Hostname: page-component-cb9f654ff-pvkqz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-08-25T11:35:27.817Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The impact of labour law reforms on economic growth and labour relations in China: Analysing the role of regulatory policies in shaping workforce stability

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2025

Wenyi Yang
Affiliation:
School of Literature and Law, Henan Institute of Science and Technology, Xinxiang, HA, China
Shuping Zhang*
Affiliation:
School of Literature and Law, Henan Institute of Science and Technology, Xinxiang, HA, China
*
Corresponding author: Shuping Zhang; Email: shupingzhang.phd@gmail.com

Abstract

The objective of this article is to explore the significance of labour-related laws and regulations, taking account of the role of the Chinese Communist Party (CPP) and the Chinese government, particularly concerning labour, unemployment, and reform challenges. The analysis demonstrates that stringent labour laws are associated with lower unemployment rates due to increased job security and protection for workers. The study indicates that the CPP significantly shapes and influences labour-related policies and regulations, and so economic growth.

Information

Type
Original Article
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The University of New South Wales

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Adeyemo, O and Smallwood, J (2017) Impact of occupational health and safety legislation on performance improvement in the Nigerian construction industry. Procedia Engineering 196, 785791. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2017.08.008 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Agovino, M, Garofalo, A and Marchesano, K (2018) The effects of employment promotion measures on labour market participation of disabled people: the case of Italy. Quality & Quantity 52, 135155. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-016-0455-6 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Allen, F, Qian, J and Qian, M (2005) Law, finance, and economic growth in China. Journal of Financial Economics 77(1), 57116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfineco.2004.06.010 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aminda, RS, Septiani, A, Sundarta, MI, Agung, S, Kuraesin, E, Karyatun, S and Endri, EE (2024) Analysis of the influence of poverty, human development index, and unemployment on economic growth in the regency/city of Gorontalo Province: 2012–2021 study. Journal of Infrastructure, Policy and Development 8 (4), 3513. https://doi.org/10.24294/jipd.v8i4.3513 Google Scholar
Ansah, BO, Voss, W, Asiama, KO and Wuni, IY (2023) A systematic review of the institutional success factors for blockchain-based land administration. Land Use Policy 125, 106473. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2022.106473 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, X, Yang, F, Cheng, S & Yuan, S (2023) Occupational health and safety in China: A systematic analysis of research trends and future perspectives. Sustainability 15(19), 14061. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151914061 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, F (2023) Unveiling class discourse: Its articulation and generation in Chinese labor struggles. Critical Asian Studies 55(4), 493515. https://doi.org/10.1080/14672715.2023.2258889 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cheng, Z (2022) Communist party branch and labour rights: Evidence from Chinese entrepreneurs. China Economic Review 71, 101730. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chieco.2021.101730 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Christou, A and Damro, C (2024) Frames and issue linkage: EU trade policy in the geoeconomic turn. JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies 62, 10801096. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcms.13598Google Scholar
Deakin, S & Wilkinson, F (2009). Minimum wage legislation. In Dau-Schmidt, KG, Harris, SD & Lobel, O (eds) Labor and Employment Law and Economics. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 150171. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781781953068.00015 Google Scholar
Degryse, C (2016) Digitalisation of the economy and its impact on labour markets. ETUI research paper-working paper. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2730550 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deng, L, Lai, S, Liu, S and Pu, X (2022) Social insurance premiums and corporate cash holdings: Evidence from social insurance law in China. Economic Modelling 114, 105944. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econmod.2022.105944 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eichhorst, W and Marx, P (2021) How stable is labour market dualism? Reforms of employment protection in nine European countries. European Journal of Industrial Relations 27(1), 93110. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959680119899199 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feng, X, Cooke, FL and Zhao, C (2020) The state as regulator? The ‘dual-track’system of employment in the Chinese public sector and barriers to equal pay for equal work. Journal of Industrial Relations 62(4), 679702. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022185620930050 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fernandez, R, Hyee, R, Immervoll, H & Pacifico, D (2019) Left on your own? Social protection when labour markets are in flux. In OECD Employment Outlook 2019 Paris: OECD Publishing, 292–335. https://doi.org/10.1787/bfb2fb55-enhttps://doi.org/10.1787/9ee00155-en.Google Scholar
Giles, J, Albert, P and Zhang, J (2005) What is China’s true unemployment rate?. China Economic Review 16(2), 149170. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chieco.2004.11.002 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gruin, J (2020) Communists constructing capitalism: State, market, and the Party in China’s financial reform. In Communists Constructing Capitalism. Manchester UK: Manchester University Press, 129. https://doi.org/10.7765/9781526135339 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gyulavári, T and Menegatti, E (2022). Who regulates employment? Trends in the Hierarchy of Labour Law Sources. International Journal of Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations 38(1), 3152. https://doi.org/10.54648/ijcl2022002 Google Scholar
