Innovation,learning, and exporting in China: Does R&D or a technology index matter?

This paper undertakes econometric analysis of innovation, learning, and exporting in automobiles and electronics firms in China using a large-scale 2003 dataset to identify the most appropriate innovation proxy. Drawing on recent literature on innovation and learning in developing countries, it tests two alternative proxies: (i) a technology index (TI) to capture a variety of minor activities involved in using imported technologies efficiently; and (ii) the research and development (R&D)-to-sales ratio, which represents formal technological efforts to create new products and processes, often at world frontiers. A higher TI increases the probability of exporting in both industries, while the R&D-to-sales ratio was not significant. Foreign ownership, technical manpower, and the characteristics of the general manager/chief executive officer also matter. The findings suggest that China's remarkable success in the export of automobiles and electronics since initiating an open-door foreign direct investment (FDI) policy in 1978 is linked to technology transfer from multinationals; systematic investments in and upgrading of minor technological activities (like search, engineering, quality management and design); and human capital. As China's per capita income rises over time, however, formal R&D activities are likely to become more important to sustain competitiveness and technological upgrading in automobiles and electronics.     

Local land supply and fiscal incentives for R&D: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China

Whereas numerous studies have evaluated the effects of public research and development (R&D) support programs and R&D tax incentives on private R&D, little is known about local governments' fiscal incentives for R&D. In this study, we build a conceptual framework to clarify the critical role of local land supply in relation to fiscal expenditure on R&D. We treat the establishment of China's nine Land Supervision Bureaus in 2006 as a quasi-natural experiment, and run a difference-in-differences regression to identify causality. The results show that local governments allocate more fiscal expenditure to R&D in response to land-use supervision, which monitors illegal land granting behaviors, and this effect is stronger in cities where leaders have higher political career incentives and cities with greater fiscal decentralization. Moreover, we find that land-use supervision increases the probability and scale of firms' access to government subsidies for R&D; thus, enhancing regional innovation capacity. Our findings document that China's land resource is a curse for its innovation-driven growth as it impedes local governments' fiscal incentives for R&D.     

The effect of technological factors and structural change on China's energy intensity: Evidence from dynamic panel models

To accurately understand the characteristic of energy intensity evolution by building a united framework, this paper evaluates the linear effects of the main technological factors and structural change on energy intensity from an overall perspective and a regional comparison perspective. The empirical analysis is based on a panel dataset including China's 30 provincial regions. The results suggest that domestic research and development (R&D) plays a more important role in energy intensity reduction than other technological factors. The technology spillover through foreign direct investment helps reduce the energy intensity, whereas export's technology spillover actually exhibits as a stain for China to reduce the energy intensity. Regarding the structural change, the transition from high energy-consumption industrial sectors to low energy-consumption industrial sectors plays a more important role in influencing energy intensity than simple industrialisation. The regional comparison perspective indicates that there are significant regional differences between China's Eastern, Central, and Western regions. Further estimates using the dynamic panel threshold model suggest that the local technological absorptive capacity, such as domestic R&D, is crucially responsible for these different technical effects.     

Technological factors and total factor productivity in China: Evidence based on a panel threshold model

This study investigates the effects of technological factors, including indigenous research and development (R&D) investments, technology spillovers coming from foreign direct investments, export, and import, on China's total factor productivity (TFP). Using provincial panel data of China, covering 30 provinces over the period 2000–2014, our results confirm that indigenous R&D investments play a leading role in promoting TFP. Linear analysis suggests that, except for export, the technology spillovers through openness are beneficial for TFP growth. However, a further discussion based on a panel threshold model suggests that the different behaviours of these technology spillovers are dependent on the technological absorptive capacity affecting factors, such as human capital and indigenous R&D investments. The human capital will strengthen the spillover effects of each technology spillover. However, R&D intensity initially tends to hamper their spillover effects. Once the R&D intensity exceeds a certain level, the negative spillover effect of export on TFP tends to be alleviated, and the positive spillover effect of foreign direct investment and import on TFP will increase.     

