Understanding openness and productivity growth in China: An empirical study of the Chinese provinces

This paper investigates the effects of openness on China's regional productivity growth. We build a model of technology diffusion in which follower economies achieve productivity growth by taking advantage of technology spillovers from the world technology frontier. We hypothesize that China's regional productivity growth is a positive function of regional openness and a negative function of the current level of regional productivity. Empirical analysis in this paper focuses on how openness affects productivity growth in the Chinese provinces. We examine two effects of openness on regional productivity growth in China: the direct growth effect and the convergence effect. By using a variety of panel data regression techniques, we show that the direct growth effect of openness is the main effect while the convergence effect is insignificant. The findings of this paper lend strong support to the claim that the opening-up of China promotes the country's economic growth.     

Productivity,Trade, and Institutional Quality: A Panel Analysis

Recognizing that gains historically attributed to trade capture instead the roles of institutions and geography, we estimate the relationship between labor productivity and trade for a panel of countries, 1980 to 2000. We use real and nominal openness as measures of trade. The endogeneity of trade and institutional quality is accounted for with instruments. Our trade instrument is based on a theoretically motivated gravity equation and uses a more comprehensive data set than in related studies. Fixed‐ and random‐effects and system‐GMM panel estimation methods address potential biases associated with cross‐section estimations. We find a robust relationship between real openness and labor productivity from the 1990s. Countries that trade more generate higher levels of productivity, supporting an institutional theory of growth. We find evidence that countries with low‐quality institutions benefit from openness to trade and that the positive effect of trade on labor productivity is lower for more populated countries.     

Openness and total factor productivity in Swedish manufacturing, 1980–1995

Openness and Total Factor Productivity in Swedish Manufacturing, 1980–1995. — This paper studies the effect of openness on total factor productivity (TFP) growth. Using industry-level data for Swedish manufacturing from 1980 to 1995, the paper shows that integrated industries tend to be more engaged in R&D and have more entry and exit activity than other industries. The results show that domestic R&D intensity does not contribute to the TFP growth rate. Instead, openness to international markets, which helps facilitate technology spillovers, is an important factor. There is also some evidence that producers exiting the market are less productive, implying that such exits will increase the average productivity of the industry.     

Does China Transfer Productivity Enhancing Technology to Sub‐Saharan Africa? Evidence from Manufacturing Firms*

Abstract: This paper considers whether trade between China and sub‐Saharan Africa results in productivity‐enhancing technology transfers to sub‐Saharan African manufacturing firms. As trade flows between countries potentially results in interactions that lead to technological improvements in the production of goods and services, we parameterize the level of total factor productivity for African manufacturing firms as a function of foreign direct investment flow, and for the country in which it operates, trade openness with China, and its interaction with foreign direct investment. With micro‐level data on manufacturing firms in five sub‐Saharan African countries, we estimate the parameters of firm‐level production functions between 1992 and 2004. Our parameter estimates reveal that across the firms and countries in our sample, there is no relationship between productivity‐enhancing foreign direct investment and trade with China. In addition, increasing trade openness with China has no effect on the growth rate of total factor productivity. To the extent that total factor productivity and its growth is a crucial determinant of economic growth and living standards in the long run, our results suggest that increasing trade openness with China is not a long‐run source of higher living standards for sub‐Saharan Africa.     

经济开放度的再测算与中国经济增长

文章基于中国1985-2013年的货物贸易、服务贸易、直接投资和间接投资数据,结合AHP层次分析法和熵权法重新测算了中国整体经济开放度,在此基础上构建计量模型。研究发现经济开放对中国经济增长具有非线性的促进机制:经济开放度的提升既通过吸引FDI增加了可直接利用的资本要素,又通过FDI技术溢出和开放度程度的增加提高了全要素生产率。但加入WTO之后,经济开放度的提升对经济增长的促进作用开始下降。经济发展驱动力开始由对外开放向对内深化改革和结构转型转变。     

Dynamic estimation of the relationship between trade openness and output growth in Asia

This paper studies the relationship between trade openness and output growth for a sample of twenty-three Asian countries using both a static OLS and a dynamic ECM estimation models. At the country specific level, the findings of this study provide robust empirical evidence indicating that higher revealed trade openness is not the main engine explaining the Asian economic-growth miracle. In particular, the authors find that physical capital accumulation is at the core of the observed long-run output per worker growth. At the regional level, the authors observe a marked difference between the pre and post 1997–1998 financial crisis, whereas, in the post period, trade openness has a positive and significant effect on output growth. In general, the results from the dynamic estimations prove that the conventional OLS static estimates underestimate the effect of investment on output growth. In addition, the dynamic model allows for a separation of gains from trade between short term and long term. The paper results also provide evidence in support of the idea that, countries with a growing degree of trade openness may experience faster per-capita output growth through gains in productivity associated to capital accumulation, rather than the assumed technological spillover effects from the trading sector. Again, at the regional level in the post financial crisis period both short term and long term gains from trade are relevant to growth. Why more trade does not necessarily imply faster growth at all levels of revealed trade openness growth, remains a conundrum.     

