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Sources of Chinese labor productivity growth: A structural decomposition analysis, 1987-2005

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  • Yang, Ling
  • Lahr, Michael L.

Abstract

We decompose labor productivity growth from 1987 to 2005 by examining six partial factors (both supply and demand): changes in value-added coefficients, labor inputs, shares of sectoral demands that are fulfilled domestically, input mix, and the intra-sectoral shares and intersectoral mix of final demand. Our analysis confirms that simply by virtue of its size and extremely low level of labor productivity, China's farm sector continues to weigh heavily in China's overall economic advances. Labor savings have levied the largest influence on the labor productivity on all sectors across all three study subperiods. We find that this transition is highly correlated with capital deepening that accompanies China's opening up process. Still, changes in the intra-sectoral shares and the intersectoral mix of China's final demand also have become quite strong, especially in recent periods. Due to ever-increasing competitive pressures as China continues to open, changes in industries value-added coefficients have tended to counteract some of the positive benefits of labor savings for most sectors. The effects on changes in labor productivity of technology change and changes in the use of imports have been comparatively negligible and any variation in their sectoral effects have been waning over time.

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  • Yang, Ling & Lahr, Michael L., 2010. "Sources of Chinese labor productivity growth: A structural decomposition analysis, 1987-2005," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(4), pages 557-570, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:chieco:v:21:y:2010:i:4:p:557-570
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    2. Ling Yang & James Thurlow & Michael L. Lahr, 2012. "The (Declining) Role of Households in Sustaining China's Economy: Structural Path Analysis for 1997-2007," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2012-083, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    3. Timo Mitze & Selin Özyurt, 2014. "The Spatial Dimension of Trade- and FDI-driven Productivity Growth in Chinese Provinces: A Global Cointegration Approach," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(2), pages 263-291, June.
    4. Brondino, Gabriel, 2019. "Productivity growth and structural change in China (1995–2009): A subsystems analysis," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 183-191.
    5. Jiang, Yanqing, 2011. "Understanding openness and productivity growth in China: An empirical study of the Chinese provinces," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 290-298, September.
    6. Shaohua Zhang & Tzu-Pu Chang & Li-Chuan Liao, 2020. "A Dual Challenge in China’s Sustainable Total Factor Productivity Growth," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-17, July.
    7. Strohmaier, R. & Rainer, A., 2016. "Studying general purpose technologies in a multi-sector framework: The case of ICT in Denmark," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 34-49.
    8. Bowen Xiao & Dongxiao Niu & Xiaodan Guo, 2016. "The Driving Forces of Changes in CO 2 Emissions in China: A Structural Decomposition Analysis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-17, March.
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    10. Ling Yang & Michael L. Lahr, 2019. "The Drivers of China’s Regional Carbon Emission Change—A Structural Decomposition Analysis from 1997 to 2007," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-18, June.
    11. Thurlow, James & Yang, Ling & Lahr, Michael L., 2012. "The (Declining) Role of Households in Sustaining China's Economy: Structural Path Analysis for 1997-2007," WIDER Working Paper Series 083, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
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    13. Torsten Heinrich & Jangho Yang & Shuanping Dai, 2020. "Levels of structural change: An analysis of China's development push 1998-2014," Papers 2005.01882, arXiv.org, revised Sep 2020.
    14. Torsten Heinrich & Jangho Yang & Shuanping Dai, 2022. "Levels of structural change," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 32(1), pages 35-86, January.
    15. Strohmaier, Rita & Rainer, Andreas, 2013. "On the Eonomic Purpose of General Purpose Technologies: A Combined Classical and Evolutionary Framework," MPRA Paper 45964, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Rohman, Ibrahim Kholilul & Bohlin, Erik, 2014. "Decomposition analysis of the telecommunications sector in Indonesia: What does the cellular era shed light on?," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(3), pages 248-263.
    17. Nagashima, Fumiya, 2018. "The sign reversal problem in structural decomposition analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 307-312.
    18. Zhou, Xianbo & Li, Kui-Wai & Li, Qin, 2011. "An analysis on technical efficiency in post-reform China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 357-372, September.
    19. Juan Tomas Sayago-Gomez, 2014. "Matlab Code for Structural Decomposition Analysis," Working Papers Technical Document 2014-0, Regional Research Institute, West Virginia University, revised 05 May 2014.
    20. Yan, Junna & Su, Bin, 2020. "What drive the changes in China's energy consumption and intensity during 12th Five-Year Plan period?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    21. Dong, Qi & Murakami, Tomoaki & Nakashima, Yasuhiro, 2021. "Induced Bias of Technological Change in Agriculture and Structural Transformation: A Translog Cost Function Analysis of Chinese Cereal Production," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315373, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    22. Esfandiar Jahangard & Reza Ghazal & Elnaz Ayoughi, 2014. "The Sources of Labor Productivity Growth in Norway,South Koreaand Iran: A Structural Decomposition Analysis," Iranian Economic Review (IER), Faculty of Economics,University of Tehran.Tehran,Iran, vol. 18(2), pages 25-45, Spring.
    23. Selin Özyurt & Timo Mitze, 2012. "The Spatial Dimension of Trade- and FDI-driven Productivity Growth in Chinese Provinces – A Global Cointegration Approach," Ruhr Economic Papers 0308, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universität Dortmund, Universität Duisburg-Essen.

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