Going out to innovate more at home: Impacts of outward direct investments on Chinese firms' domestic innovation performance

This study explores the effects of cross-border mergers & acquisitions (CBMA) on domestic innovation of Chinese firms. We build a new panel dataset that matches information on CBMA and innovation activities for China's publicly listed firms. We rely on matching techniques combined with a difference-in-differences estimator to study the causal effects of CBMA respectively on firms' investments in innovation, innovation outputs, and financial performance. The main findings reveal that CBMA has both a positive impact on firms' R&D spending and number of patent applications, no statistically significant effect on the number of granted patents or on the quality of those patents, and a negative effect on firms' financial performance. These results depend, however, on the type of CBMA (horizontal or vertical), destination country (OECD or non-OECD), and the technological intensity (high-tech or not) of the acquirer and target firm. Overall, the findings bring into question whether CBMAs, and China's going-out strategy, will significantly boost its indigenous innovation capabilities.     

What are China's real gains within global value chains? Measuring domestic value added in China's exports of manufactures

This paper aims to investigate China's gains of participating in global value chains (GVCs) in terms of GDP in exports (DVA - domestic value added) and the factors affecting China's gains. The paper decomposes the gross exports of China so as to get the components that make up total GDP in the exports of the country, namely the value-added exports and DVA that are returned from abroad. Then the two components are measured to obtain the scale of GDP in China's exports both on country and sector level. The results show that, firstly, both value-added exports and the GDP in China's exports are less than the traditional gross trade statistics, indicating that there is a gap of real trade gains under GVCs. Secondly, comparing whether the proportion of DVA in total exports, the proportion of DVA in exports of manufactures or the proportion of RDV in total DVA, the gaps between China and the developed countries such as the United States, Germany and Japan do exist. Especially, considering the RDV of China, the proportion is significantly lower than that of major developed countries such as the United States and Germany, indicating that China lags far behind developed countries in the capabilities of supplying high value-added intermediate goods. Lastly, the empirical results suggest that DVA in China's exports has progressively increased in response to the productivity enhancement; research and development (R&D) inputs and capital formation, and the synergies between R&D and vertical specialization affect China's DVA growth in exports positively.     

中国集成电路上市企业技术创新效率影响因素研究

基于2015—2019年中国集成电路产业59家上市企业技术创新投入产出数据,在技术创新效率测度的基础上,利用Tobit模型对中国集成电路上市企业技术创新效率影响因素进行研究。结果表明：集成电路上市企业技术创新效率总体处于低水平阶段,且呈下降趋势;知识生产效率明显高于成果转化效率,成果转化效率低是造成技术创新效率低的主要原因;政府补助、R&D人员投入强度、R&D经费投入强度、企业规模4个指标负向影响技术创新效率;金融支持力度正向促进技术创新效率提升;盈利能力对技术创新效率影响较小。在此基础上,为促进中国集成电路上市企业技术创新效率提升提出了针对性改进建议。     

Technology spillovers,absorptive capacity and economic growth

By establishing an endogenous growth model with knowledge-driven R&D, this paper aims to investigate the relationship between international technology spillovers, the host country's absorptive capability and endogenous economic growth. The solution to the competitive equilibrium problem shows that long-run growth arises from improvements in absorptive capability and higher human capital stocks, while the relationships between openness, the technology gap and the steady-state growth rate are uncertain. Econometric estimates of China's economic growth are obtained using province level data covering the period 1996–2002. The estimates indicate that technology spillovers depend on the host country's human capital investment and degree of openness, and that FDI is a more significant spillover channel than imports.     

海南自贸港12个重点产业的科技支撑能力提升策略

12个重点产业对海南省经济社会发展具有重要意义,但普遍存在科技能力不足的问题.研究发现:海南高新技术产业发展相对滞后,相较于2013年,2018年规模以上工业企业的研发人员投入和专利产出均较大幅度减少;企业的研发主体地位不突出,企业在全社会研发经费中的占比低;全省科技投入强度弱,技术市场发展相对滞后,省内企业对技术的需求有待挖掘.借鉴农业机械和医药制造的科技支撑产业发展经验,提出强化政府引导、保障技术供给、挖掘技术需求方面的建议,着力提高科技对12个重点产业的支撑引领能力.     

