Summary:
Human capital is an indispensable source of national economic growth and wealth accumulation and an important factor of production for supply-side structural reform to improve quality and efficiency. China is currently in a state of economic transition, which highlights the contradiction between people's need for a better life and unbalanced and insufficient development. Moreover, technological progress has raised the requirements for coordination between physical and human capital. Therefore, upgrading the human capital structure of firms is important to promote high-quality development of China's economy and meet the material and cultural needs of its people. Since China embarked on the process of reform and opening up, its economy has grown rapidly, but this growth has come at a high environmental price. Air pollution is known to adversely affect human health by reducing life expectancy and public awareness. Scholars have increasingly focused on the impact of air pollution on enterprises; researchers believe that air pollution reduces labor supply and firm productivity and increases labor costs. Theoretical discussions on the factors affecting firm human capital have helped to expand and deepen the knowledge in this area; scholars have argued that air pollution profoundly affects human capital. However, there are some shortcomings in the research on the impact of air pollution on the human capital structure of firms. This study investigates this issue using data from Chinese listed firms. This study investigates the effect of air pollution on the upgrading of firm human capital structure using panel data from listed firms and air pollution levels in prefecture-level cities in China from 2011 to 2020. It uses the number of days when temperature inversions occur as an instrumental variable for air pollution to mitigate possible endogeneity. The results show that, on average, a one standard deviation increase in the PM2.5 concentration reduces the share of skilled labor in public firms by 2.7 percentage points, significantly inhibiting the upgrading of firms' human capital structure. Mechanism analysis shows that air pollution increases the likelihood of employee mobility to less polluted areas and increases turnover among skilled employees, which inhibit the upgrading of firms' human capital structure. The results of heterogeneity analysis find that the inhibitory effect of air pollution on human capital structure is more pronounced in private firms, high-tech industries, and listed firms located in areas with severe air pollution than in public firms, industries other than high-tech industries, and listed firms located in areas with less air pollution. The study also finds that firms' compensation incentives do not effectively reduce the inhibitory effect of air pollution on the upgrading of firms' human capital structure; however, firms' capital-intensive characteristics have a positive moderating effect on this inhibitory effect. This study makes the following contributions. First, it deepens understanding of the mechanism through which air pollution affects firms' human capital structure. This study uses data from the National Survey on Health and Family Planning Dynamics of the Mobile Population and explores the mechanism of the effect of air pollution on firms' human capital structure from the perspective of employee mobility by matching air pollution data at the county level and conducting a heterogeneity analysis based on the education level of the individuals interviewed. This provides a new explanation for the differences in the exit behavior of employees in firms with different levels of human capital. Second, it provides a reference for enterprises to cope with the adverse effects of air pollution. This study demonstrates that firms' pay incentives cannot effectively reduce the inhibitory effect of air pollution on the upgrading of firms' human capital structure. It is more beneficial for firms to increase the importance of highly skilled employees than to increase pay incentives to address the challenges posed by air pollution.
刘孟鑫, 许敬轩, 马光荣. 空气污染与企业人力资本结构升级 ——基于逆温现象IV估计的实证检验[J]. 金融研究, 2023, 517(7): 154-172.
LIU Mengxin, XU Jingxuan, MA Guangrong. Air Pollution and the Upgrading of Corporate Human Capital Structure: Empirical Test Based on IV Estimation of Temperature Inversion. Journal of Financial Research, 2023, 517(7): 154-172.
