Access to overseas information and domestic value added: Evidence from China

Abstract

This study identifies information accessibility as a determinant of domestic value added (DVA). To establish causality, we use the sudden termination of Google’s search services in China to conduct a difference-in-differences estimation. Given that ordinary trades rely more on foreign market information than processing trades, we classify firms with high (low) ordinary trade exports as treatment (control) group and show that Google’s exit has a significant and persistent negative impact on DVA for treated firms. Our findings are more pronounced for firms in industries dominated by foreign technology and firms with more types of goods or higher capital intensity. The alternative access to foreign sources can weaken the impact of Google’s exit. Three underlying mechanisms associated with the falling accessibility of foreign information are the downward export growth, the rising costs of overseas intermediate inputs, and the decreasing innovation. Overall, this study enriches our understanding of a fundamental but neglected factor in driving DVA.