R&D Spillovers for Public R&D Productivity

ABSTRACT

This paper empirically investigates whether the productivity of a public (government-funded) R&D project improves when the aggregate R&D investment in the same technology field increases. Based on the unique project level data that cover almost entire public R&D projects in Korea, this paper shows that aggregate investment in other public R&D projects in the same technology field increases a public R&D project’s outputs both independent of its project expenditure (additive spillover effects) and interactive with its project expenditure (multiplicative spillover effects). The spillover effects from the aggregate private R&D investment in the same technology field also exist, but to a much lesser extent.     

International Trade and R&D Investment: Evidence from Chinese Manufacturing Firms

A current concern for China's long‐term growth prospect is whether China can become an innovative economy and achieve industrial upgrading to compensate for the gradually declining competitiveness resulting from low‐cost labor. The present study examines this issue by exploring how trade participation impacts on the R&D investment of manufacturing firms through various channels. Merging China's Annual Manufacturing Survey Dataset and the Chinese Customs Dataset allows us to study such a relationship at the individual firm level. The empirical results suggest that channels such as geographical diversification of export markets, share of imports from high‐income countries, average unit value of imports, number of intermediate goods and capital goods imports, and the trade regime are significant factors that influence firm‐level R&D investment. The study discusses the policy implications of the empirical findings in relation to industrial and trade policies that may be potentially beneficial for China's transition towards an innovative economy.     

Labor price distortion and export product markups: Evidence from China labor market

In the context of expanding the new pattern of opening-up, how to improve export product markups is of great significance to China's high-quality export development. This paper systematically investigates the impact of labor price distortion on the markups of export products by using the combined data of Chinese industrial enterprise database and customs database from 2000 to 2013. The results show that labor price distortion significantly inhibits the increase of export product markups of China's manufacturing enterprises, and the above conclusion is still robust after using various methods for robustness test, but this effect is heterogeneous due to different factor intensity, export destination, trade mode, region and ownership. The mechanism tests demonstrate that labor price distortion inhibits the increase of markups through inhibiting R&D innovation, reducing factor allocation efficiency and causing low efficiency of enterprise scale, among which R&D innovation is the most important channel. In addition, this paper examines the impact of labor price distortion on the change of industry aggregated markups, and finds that intra-enterprise effect and entry effect are the main channels for labor price distortion to inhibit industry aggregated markups, while inter-enterprise effect and exit effect have little impact on industry aggregated markups. Our findings provide a new perspective for reinterpreting the mystery of low markups of Chinese export product, and provides an important decision-making basis for the improvement of China's export product markups.     

Efficiency change and productivity growth in agriculture: A comparative analysis for selected East Asian economies

This study focuses on identifying the sources of agricultural growth for eight East Asian economies – with special emphasis on factors that can better explain different components of growth. The Malmquist productivity growth index and its two components are calculated and regressed on variables including the human capital endowment, domestic R&D, international spillovers, and country-specific farming characteristics to characterize the differential patterns of growth. Our empirical evidence suggests that domestic R&D and its interaction with human capital constitute the major determinant of individual economy's progress in agricultural technology, whereas the human capital endowment is crucial for the catching up effect. Furthermore, for foreign knowledge to contribute to productivity growth either through innovation or through catching up, the host economy has to develop a sufficient learning capacity from education. Countries that do not attempt to develop the learning capability to assimilate and exploit the freely available knowledge may not benefit from international spillovers of agricultural R&D.     

Innovation, international R&D spillovers and the sectoral heterogeneity of knowledge flows

We analyze the relative effects of national and international, intrasectoral and intersectoral R&D spillovers on innovative activity in six large, industrialized countries over the period 1980–2000. We use patent applications at the European Patent Office to measure innovation and their citations to trace knowledge flows within and across 135 narrowly defined technological fields. Using panel cointegration we show that intersectoral spillovers have a key impact on innovation activities and that domestic R&D has a stronger effect than international R&D. However, within technological fields, estimated international R&D spillovers are 2.4 times the national R&D effects. We find significant differences across chemicals, electronics and machinery industries.     

