Comparing Malmquist and Hicks–Moorsteen productivity changes in China’s high-tech industries: exploring convexity implications

The high-tech industry, as a two-stage system consisting of technology development and economic transformation, plays an important role in the transformation and upgrading of China’s economic development. Productivity analysis is the primary method for assessing the performance of economic growth. Hence, it is important to accurately measure productivity changes, which can provide valuable guidance for its further development. Accordingly, based on the provincial-level sample data of the high-tech industry, this paper measures the productivity changes of the whole system and each stage by adopting Malmquist and Hicks–Moorsteen indices both under the convex and nonconvex measures. Further, a comparative analysis of productivity changes from the national and regional high-tech industry perspective has been performed. Empirical results suggest that productivity changes differ significantly among the national, Eastern, and Northeast regions only for the variable returns to scale assumption under the nonconvex measure, specifically for the whole system. Moreover, more contradictory results between Malmquist and Hicks–Moorsteen indices occur under variable returns to scale and nonconvex technology. Furthermore, productivity growth for the whole system is primarily attributed to that of the technology development stage, except for the Central region. In addition, the differences in productivity changes across regions are reduced. Finally, some constructive suggestions have been made so that policymakers can provide theoretical references when making decisions for the high-quality development of the high-tech industry.