效率与公平可否兼顾：基于工资刚性视角的分析

Abstract

How to achieve the coordinated growth of corporate and employee interests is a core issue that must be addressed in advancing common prosperity. This paper approaches the problem from the perspective of downward wage rigidity, arguing that it is not merely a labor market friction but also an implicit insurance. Based on a quantile regression forest model to measure firm-level downward wage rigidity, the empirical results show that it significantly improves production efficiency by reducing labor costs, lowering employee turnover, and decreasing financing costs. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that whether downward wage rigidity leads to efficiency loss or efficiency gain depends on the firm's risk environment: under non-extreme negative shocks, income stability generates incentive effects and positive returns, whereas under extreme negative shocks, firms must cut wages to transfer risk. Moreover, the positive impact of downward wage rigidity is more pronounced in contexts characterized by high labor mobility and severe information asymmetry. Compared with existing literature, this study makes two major contributions. First, it reinterprets downward wage rigidity from the perspective of implicit insurance, showing that it is not simply a market friction but, under certain conditions, a mechanism that enhances production efficiency. It also clarifies the boundary conditions under which efficiency loss and efficiency gain perspectives apply. Second, this paper introduces machine learning into the traditional nonparametric measurement framework, estimating the firm-level downward wage rigidity. This approach overcomes the limitations of prior studies that focused only on industry or regional dimensions and provides fine-grained data support for subsequent research. The empirical analysis of firm-level downward wage rigidity not only fills a gap in studies of China's labor market but also offers robust evidence for academic debates on labor protection policies. The policy implications of this study provide an actionable framework for achieving the dual goals of efficiency and equity, thereby advancing common prosperity. Policymakers should strengthen implicit insurance mechanisms represented by downward wage rigidity and build a tripartite framework involving firms, employees, and government. Specifically, labor protection laws should be improved, incentive-compatible fiscal and tax policies should be designed, and wage insurance mechanisms should be established to ensure income stability while enhancing productivity. At the same time, in the face of extreme shocks, the government should play a stabilizing role to prevent firms from falling into bankruptcy due to downward wage rigidity. In this way, the study offers practical policy recommendations for balancing efficiency and equity in labor market governance.