Ownership,performance, and innovation in China's large- and medium-size industrial enterprise sector

China's 22,000 large- and medium-size enterprises (LMEs) stand at the pinnacle of Chinese industry. Although they account for less than a fraction of a percent of China's nearly 8 million industrial enterprises, they collectively account for one third of the nation's total industrial output. Using a panel of these enterprise data for 1994–1999, we find a rapidly diversifying ownership structure in which the role of the state is steadily retreating. At the same time, we find considerable variation in measures of performance across ownership types and see emerging within Chinese industry, evidence of high-intensity R&D performers that exhibit substantial innovation capabilities.     

China's domestic production networks

This paper examines China's domestic production networks. It uses VAT invoices to build inter-provincial input-output tables for 2002 and 2012. These are combined with population censuses to determine the location of workers involved in production. We document i) increased trade in intermediate inputs between provinces; ii) inter-provincial production fragmentation that differs by product; iii) substitution of domestic for foreign intermediates, resulting in increased domestic value added in exports. Information about the occupations of workers suggest that iv) richer coastal areas such as Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai specialize in R&D and marketing activities, whereas v) inland provinces specialize in production activities.     

Regional Skill Structure and the Diffusion of Technology

This paper examines the relationship between the skill structure of states manufacturing sectors and technological change. Various measures of technological change are utilized including private and public R&D stocks, high-tech capital, recent capital, and the spatial spillover effects attributed to R&D stocks. We analyze the impact of changes in technology on spatial wage-bill shares, utilizing panel data for the 48 contiguous states over three sequential five-year periods. Overall, the results show a positive connection between skill upgrading and technological change. In other words, we find that states that adopt new technologies have more skilled workforces. Of particular interest, we find that publicly funded R&D stocks from neighboring states play a significant role in skill upgrading. The general implication of this finding is that geographic proximity is key to diffusing government-funded technology that enhances state economic performance. Our results strengthen the case for regional cooperation among states in developing policies to attract both private and public R&D capital.     

The shape of demand for high-level agricultural skills in the South African labour market

A supply of high-level agricultural skills is foundational to the South African agricultural sector's capacity to improve the quality and range of agricultural products and services so as to support small agricultural producers, meet domestic needs for food security and increase the competitiveness of local products on global agricultural markets. Concerns about the coexistence of graduate unemployment and skills shortages in the agricultural sector prompt the question: What is the shape of demand for high-level agricultural skills in the South African labour market? To answer this, the authors conducted 83 interviews with respondents in private, public and non-governmental organisations involved in agriculture. The findings reveal a rising demand for high-level agricultural skills among farmers, farm managers and foremen; in research and product development; in the sales and marketing functions of firms supplying primary agriculture; in government entities across a wide range of occupations; and in public and private sector R&D.     

The roles of cultural and institutional distance in international trade: Evidence from China's trade with the Belt and Road countries

Cultural distance and institutional distance have been playing increasingly significant roles in international trade. Recently, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) proposed by China has drawn worldwide attention. This paper examines the roles of cultural distance and institutional distance in China's trade relationship with the Belt and Road (B&R) countries. We estimate the extended gravity model using bilateral trade data at product-level during 2002–2016 between China and 99 trading partners, 38 of which are along the Belt and Road. Using Poisson generalized estimating equations (GEE) econometric methods, we find that firstly, cultural distance and institutional distance inhibit China's bilateral trade with the Belt and Road countries. Secondly, China's bilateral trade with the B&R countries is more sensitive to the change of cultural distance than institutional distance by comparing their beta coefficients. Thirdly, compared to Asian countries on the Belt and Road, bilateral trade flows between China and European countries show less sensitivity to changes in cultural distance, except China's imports from its trading partners. While the trade effects of institutional distance show no difference between China's trade with European countries and Asian countries. Lastly, the announcement of BRI does reduce trade-inhibiting effect of cultural distance on China's trade with the Belt and Road countries, while increase China's exports sensitivity to institutional distance. This study finally suggests relevant cultural exchange driven by the BRI eventually assisting unimpeded trade and deepening the cooperation.     

开展政策咨询，提高科技社团服务社会经济发展能力——美国物理学会的经验与启示

明确科技社团服务社会经济发展的内容和要求,以美国物理学会作为分析对象,重点对其参与政策咨询相关的活动进行分析,总结其先进经验及对我国科技社团的启示,希望为我国科技社团提高为社会经济发展服务的能力提供政策建议。