Speaker:Tiecheng Leng, Harbin Institute of Technology

Time: 2024/10/17, 10:00-11:30 (Beijing Time)

Title:  From Assembly Line to Delivery Man: The Impact of Gig Economy on Corporate Investment

Venue: 106 Zhonghui Building

Abstract:

This paper investigates the impact of firm-level labor supply shocks driven by the gig economy on corporate investment, leveraging the staggered expansion of the leading online delivery platform, Ele.me, into 245 major cities in China between 2010 and 2015. The findings reveal that firm investment declines as a result of reduced employment and rising wages following the platform’s geographic expansion. These effects are more pronounced for labor-intensive or less innovative firms, as well as in regions with significant labor shortages and higher mobile phone penetration. By analyzing extensive data on job postings across China, we further find a negative correlation between the availability of local gig work opportunities and corporate investment. Finally, firms respond to the labor shortages induced by the platform’s expansion by increasing investment in labor-saving automation technologies.