IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sls/ipmsls/v15y20074.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Measuring Productivity Performance by Industry in China, 1980-2005

Author

Listed:
  • Harry X. Wu

Abstract

Using the author’s recently constructed data set, this article measures the productivity performance of China’s 19 manufacturing industries, four mining industries, plus utilities, over the reform period 1980-2005. The approach is based on neoclassical assumptions on institutional settings and behavior of agents. Some of these assumptions are questionable in the case of China, but the results can be used as a starting point for further investigation. We find that the post-reform industrial growth in China had been largely investment-driven and inefficient until the 2000-05 period. Following China’s accession to WTO in 2001, Chinese industry experienced the best performance in TFP, accounting for 50 per cent of the growth of industrial value added. However, the mining sector had been most inefficient and had not yet shown a clear sign of improvement by 2005. Traditional labour intensive manufacturing did not appear to be efficient as suggested by the theory of comparative advantage, but there was a sign of significant improvement in 2000-05. By contrast, the capital and technology-intensive industries engaged in consumer goods manufacturing were most efficient throughout the entire period, apparently due to continuous foreign direct investment, high exposure to international competition and less state intervention.

Suggested Citation

  • Harry X. Wu, 2007. "Measuring Productivity Performance by Industry in China, 1980-2005," International Productivity Monitor, Centre for the Study of Living Standards, vol. 15, pages 55-74, Fall.
  • Handle: RePEc:sls:ipmsls:v:15:y:2007:4
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.csls.ca/ipm/15/IPM-15-wu-e.pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: http://www.csls.ca/ipm/15/IPM-15-wu-f.pdf
    File Function: version en français
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gregory C. Chow, 1993. "Capital Formation and Economic Growth in China," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 108(3), pages 809-842.
    2. Zuliu F. Hu & Mohsin S. Khan, 1997. "Why Is China Growing So Fast?," IMF Staff Papers, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 44(1), pages 103-131, March.
    3. Mr. Mohsin S. Khan & Zuliu Hu, 1997. "Why is China Growing So Fast?," IMF Economic Issues 8, International Monetary Fund.
    4. Hulten, Charles R. & Wykoff, Frank C., 1981. "The estimation of economic depreciation using vintage asset prices : An application of the Box-Cox power transformation," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 15(3), pages 367-396, April.
    5. Jefferson, Gary H. & Rawski, Thomas G. & Zheng, Yuxin, 1996. "Chinese Industrial Productivity: Trends, Measurement Issues, and Recent Developments," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 146-180, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dollar, David & Kraay, Aart, 2006. "Neither a borrower nor a lender: Does China's zero net foreign asset position make economic sense?," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(5), pages 943-971, July.
    2. WU, Jidong & LI, Ning & SHI, Peijun, 2014. "Benchmark wealth capital stock estimations across China's 344 prefectures: 1978 to 2012," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 288-302.
    3. Chong-En Bai & Chang-Tai Hsieh & Yingyi Qian, 2006. "The Return to Capital in China," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 37(2), pages 61-102.
    4. Chadwick C. Curtis & Steven Lugauer & Nelson C. Mark, 2015. "Demographic Patterns and Household Saving in China," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 7(2), pages 58-94, April.
    5. Selin Ozyurt, 2009. "Total Factor Productivity Growth in Chinese Industry: 1952-2005," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(1), pages 1-17.
    6. Wang, Yan & Yao, Yudong, 2003. "Sources of China's economic growth 1952-1999: incorporating human capital accumulation," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 32-52.
    7. Ding Lu, 2002. "Sectoral Factor Reallocation And Productivity Growth: Recent Trends In The Chinese Economy," Journal of Economic Development, Chung-Ang Unviersity, Department of Economics, vol. 27(2), pages 95-111, December.
    8. Mario Biggeri, 2012. "The Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI): the Case of the Chinese Provinces during the Economic Transition," Working Papers 1211, c.MET-05 - Centro Interuniversitario di Economia Applicata alle Politiche per L'industria, lo Sviluppo locale e l'Internazionalizzazione.
    9. Shiu, Alice & Heshmati, Almas, 2006. "Technical Change and Total Factor Productivity Growth for Chinese Provinces: A Panel Data Analysis," Ratio Working Papers 98, The Ratio Institute.
    10. Long, Zhiming & Herrera, Rémy, 2016. "Building original series of physical capital stocks for China's economy methodological problems, proposals for solutions and a new database," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 33-53.
    11. Mario Biggeri, 2003. "Key Factors of Recent Chinese Provincial Economic Growth," Journal of Chinese Economic and Business Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 1(2), pages 159-183.
    12. Onyango, Christopher H., 2010. "Liberalization of Services and its Implications on Cross-Border Agricultural Trade in Eastern Africa," Conference papers 332028, Purdue University, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Global Trade Analysis Project.
    13. Liu, Tung & Li, Kui-Wai, 2006. "Disparity in factor contributions between coastal and inner provinces in post-reform China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 17(4), pages 449-470.
    14. Mengjie Tian & Mingyong Hong & Ji Wang, 2023. "Land resources, market-oriented reform and high-quality agricultural development," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 56(6), pages 4165-4197, December.
    15. Kayode, M.O. & Odusola, Ayodele, 2001. "Economic Development Management in Nigeria: Dynamics, Dialectics and Outcomes," UNDP Africa Economists Working Papers 307338, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
    16. Kui‐yin Cheung & Chengze Fan, 1998. "Post‐reform productivity performance in Guangdong: 1978–94," Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 3(3), pages 379-387.
    17. Sima Siami-Namini, 2017. "China's Economy and the Global Financial Crisis," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 7(5), pages 259-265.
    18. Sylvie DEMURGER, 1999. "Éléments de comptabilité de la croissance chinoise," Working Papers 199913, CERDI.
    19. Taurai Muvunza & Yong Jiang, 2023. "Determinants and hedging effectiveness of China's sovereign credit default swaps," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(2), pages 2074-2087, April.
    20. Banerjee, Abhijit & Duflo, Esther & Qian, Nancy, 2020. "On the road: Access to transportation infrastructure and economic growth in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Productivity in China; National accounts; Growth accounting; Labour productivity; Total factor productivity.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O11 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • O47 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Empirical Studies of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence
    • O53 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Asia including Middle East
    • F43 - International Economics - - Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance - - - Economic Growth of Open Economies
    • C80 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sls:ipmsls:v:15:y:2007:4. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: CSLS (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/cslssca.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.