Haidar, JI (2012) The impact of business regulatory reforms on economic growth. Journal of the Japanese and International Economies 26(3), 285307. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jjie.2012.05.004 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Howell, A (2020) Minimum wage impacts on Han-minority workers’ wage distribution and inequality in urban China. Journal of Urban Economics 115, 103184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jue.2019.103184 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hu, J and Martin, D (2020) Labor dispute resolution and migrant workers’ legal rights protection in China. Chinese Journal of International Review 2(01), 2050004. https://doi.org/10.1142/S2630531320500043 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kanbur, R & Ronconi, L (2018) Enforcement matters: The effective regulation of labour. International Labour Review 157(3), 331356. https://doi.org/10.1111/ilr.12112 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, H (2024) The regime durability of communist power in China: Three approaches to examine the Chinese communist party. Trends in Sociology 2(2), 3644. https://doi.org/10.61187/ts.v2i2.101 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lin, C and Yun, MS (2020) The effects of the minimum wage on earnings inequality: evidence from China. Minimum Wages in China: Evolution, Legislation, and Effects 165195. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-2421-9_7 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liu, JZ (2024) How party-history-revision became a tactic for leadership struggles within the Chinese Communist Party in China. Asian Journal of Social Science 52(1), 2734. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajss.2023.09.002 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Long, C and Yang, J (2022) CCP committees, worker benefits and firm performance: empirical evidence from Chinese private firms. Journal of Participation and Employee Ownership 5(2), 112134. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPEO-09-2021-0015 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Macdonald, F and Charlesworth, S (2021) Regulating for gender-equitable decent work in social and community services: Bringing the state back in. Journal of Industrial Relations 63(4), 477500. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022185621996782 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marston, ST, Feldstein, M & Hymans, SH. (1976) Employment instability and high unemployment rates. Brookings Papers on Economic Activity 1976(1), 169210. https://doi.org/10.2307/2534049 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pan, H (2023) Intelligent Socialism: An Introduction-Universal Values and Future Paradigm of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics. Available at SSRN 4531089. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4531089 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peters, BG (2022) Institutional theory. In Handbook on Theories of Governance. Edward Elgar Publishing, 323335. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800371972.00039 Google Scholar
Piper, N and Saraswathi, V (2024) Advancing the labour rights of migrant workers beyond Kafala: the impact of ‘established-outsider relations’ on reforming Qatar’s transnational labour management system. Work in the Global Economy 4(1), 109126. https://doi.org/10.1332/27324176Y2024D000000017 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pitchay, AA, Ramlan, NS, Abd Jalil, MI and Ratnasari, RT (2024) Revitalizing WAQF: a journey through its rise, collapse, and reform. Labuan e-Journal of Muamalat and Society (LJMS) 18(2), 91106. https://doi.org/10.51200/ljms.v18i2.5310 Google Scholar
Remington, TF and Cui, XW (2015) The impact of the 2008 labor contract law on labor disputes in China. Journal of East Asian Studies 15(2), 271299. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1598240800009371 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ronconi, L (2019) Enforcement of labor regulations in developing countries. IZA World of Labor. https://dx.doi.org/10.15185/izawol.457 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sabatino, G (2022) The legal dimension of the relation between the Chinese communist party and the private economy. A perspective of the Article 19 of the company law. Global Jurist 22(2), 351373. https://doi.org/10.1515/gj-2021-0032 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schramm, M. (2024). Platform Administrative Law A Research Agenda. Available at SSRN 4898542. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4898542 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Silalahi, MS & Walsh, S (2023) Analyzing government policies in addressing unemployment and em-powering workers: Implications for economic stability and social welfare. Law and Economics 17(2), 92110. https://doi.org/10.35335/laweco.v17i2.3 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Su, CW, Yuan, X, Umar, M and Lobonţ, OR (2022) Does technological innovation bring destruction or creation to the labor market?. Technology in Society 68, 101905. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2022.101905 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sun, P, Yujie Chen, J and Rani, U (2023) From flexible labour to ‘sticky labour’: A tracking study of workers in the food-delivery platform economy of China. Work, Employment and Society 37(2), 412431. https://doi.org/10.1177/09500170211021570 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tian, M, Xu, Q, Li, Z. and Yu, Y (2022) Hukou Reform and the “Luohu” of Rural Migrants in Urban China. Sustainability 14(23), 15683. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142315683 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vanberg, V (1994) Social contract theory. In Boettke, PJ (ed) The Elgar Companion to Austrian Economics. Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9780857934680.00060 Google Scholar
Wu, F, Deng, H, Feng, Y, Wang, W, Wang, Y and Zhang, F (2024) Statecraft at the frontier of capitalism: A grounded view from China. Progress in Human Geography 48 (6), 779804. https://doi.org/10.1177/03091325241268953 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yang, G, Yao, S & Dong, X (2023) Digital economy and wage gap between high-and low-skilled workers. Digital Economy and Sustainable Development 1(1), 7. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44265-023-00009-y CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ye, L, Gindling, T and Li, S (2020) Compliance with legal minimum wages and overtime pay in China, effects across the distribution of wages. In Li S, Lin C & Li S (eds) Minimum Wages in China: Evolution, Legislation, and Effects 223257. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-2421-9_9 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhang, H, Yang, X & Martínez-Aires, MD (2021) A reference framework for health and safety in the workplace in China and the European Union: A comparative study. Work (Reading, Mass.), 70(1), 247261. https://doi.org/10.3233/WOR-213569 Google Scholar
Zhang, M and Kim, R (2021) Occupational health protection for health workers during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic: 6P-approach in China. Global Health Journal 5(4), 215219. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.glohj.2021.11.007 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zhao, L (2021) Labor disputes in china’s local government-led enterprise restructuring: A litigation case study. Modern China 47(1), 2648. https://doi.org/10.1177/0097700420966784 CrossRefGoogle Scholar