Unions and the productivity performance of multinational enterprises : evidence from China

This paper uses the economic census data of multinational enterprises (MNEs) in the Chinese manufacturing industry to investigate the effects of Chinese unions on firm productivity. We show that Chinese unions have a significant “collective voice” effect by participating in a wide range of decision-making and production-related activities. The empirical evidence suggests that the presence of Chinese unions in MNEs is positively associated with enterprise productivity. We also find that the union productivity effects are stronger in MNEs than those in domestic private firms and that the effectiveness of unions is more significant in skill-intensive industries.