【本期主题】Local Information and the Decentralization of State-Owned Enterprises in China: Hayek is Right

Hayek (1945) argues that local knowledge a key for understanding the efficiency of alternative economic systems and whether production should be organized in centralized or decentralized ways. In this paper we test Hayek’s central predictions by examining the causes and consequences of the government’s decision to decentralize state-owned enterprises (SOEs) under its oversight from 1998 to 2007. The government that is located closer to an SOE is assumed to have more information over nearby firms. Hayek (1945) then implies that a centralized enterprise (i.e., those under the oversight of a higher level of government) should be more likely to be decentralized (i.e., being delegated to a lower level of government) when the distance between the oversight government and the enterprise is greater, and that decentralization should lead to efficiency gains in general and especially when the distance is farther to begin with. Moreover, where the oversight government’s uncertainty over an enterprise’s performance or communication costs are greater, the oversight government is more likely to decentralize enterprises so that lower oversight governments can better take advantage of local information. We find empirical support for all these implications. The role of local information is key in explaining both the causes and consequences of decentralization. The results suggest that Hayek’s insight on the importance of local information explains dynamics in the organizational structure of the state economy as well.

【报告人】黄张凯 清华大学经济管理学院金融系副教授

【时 间】10月17日 上午10:00

【地 点】明德主楼0509室

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报告人简介：

黄张凯，清华大学经济管理学院金融系副教授， 2003年获得牛津大学金融学博士学位，1999年获得埃塞克斯大学金融学硕士学位，2002年至2003年担任英国兰开斯特大学金融学讲师；2003年至2009年担任北京大学光华管理学院金融学助理教授。

他的主要研究领域为公司金融，目前他正在进行资本结构，私有化，股利政策，资本市场流动性，风险投资等领域的研究。他在China Economic Review，Journal of Banking and Finance，《金融研究》，《经济研究》，《管理世界》等国内外多家顶级学术期刊上发表文章。

中国人民大学金融高端论坛组委会

汉青经济金融高级研究院金融系

商学院财务与金融系

财政金融学院应用金融系