国家高新区设立能够提升城市全要素生产率吗？——基于261个地级市TFP分解数据的路径分析

国家高新区是培育经济增长新动能，实现区域经济高质量发展的重要政策载体，文章利用2001-2014年我国261个城市面板数据，通过渐进双重差分法研究国家高新区设立对城市全要素生产率的影响。研究发现：研究期内国家高新区的设立对城市全要素生产率造成显著的负面影响；从TFP的分解项来看，高新区设立促进了所在城市规模效率提高，却抑制了技术进步和技术效率提高；异质性分析结果表明上述作用具有显著城市等级异质性，在高行政等级城市设立高新区对城市全要素生产率具有促进作用。进一步运用工业企业数据库、微观土地转让数据、城市专利数据等进行机制分析发现，企业间资源错配和土地价格扭曲降低了技术效率，而技术创新下降和产业升级钝化是抑制技术进步的主要机制。     

Client Importance and Audit Quality at the Individual Audit Partner,Office, and Firm Levels

We investigate whether audit partner level data provides a more powerful measure than office or firm level measures of client importance. We find that the likelihood of issuing a going-concern opinion (any and first-time) increases, and the absolute value of discretionary accruals decreases, in relation to the proportion of audit fees to the total audit fees received by audit partners from all their clients. We also find that the likelihood of issuing a going-concern opinion (any and first-time) increases, and the absolute value of discretionary accruals decreases, in relation to the proportion of non-audit services fees from a client to total non-audit service fees, and the proportion of total audit and non-audit service fees from a client to total fees from all their clients at the office and firm levels. Our findings provide evidence to regulators, audit clients, and stakeholders that audit partners do not succumb to pressure from economically more important clients as audit quality has a positive association with client importance.     

Agricultural productivity growth in Brazil: Large and small farms excel

The long-standing debate on the relationship between farm size and productivity has been generally limited by the range of farm sizes evaluated and the definition of productivity. In this paper we use data from three Brazilian agricultural censuses to address these issues. In particular, we introduce a wider distribution of farm sizes than presently available from the literature and we employ total factor productivity (TFP) as our performance measure. In doing so, we test which farm size class had the highest TFP levels in 1985 and 2006, how factor productivity growth varied within and across farm size classes between those years, and which policy or factor had the greatest productivity enhancing effect. When examining TFP growth, we move beyond the common decomposition into technical and efficiency changes by identifying the complete distribution of farm productivity performances. We find that by 2006 a U-shaped distribution of productivity over farm sizes had emerged. Considerable 1985–2006 TFP growth differences are prevalent; positive rates for the majority accompany stagnant or negative rates for some. Public education investments were associated with faster productivity growth regardless of farm size, while technical assistance’s positive effect and credit’s negative effect were associated with larger farm sizes. The role of specialization varied by size.     

Are China’s regional agricultural productivities converging: How and why?

This article tests the hypotheses of convergence to a single level of total factor productivity (TFP), and a steady state of TFP growth rate in China’s agricultural sector. Based on multilateral TFP estimates we found that China’s agricultural sector has rebounded in recent years from a slower TFP growth in the 2005–2007 period. While convergence test results confirm a “catch-up” effect that provinces with lower TFP levels tend to grow faster than others, estimated rates of β convergence are conditional on how we capture the heterogeneity effect across regions. The rates of β convergence range from 0.016 to 0.039 under different model specifications. Estimates show that higher growth rates of educational attainment, R&D, and intermediate goods density (per unit of labor) can enhance TFP growth. Unfortunately, there is no evidence of an overall σ convergence, indicating that TFP levels are not converging except in the South region. It implies that to catch up with leading provinces, it would require extra efforts for those lagging behind by increasing their region-specific research investment, promoting rural educational attainment, and enhancing embodied technical change.     

Farm size and productivity growth in the United States Corn Belt

In recent decades, agricultural production in the U.S. has continued to shift to large-scale operations, raising concerns about the economic viability of small and midsized farms. To understand whether economies of size provided an incentive for the consolidation of production, the study estimates the total factor productivity (TFP) of five size classes of grain-producing farms in the U.S. Heartland (Corn Belt) region. Using quinquennial Agricultural Census data from 1982 to 2012 the study also compares TFP growth rates across farm sizes to gain insight into whether observed productivity differences are likely to persist. The finding of a strong positive relationship between farm size and TFP suggests that consolidation of production has contributed to recent aggregate productivity growth in the crop sector. The study estimates the extent to which sectoral productivity growth can be attributed to structural change versus other factors including technological change. The study also explores some tradeoffs associated with policies that raise the productivity of small versus large farms.     

