro (2017) Subsidies with export share requirements in China. Journal of Development Economics, 126 . pp. 33-51. ISSN 0304-3878 Export Share Requirements; Export Subsidies; Export Intensity; Free Trade Zones; Export Processing Regimes; China http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030438781630102X doi:10.1016/j.jdeveco.2016.12.003 doi:10.1016/j.jdeveco.2016.12.003
spellingShingle Export Share Requirements; Export Subsidies; Export Intensity; Free Trade Zones; Export Processing Regimes; China
Defever, Fabrice
Riaño, Alejandro
Subsidies with export share requirements in China
title Subsidies with export share requirements in China
title_full Subsidies with export share requirements in China
title_fullStr Subsidies with export share requirements in China
title_full_unstemmed Subsidies with export share requirements in China
title_short Subsidies with export share requirements in China
title_sort subsidies with export share requirements in china
topic Export Share Requirements; Export Subsidies; Export Intensity; Free Trade Zones; Export Processing Regimes; China
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/39428/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/39428/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/39428/