国际服务外包、技术外溢与承接国的技术进步

本文构建了一个包括三个部门的开放经济增长模型,考察了国际服务外包的技术外溢对承接国技术进步的影响。分析结果表明,在开放经济条件下,国际服务外包产生的技术外溢对承接国的技术进步具有正向的促进作用,但是技术外溢效应的大小要受到承接国的贸易开放程度、人力资本存量水平和国内外技术差距等因素的制约。承接国的贸易开放程度越高、人力资本存量越多,国际服务外包的技术外溢效应越大。在具有一定的技术吸收能力的基础上,当承接国与外包国的技术差距水平保持在一个适度的范围内时,承接国际服务外包能够获得较大的技术外溢效应。本文的分析结论对我国承接国际服务外包业务具有重要启示。     

产业集聚、贸易开放与全要素生产率：来自中国省际的证据

文章基于Melitz理论模型,通过引入产业集聚变量,分析了贸易开放与贸易封闭条件下产业集聚对均衡生产率的影响,并使用非线性的门槛回归方法对不同贸易开放条件下产业集聚与全要素生产率的关系以及产业集聚促进全要素生产率提高的具体渠道（技术进步、技术效率）进行了实证检验。结果发现,产业集聚水平的提高对要素生产率的贡献与一国所处的外部经济环境有关。在我国产业集聚促进全要素生产率增长的过程中,有贸易开放的门槛效应的存在,只有在贸易开放水平达到一定阶段之后,产业集聚才会推动全要素生产率的显著提高。在不同省际间,不但产业集聚促进全要素生产率提高的效应大小有所差异,其具体作用渠道也有所不同。在贸易开放水平较高的省份,虽然产业集聚在推动技术进步上的作用十分明显,但其却限制了技术效率的提高,产业集聚对全要素生产率提高的影响主要是通过推动技术进步来实现的。     

The Non-Monetary Side of the Global Disinflation

The dramatic decline in inflation across the world over the last 20 years has been largely credited to improved monetary policy. The universal nature of the phenomenon, however, indicates that globalization, which occurred simultaneously, also played a role. We build a model based on Melitz (2003) in which falling transport cost lead to greater openness, higher productivity and lower inflation. Following a decline in transport cost openness increases and firm selection eliminates the least productive domestic firms. The consequent increase in average productivity leads to falling relative prices for goods. A cash-in-advance constraint allows analyzing how falling relative prices can lead to lower inflation. Using a data set of macroeconomic variables for 123 countries from all world regions, we disentangle the influences of monetary policy and globalization by showing that openness-induced productivity growth leads to a significant decline in inflation world-wide. The results can be further confirmed in a calibration exercise.     

中国金融开放与高质量发展——以全要素生产率为视角

本文通过建立计量回归模型,对中国1991—2017期间的全要素生产率与金融开放等进行了实证回归分析。计量实证回归分析结果显示,金融开放、金融发展、研发支出、人力资本、外商直接投资、出口等因素,均对全要素生产率有着正向的促进作用。金融开放不仅可以为一国提供所需的资金,而且还可以提供资金、技术以及管理经验等对高质量发展不可或缺的因素。对于我们这样一个处在转型升级阶段的大国来说,我们需要加大金融开放的力度,从而促进我国的高质量发展。     

发展农村金融与提高农业生产率的思考

农村地区资金大量外流和贷款难问题,已成为农村经济发展的直接障碍。农村金融市场的放开虽然可缓解这些问题,但却很难提高农业的生产率,不能促进农民收入的长期增长。要提高农业生产率,政府除了利用工业反哺农业及促进农民从农业向工业转移之外,还须促进土地流转和支持农民创业,以达到农民收入增长的目的。     

Trade policies and growth in emerging economies: policy experiments

This paper analyzes a dynamic endogenous growth model to quantify the channels through which international trade affects longer-term growth of an emerging economy, with an emphasis on the role played by trade policies. In the model, trade can promote (i) labor migration from agricultural to non-agricultural sectors and (ii) the inflow of foreign knowledge to enhance productivity in non-agricultural sector. The model is estimated to match with the data from selected advanced and emerging economies. Policy experiments suggest that openness to trade and elimination of trade barriers would raise annual real GDP growth by up to three percentage points for decades.

     

Openness,human capital and total factor productivity: evidence from China

This paper examines the drivers behind China's economic growth. In particular, it focuses on the channels of knowledge spillovers: human capital and openness to trade and foreign direct investment. The specific features of the study include using the most recent comprehensive panel data consisting of 29 provinces during the period 1994–2006 and performing unit root and cointegration tests in the panel data framework. The paper finds that human capital, trade and FDI are the significant determinants of total factor productivity, but their importance varies with technological levels of provinces. These findings have important policy implications.     

