Mixed ownership reform, political connections, and overinvestment

Abstract

The study discovers that mixed ownership reform aimed at enhancing the performance and resource allocation efficiency of state-owned enterprises may have unintended consequences in China. When the nature of state-owned control remains unchanged, there is a risk of increased overinvestment due to misaligned interests between state-owned equity representatives and companies. This incentive can be mitigated by introducing nonstate shareholders with political connections. The study employs a double machine learning method to analyze data from state-owned listed companies that introduced nonstate shareholders through stock issuance between 2008 and 2019. The research underscores that modern corporate governance mechanisms are crucial for successful mixed ownership reform.