Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
acceptedVersion
Publication Date
12-2025
Abstract
We provide firm-level evidence on how politicians’ ideologies shape economic outcomes, using a unique setting of ideological discontinuity in China, transitioning from Maoism to Dengism around 1978. We find that ideological exposure during a politician’s early adulthood has a lasting impact on contemporary firm policies in their city. Firms governed by “Maoist mayors” show greater stakeholder spending, lower pay inequality, and less internationalization compared with those governed by “Dengist mayors.” Further evidence suggests that politicians’ ideologies influence corporate behaviors through nonpolicy channels, and these results cannot be fully explained by selection bias, endogenous matching, or the age of the mayor.
Keywords
Ideology, politician, corporate policy, China
Discipline
Asian Studies | Business Law, Public Responsibility, and Ethics | Economic Policy | Politics and Social Change
Research Areas
Finance
Publication
Management Science
First Page
1
Last Page
23
ISSN
0025-1909
Identifier
10.1287/mnsc.2022.01745
Publisher
Institute for Operations Research and Management Sciences
Embargo Period
4-6-2026
Citation
LIANG, Hao; WANG, Rong; and ZHU, Haikun.
Growing up under Mao and Deng: On politician ideology and corporate policies. (2025). Management Science. 1-23.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lkcsb_research/7887
Copyright Owner and License
Authors
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2022.01745
Included in
Asian Studies Commons, Business Law, Public Responsibility, and Ethics Commons, Economic Policy Commons, Politics and Social Change Commons