This paper studies the impact of export VAT rebates on firm productivity with Chinese firm‐product‐level data. We find that higher VAT rebates significantly raise firm productivity. The results are robust to various estimations of firm productivity. Moreover, this paper finds that the impact of export VAT rebates on firm productivity is significantly different across firms and sectors. More specifically, our results suggest that the impact is mainly driven by firms with small export intensive margins and large export extensive margins, new exporters, financially constrained firms and low‐productivity firms. Furthermore, in high‐tech sectors, the impact is significantly large with a one percentage point increase of firm rate of VAT rebates nearly raising firm productivity by 6%.

China, as an important source country in the global value chain, especially in the East Asian production networks, has exerted significant influence on Sino–Japanese trade fluctuations. This paper explores the real factors that lead to the fluctuations in Sino–Japanese trade. Using the Hodrick–Prescott filter technique and OECD–WTO Statistics on Trade in Value Added from 1995 to 2011, the impact of the changing comparative advantage between the two countries is also examined. The empirical results indicate that determinants of the fluctuations in Sino–Japapese trade include changing comparative advantages, the volatility of the real exchange rate and quite a few external shocks. Some policy suggestions are put forward in regards to the stability of trade between the two countries.

No abstract