卫健系统干部培训课程体系常见问题及完善之道

全面质量管理是干部教育培训项目实现持续改进的基础,课程设计作为干部培训体系的关键环节,直接影响着干部培训的成效。就课程体系而言,PDCA循环注重基于培训要求的专题策划、满足学习需求的课程设计、完善管理服务的过程控制以及回应培训评估的改进处理。近年来,上海市卫生局党校立足培训需求,强化培训管理,增强培训实效,不断开创干部教育培训新局面,为上海市卫生健康系统干部培训作出了重要贡献,但在课程体系设计、执行和评估等方面也存在改进空间,可以通过强化政治训练、加强师资队伍建设、创新培训方式、完善培训评估等途径,进一步提高干部培训实效。     

数字经济对中国全要素生产率的影响机理:提升效应还是抑制效果？

数字经济是新时代引领中国经济高质量发展的关键抓手。然而现阶段数字经济普惠性发展尚未实现，掣肘着其对国内全要素生产率的提升力度。文章在理论分析的基础上，基于熵权TOPSIS法测算了2012-2018年中国数字经济发展水平指数，探讨了中国数字经济对全要素生产率的影响机理。研究发现：数字经济的发展显著提升了中国全要素生产率水平，但区域层面上，东部地区的数字经济发展明显领先于中西部地区，引领着中国全要素生产率快速增长。从全要素生产率的分解指标来看，数字经济推动了技术效率提升，但现阶段国内关键核心技术环节薄弱以及数字产业化带来的人才和资金的虹吸效应导致数字经济对技术进步产生了阻碍作用。此外，当前数字经济对不同产业的渗透度存在明显的不均衡性，筑高了创新资源的流动壁垒，影响产业间协调创新及合理化布局，进而抑制了对全要素生产率的提升力度。进一步的机制检验表明在创新环境的支持下，人才集聚及金融规模强化了数字经济对全要素生产率的提升力度。     

环境规制对制造业绿色转型的影响机制及实证研究

制造业绿色转型是大势所趋，环境规制作为实现环境效益的重要手段，其如何影响制造业绿色转型值得探讨。在阐述环境规制对制造业绿色转型直接影响和间接影响机制的基础上，使用2005—2017年中国（内地）省级面板数据，采用基于EBM-GML模型计算得出的绿色全要素生产率衡量中国制造业绿色转型程度，进而建立固定效应面板模型检验异质性环境规制对制造业绿色转型的影响。结果表明：我国制造业绿色转型程度整体保持上升趋势，增长速度呈现出明显阶段性特征。环境规制对制造业绿色转型具有非线性影响，命令控制型环境规制和自愿参与型环境规制超过一定限度后能直接加快制造业绿色转型进程，市场激励型环境规制的直接影响则不显著；环境规制能够通过技术创新、外商直接投资、产业结构间接促进制造业绿色转型，产业集聚的影响则不显著；市场激励型环境规制能够通过间接效应影响制造业绿色转型。     

Do housing prices promote total factor productivity? Evidence from spatial panel data models in explaining the mediating role of population density

The issue of what to promote in total factor productivity (TFP) in urban areas has been widely discussed in academia and housing prices and population density are confirmed to be two of the most essential driving factors. However, research into the interaction of housing prices and population density with TFP has been neglected, with no previous studies taking spatial factors into consideration, which may bias the results. From this perspective, using spatial panel data models and employing instrumental variables to solve the endogenous problem, this study examines the impact of housing prices on TFP through the mediating effect of population density for 283 Chinese cities during the period 2000–2013, and confirms that the mediating effect accounts for 18.70 % of the total effect. The results show the positive and significant association of housing prices with TFP and the inverted U-shape of population density. The underlying logic is that housing prices change population density by attracting people with high purchasing power and discouraging those unable to afford housing, whereas increased density helps to promote productivity since the settled inhabitants always have highly developed work skills and are well educated. The influencing mechanism of housing prices on TFP through population density is analyzed, namely the spillover effect. We find that the spillover effect exists in the eastern and central regions, as well as first, second, and third tier cities, while for western regions and fifth tier cities, population mobility and increased in housing prices slows their economic development. There is no evidence of any spillover effect in fourth tier cities. A discussion and suggested policy implications are also provided.     

微观企业全要素生产率测度方法的比较与应用

微观企业TFP通常是不可观测的,它的估计面临内生性、联立性等诸多问题。在系统分析微观生产函数估计所面临主要问题的基础上,经过蒙特卡洛模拟法,比较了微观生产函数最新估计方法的优劣,发现广泛应用的OP、LP和ACF参数估计方法,倾向于高估微观企业的TFP,而De Loecker、GNR和联合估计的TFP测度方法能够得到TFP的稳健估计,增加值类生产函数估计倾向于高估微观企业的TFP,并且高估TFP的离散程度。将前沿TFP测度方法用于中国生产要素错误配置问题的研究,发现要素再配置具有显著的TFP促进效应,但是低于Hsieh和Klenow(2009)政策模拟的估计结果。据此,提出以微观企业TFP开展实证研究的对策建议。