Aging,automation, and productivity in Korea

This paper examines the impact of aging in the Republic of Korea on productivity as measured by labor productivity or total factor productivity (TFP). It also assesses the effect of robot adoption on the relation between aging and productivity using industrial level data. We find that aging is negatively associated with labor productivity and TFP growth. This is true particularly when aging is measured by increases in shares of old workers. If aging is measured by increases in the median age of workers, the negative effect is weaker. Evidence also suggests that robot technology mitigates aging's negative effect on productivity growth, particularly when productivity is measured by TFP. However, there is no evidence that robots are more heavily adopted in aged industries. While robot technology does not directly contribute to higher productivity growth, our findings suggest that the robot adoption can alleviate the negative impact of aging by helping workers in their 50s and 60s contribute less adversly to productivity growth.     

贸易开放、投资效率与中国的经济增长——基于“Krueger-Bhagwati”范式的经验研究

本文采取以制度分析为基础的"Krueger—Bhagwati"范式作为理论依托,以Dollar系数作为衡量贸易开放度的指标,对1953~2004年中国贸易开放与经济增长之间的关系进行了回归分析。结果显示,贸易开放促进经济增长的机制在于消除国内市场价格扭曲,减少非生产性寻利行为,提高了投资效率。同时,中国的确存在出口导向型增长,但这种增长方式为满足国外部门需求而挤压国内消费,容易产生经济波动。因此,对进出口采取一致激励的中性贸易体制是现阶段更为理想的体制选择。     

Total Factor Productivity Convergence in Developing Countries: Role of Technology Diffusion

In recent years, though total factor productivity (TFP) convergence phenomenon has gained tremendous importance yet further deliberations for identification of catalytic factors that can help developing countries to achieve their steady developmental paths, are under way. Against this backdrop, present study investigates the principal determinants of TFP convergence by employing data of 91 developing countries over the period 1960–2015 and with USA being the frontier country. In concordance with the existing literature, main focus remains on technology diffusion for the catch‐up process and is measured by means of trade openness (TO) and foreign direct investment (FDI) with introduction of their interaction terms. However, TFP is computed by incorporating the Growth Accounting Model while empirical results are drawn from the 2‐step GMM estimation technique. It is surfaced that though high degree of openness benefits TFP growth and convergence but FDI has a dominating role. Therefore, governments can play a competent role via unflagging efforts in ensuring that the right kind of policies are enacted, promoting trading activities and FDI flows.     

城镇化、贸易开放影响经济增长的差异性研究——基于面板数据FMOLS的再思考

文章以城镇化、贸易开放和经济增长为研究对象,运用协整检验和完全修正的最小二乘法（FMOLS）对我国省际面板数据进行实证分析,表明：我国的城镇化、贸易开放与经济增长之间存在着长期稳定的面板协整关系;城镇化和贸易开放对经济增长都有促进作用,但作用力度有差异;城镇化是经济增长的Granger原因,而贸易开放不是经济增长的Granger原因。     

Procyclical Productivity and Output Growth in China: An Econometric Analysis

This paper analyzes the procyclical behavior of Chinese Total Factor Productivity (TFP). It shows that measured Solow residuals are correlated to the growth rate of real imports per worker and to other macroeconomic variables that fluctuate at cyclical frequencies. The magnitude of the trend shift in TFP after the start of economic reforms in 1978 is found to be robust to the introduction of cyclical factor utilization and other systematic influences on productivity. The propagation mechanisms of macroeconomic shocks to output are also evaluated on the basis of a seven-variable VAR system. The empirical results indicate that the growing openness of the economy has contributed to sustaining the observed long run productivity increases and has raised spatial inequality.     

Public Procurement and Foreign Direct Investment Across France,Germany, Italy and the UK

Foreign direct investment (FDI) has become an important factor of economic development during the last decades. FDI contributes to the economic growth of the host economy through learning, diffusion of technology, positive externalities and capital inflows. Attracting FDI is currently an objective in its own right for many countries and this paper aims to identify policies affecting the multinational firm’s decision to establish a subsidiary. After accounting for labour productivity and trade openness, cross-section analysis, both industry-wise and country-wise, indicates that public procurement, especially “buy national” policies, and agglomeration economies are statistically significant determinants of FDI. Although our findings pertain to four large European economies, e.g. France, Germany, Italy and the UK, they constitute relevant policy guidelines for developing countries as well.      

Pain or Gain? Chinese Experience of Capital Account Liberalization

The neoclassical growth model predicts that capital account liberalization could potentially enhance economic performance; however, there is no consistent empirical evidence to support this positive association. Using a novel dataset of Chinese capital account openness, this paper demonstrates a positive relationship between capital account liberalization and aggregate economic performance. The difference‐indifferences method is used to capture the causal effect of capital account liberalization on economic performance by taking advantage of variations in both external financial dependence and the progress of capital account openness. We investigate three channels that could strengthen this positive relationship using a firm‐level dataset. We find that capital account liberalization could: (i) alleviate the degree of resource misallocation, and this effect is more significant in industries relying heavily on external finance and in regions with more favorable business environments; (ii) enhance firms’ total factor productivity; and (iii) promote innovation. Our findings suggest that a strategy of gradual openness will leave some leeway not only for improvement in domestic markets but also to mitigate exposure to unfavorable global shocks.