›› 2019, Vol. 31 ›› Issue (8): 194-209.

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Government Subsidies, Persistence and Future Earnings

Li Xinzi   

  1. School of Accountancy, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing 100081
  • Received:2018-07-16 Online:2019-08-28 Published:2019-09-11

Abstract:

The relationship between government and market and the corresponding economic consequences are always a hot spot of academic researches. This paper systematically classifies the government subsidies to listed companies from the perspective of persistence, and examines the impact of government subsidies with different persistence on the future earnings respectively. This study finds that government subsidies have a significant negative correlation with future earnings, which is more pronounced in state-owned enterprises and the enterprises with overcapacity. Government subsidies with different persistence have different effects on future earnings. Occasional government subsidies have significantly negative relationship with future earnings, and the relationship between policy or project government subsidies and future earnings are not significant. In addition, government subsidies significantly reduce earnings persistence and increase earnings volatility. The findings of this paper not only contribute to evaluating the effect of government subsidies and improving the effectiveness of government participation in economic activities, but also provide supporting empirical evidence for the newly revised government subsidy accounting standards.

Key words: government subsidies, persistence, future earnings, earnings quality