Abstract
This study investigates the impact of managerialforeign experience on corporate employee protection.Using 30,644 firm‐year observations from 3972 Chineselisted firms from 2008 to 2020, I find that comparedwith firms without returnee directors, firms withreturnee directors pay more social insurance premiumsand implement better employee treatment policies. Thepositive relationship is stronger when returnee directorsacquire foreign work experience (as opposed toeducational experience), gain experience in countrieswith strong labor protection, serve as a CEO or achairperson in the Chinese firm, and have high mediavisibility. The cross‐sectional analysis shows the effect ofdirectors with foreign experience on employee protectionis greater in non‐state‐owned firms, and returneedirectors improve employee protections more when theemployees have relatively weak discourse power.Additional analysis finds that returnee directorsimprove employee training and occupational safety,and they help balance social insurance generosity andemployment levels. The results are robust after addressingthe potential endogeneity problems. My resultssuggest a potential way to transfer better labor protectionpractices from developed to emerging markets.
NETL
NSTL
Wiley