IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/eti/dpaper/12066.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Measuring Gross Output, Value Added, Employment and Labor Productivity of the Chinese Economy at Industry Level, 1987-2008 — An Introduction to the CIP Database (Round 1.0)

Author

Listed:
  • Harry WU

Abstract

This paper introduces the preliminary version of the China Industrial Productivity Database (CIP Round 1.0), a first of its kind covering the period 1987-2008, including data problems and the construction procedures to deal with the problems. It also discusses the outstanding methodological and data issues aiming to invite constructive comments and suggestions for further improvement of the database. Finally, using the CIP data, this paper provides a preliminary measure of China's labor productivity at industry level and individual industries' contributions to and labor reallocation effect on the aggregate labor productivity growth of the economy. Our preliminary findings show that there was nearly a fourfold growth (383%) in the labor productivity of the Chinese economy over the period 1987-2008, or an increase of 6.6% per annum. The top two performers were post-and-telecommunication service and transportation equipment manufacturing, experiencing an annual growth of labor productivity by 16.3% and 15.1%, respectively. However, that health care (11.0% p.a.) and government service (9.7% p.a.) also fell in the "super labor-productivity-growth club" raises a serious question about potential data problems because the labor productivity growth of these sectors is typically low or close to zero by international experiences. China gained from the labor reallocation effect alongside the state sector reform beginning in the early 1990s. But the effect turned into negative following the Asian financial crisis in 1997-98 and maintained that status in the aftermath deflationary macroeconomic environment (1998-2001). The labor reallocation effect became positive again after China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) (2002-08).

Suggested Citation

  • Harry WU, 2012. "Measuring Gross Output, Value Added, Employment and Labor Productivity of the Chinese Economy at Industry Level, 1987-2008 — An Introduction to the CIP Database (Round 1.0)," Discussion papers 12066, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
  • Handle: RePEc:eti:dpaper:12066
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.rieti.go.jp/jp/publications/dp/12e066.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. D. W. Jorgenson & Z. Griliches, 1967. "The Explanation of Productivity Change," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 34(3), pages 249-283.
    2. 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.
    3. Carsten A. Holz, 2006. "CHINA's REFORM PERIOD ECONOMIC GROWTH: HOW RELIABLE ARE ANGUS MADDISON's ESTIMATES?," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 52(1), pages 85-119, March.
    4. 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.
    5. Andreas (Andy) Jobst & Harry X. Wu, 2008. "Measuring China’s Economic Performance," World Economics, World Economics, 1 Ivory Square, Plantation Wharf, London, United Kingdom, SW11 3UE, vol. 9(2), pages 13-44, April.
    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. Selin Ozyurt, 2009. "Total Factor Productivity Growth in Chinese Industry: 1952-2005," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(1), pages 1-17.
    2. Li, Kui-Wai & Liu, Tung, 2011. "Economic and productivity growth decomposition: An application to post-reform China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 366-373.
    3. 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.
    4. 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.
    5. Harry WU, 2015. "Constructing China's Net Capital and Measuring Capital Services in China, 1980-2010," Discussion papers 15006, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    6. Thomas Piketty & Li Yang & Gabriel Zucman, 2019. "Capital Accumulation, Private Property, and Rising Inequality in China, 1978–2015," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 109(7), pages 2469-2496, July.
    7. 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.
    8. Martin Ravallion, 2011. "A Comparative Perspective on Poverty Reduction in Brazil, China, and India," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 26(1), pages 71-104, February.
    9. Lein-Lein Chen & John Devereux, 2017. "The Iron Rice Bowl: Chinese Living Standards 1952–1978," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 59(3), pages 261-310, September.
    10. Wang, Lili & Szirmai, Adam, 2008. "Regional Capital Inputs in Chinese Industry and Manufacturing, 1978-2003," MERIT Working Papers 2008-028, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    11. Liu, Tung & Li, Kui-Wai, 2012. "Analyzing China's productivity growth: Evidence from manufacturing industries," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 531-551.
    12. Almas Heshmati & Subal C. Kumbhakar, 2010. "Technical Change and Total Factor Productivity Growth: The Case of Chinese Provinces," TEMEP Discussion Papers 201054, Seoul National University; Technology Management, Economics, and Policy Program (TEMEP), revised Feb 2010.
    13. Li, Kui-Wai, 2009. "China's total factor productivity estimates by region, investment sources and ownership," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 213-230, September.
    14. Harry WU & ITO Keiko, 2015. "Reconstructing China's Supply-Use and Input-Output Tables in Time Series," Discussion papers 15004, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    15. Linlin Sun & Ruo-en Ren, 2008. "Estimates of China capital input index by industries (1981–2000)," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 3(3), pages 462-481, September.
    16. repec:dgr:rugggd:gd-99 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. 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.
    18. Yueqing Jia, 2011. "A New Look at China’s Output Fluctuations: Quarterly GDP Estimation with an Unobserved Components Approach," Working Papers 2011-006, The George Washington University, Department of Economics, H. O. Stekler Research Program on Forecasting.
    19. Li, Qing & Wu, Yanrui, 2018. "Intangible capital in Chinese regional economies: Measurement and analysis," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 323-341.
    20. Harry X. Wu & Deb Kusum Das & K. L. Krishna & Pilu Chandra Das, 2017. "How Does the Productivity and Economic Growth Performance of China and India Compare in the Post-Reform Era, 1981-2011?," International Productivity Monitor, Centre for the Study of Living Standards, vol. 33, pages 91-113, Fall.
    21. Kui-Wai Li, 2003. "China's Capital and Productivity Measurement Using Financial Resources," Working Papers 851, Economic Growth Center, Yale University.

    More about this item

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:eti:dpaper:12066. 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: TANIMOTO, Toko (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/rietijp.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.