[1]陈帅和张丹丹,2020,《空气污染与劳动生产率——基于监狱工厂数据的实证分析》,《经济学(季刊)》第4期,第1315~1334页。 [2]陈硕和陈婷,2014,《空气质量与公共健康:以火电厂二氧化硫排放为例》,《经济研究》第8期,第158~169页。 [3]高琳,2021,《分权的生产率增长效应:人力资本的作用》,《管理世界》第3期,第67~83页。 [4]郭永济和张谊浩,2016,《空气质量会影响股票市场吗?》,《金融研究》第2期,第71~85页。 [5]李明和张亦然,2019,《空气污染的移民效应——基于来华留学生高校—城市选择的研究》,《经济研究》第6期,第168~182页。 [6]李卫兵和张凯霞,2019,《空气污染对企业生产率的影响——来自中国工业企业的证据》,《管理世界》第10期,第95~112页。 [7]黎文靖和郑曼妮,2016,《空气污染的治理机制及其作用效果——来自地级市的经验数据》,《中国工业经济》第4期,第93~109页。 [8]刘贯春、司登奎和刘芳,2021,《人力资本偏向金融部门如何影响实体经济增长?》,《金融研究》第10期,第78~97页。 [9]刘啟仁和赵灿,2020,《税收政策激励与企业人力资本升级》,《经济研究》第4期,第70~85页。 [10]刘伟和张立元,2020,《经济发展潜能与人力资本质量》,《管理世界》第1期,第8~24页。 [11]罗勇根、杨金玉和陈世强,2019,《空气污染、人力资本流动与创新活力——基于个体专利发明的经验证据》,《中国工业经济》第10期,第99~117页。 [12]马新啸、汤泰劼和郑国坚,2020,《国有企业混合所有制改革与人力资本结构调整——基于高层次人才配置的视角》,《财贸经济》第12期,第101~116页。 [13]沈永建、于双丽和蒋德权,2019,《空气质量改善能降低企业劳动力成本吗?》,《管理世界》第6期,第161~178页。 [14]宋弘和吴茂华,2020,《高房价是否导致了区域高技能人力资本流出?》,《金融研究》第3期,第77~95页。 [15]王敏和黄滢,2015,《中国的环境污染与经济增长》,《经济学(季刊)》第2期,第557~578页。 [16]王砾、代昀昊、谢潇和孔东民,2020,《空气质量与企业员工流失》,《财经研究》第7期,第93~106页。 [17]吴超鹏、李奥和张琦,2021,《空气污染是否影响公司管理层人力资本质量》,《世界经济》第2期,第151~178页。 [18]杨薇和孔东民,2019,《企业内部薪酬差距与人力资本结构调整》,《金融研究》第6期,第150~168页。 [19]张宽和黄凌云,2019,《贸易开放、人力资本与自主创新能力》,《财贸经济》第12期,第112~127页。 [20]赵灿和刘啟仁,2019,《进口自由化有利于企业人力资本优化吗?——来自中国微观企业的证据》,《经济科学》第6期,第43~55页。 [21]Arceo, E., R. Hanna and P. Oliva. 2016. “Does the Effect of Pollution on Infant Mortality Differ Between Developing and Developed Countries? Evidence from Mexico City”, The Economic Journal, 126(591):257~280. [22]Buchard, V., A.M. da Silva, C.A. Randles, P. Colarco, R. Ferrare, J. Hair, C. Hostetler, J. Tackett and D. Winker. 2016. “Evaluation of the Surface PM2.5 in Version 1 of the NASA MERRA Aerosol Reanalysis over the United States”, Atmospheric Environment, 125:100~111. [23]Chang, T., J. G. Zivin and T. Gross. 2016. “Particulate Pollution and the Productivity of Pear Packers”, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 8(3):141~169. [24]Chen, S., P. Oliva and P. Zhang. 2022. “The Effect of Air Pollution on Migration: Evidence from China”, Journal of Development Economics, 156:102833. [25]Deng, X. and H. S. Gao. 2013. “Nonmonetary Benefits, Quality of Life, and Executive Compensation”, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 48(1):197~218. [26]Deschenes, O. H. Wang, S. Wang and P. Zhang. 2020. “The Effect of Air Pollution on Body Weight and Obesity: Evidence from China”, Journal of Development Economics, 145:102461. [27]Hanna, R. and P. Oliva. 2015. “The Effect of Pollution on Labor Supply:Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Mexico City”, Journal of Public Economics, 122:68~79. [28]Liu H. and A. Salvo. 2018. “Severe Air Pollution and Child Absences When Schools and Parents Respond”, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 92:300~330. [29]Sapci, O. and J.F. Shogren. 2018. “Environmental Quality, Human Capital and Growth”, Journal of Environmental Economics and Policy, 7(2):184~203. [30]Schlenker, W. and W. R. Walker. 2015. “Airports,Air Pollution and Contemporaneous Health”, The Review of Economic Studies, 83(2):768~809. [31]Slaughter, S. A., Ang S. and Boh, W. F. 2007. “Firm Specific Human Capital and Compensation Organizational Tenure Profiles: An Archival Analysis of Salary Data for IT Professionals”, Human Resource Management, 46(3):373~394. [32]Xue, S., B. Zhang and X. Zhao. 2021. “Brain Drain: The Impact of Air Pollution on Firm Performance”, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 110:102546. [33]Zivin, J.G. and M. Neidell. 2012. “The Impact of Pollution on Worker Productivity”, American Economic Review, 102(7):3652~3673.