Recently, the collaborative paper "Research on Intermediate Input Trade Liberalization and Firms' Market Power in the Labor Market" by Professor Yu Miaojie, President of Liaoning University, and Researcher Xie Enze from the School of Economics at Zhejiang University, has been included as an excellent paper in the China Population Yearbook (2024 Edition). The article was published in the 5th issue of the Journal of Quantitative & Technical Economics in 2023.

Abstract of the Paper

This paper examines the impact of trade liberalization, represented by the reduction in intermediate input import tariffs, on firms' market power in the labor market from the perspective of an imperfectly competitive labor market. Using Chinese industrial enterprise data and customs data, this paper constructs intermediate input import tariffs at the firm level. Empirical research shows that the reduction in intermediate input import tariffs expands firms' output scale, increases the proportion of imported intermediate input factors in firms, and shifts firms upstream in the industry through the cost-saving effect and factor substitution effect, thereby enhancing firms' market power in the labor market. This result is robust to different ways of measuring firms' market power in the labor market, different ways of measuring intermediate input import tariffs, and regression samples. While promoting trade liberalization, it is necessary to restrict firms' collusion in the labor market, provide diverse and comprehensive vocational training and complete public services, enhance the mobility and competitiveness of the labor market, and protect the rights and interests of workers.

Introduction to the Journal

The China Population Yearbook is sponsored by the Institute of Population and Labor Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. It is a national-level professional reference book on population. It mainly records the development process of China's population, major population events, and various activities of population science research in the previous year, comprehensively, accurately, and objectively reflecting the development status of China's population. Since its founding in 1985, 38 volumes have been published so far, and the content has continuity, forming the characteristics of extensive collection, concentrated data, dense information, and authoritative content. Its content is not only frequently cited by domestic scholars but also an important window for the foreign academic community to understand China's population problems and current situation.The editorial department of the China Population Yearbook takes the needs of readers and the compilation of historical materials as its tenet, and adopts the method of "combining editing and research" for daily solicitation of contributions, information collection, annual paper compilation, data collation, etc., and strives to make the China Population Yearbook a "disciplinary-friendly" yearbook. After the 2021 edition of the China Population Yearbook was revised, it set up eight columns, namely: Important Documents, Disciplinary Reviews, Annual Papers, Annual Authors, Annual Projects, Major Events, Data, and Appendices. For the convenience of readers, an "Index" is compiled at the end of the yearbook. In 2018, the 2016 edition of the China Population Yearbook won the second-class award of the Fifth National Local Chronicles Excellent Achievements (Yearbook Category).

Introduction to the Authors

Yu Miaojie is Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and President of Liaoning University. He is a Fellow of the International Economic Association (IEA), a Distinguished Professor of the Yangtze River Scholars Program, a recipient of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, an Outstanding Young Scientist of Beijing, and a Boya Distinguished Professor of Peking University. He currently serves as a Deputy to the 14th National People's Congress, a Specially-invited Supervisor of the National Supervisory Commission, and an Associate Editor of Economic Journal (a top international academic journal in economics). He enjoys the Special Government Allowance of the State Council. He is an economist whose papers are among the top 1% highly cited in the global field of economics and management, and is also the only Chinese scholar to have won the "Royal Economic Society Prize" so far.

Xie Enze is a Research Fellow of the "New 100 Talents Program" at the School of Economics, Zhejiang University, and a doctoral supervisor. He once served as a Consultant in the Trade and Integration Unit, Research Department of the World Bank Headquarters. He obtained his doctoral degree from the National School of Development, Peking University in 2024. His research findings have been published in journals such as Journal of Development Economics, Management World, China Economic Quarterly, Journal of Quantitative & Technical Economics, and International Business. His research achievements have won the Gregory Chow Best Paper Award at the 2025 Annual Meeting of the Chinese Economists Society (CES), and the Youth Award for Basic Theoretical Research in Social Sciences of the 23rd Zhejiang Province. Meanwhile, he serves as an anonymous reviewer for journals including Journal of Development Economics, China Economic Review, China & World Economy, China Economic Quarterly, and Journal of Quantitative & Technical Economics.