FDI In, SOE Out: Understanding the reallocation effects of FDI liberalization in China

This paper investigates the impact of FDI liberalization on allocative efficiency in host countries. Using China’s 2002 FDI deregulation as a policy experiment, we show that growth impacts of FDI in a policy-distorted economy is primarily driven by between-firm resource reallocation rather than within-firm productivity improvements. Domestic firms with higher pre-reform marginal revenue products of capital (MRPK) receive greater capital inflows and exhibit subsequent declines in MRPK. We emphasize the role of FDI reform in reducing ownership-related distortions: it accelerated the exit of state capital. These results highlight that the pro-competitive effects of openness policies can act as external catalysts to mitigate domestic policy-induced distortions.