Knowledge economy and industry performance in China: a provincial level analysis

ABSTRACT

We construct a framework for investigating the effects of knowledge on industry performance. Using Chinese provincial industry data from 2000 to 2012, we decompose total factor productivity (TFP) change into the four components of embodied technical change, disembodied technical change, scale efficiency change, and technical efficiency change. Our results show a considerably stronger positive effect of advanced knowledge on production technology than of basic knowledge. International knowledge spillovers, particularly trade-induced spillovers, are more effective in inducing TFP growth than domestic spillovers. Our analysis further illustrates a discrepancy in TFP growth rates between regions, and we find TFP of the Central and West Region to be catching-up with the East Region. On average, scale efficiency change is the major contributing factor to regional disparities in TFP change. We discuss several policy implications of our results.

Abbreviation: Advanced knowledge (ADV); Share of agriculture (AGR); Basic knowledge (BAS); Chinese Industrial Census (CIC); Data envelopment analysis (DEA); Disembodied technical change (DTC); Embodied technical change (ETC); Foreign direct investment (FDI); Gross domestic product (GDP); Population density (POD); Scale efficiency change (SEC); Stochastic frontier analysis (SFA); International spillovers from foreign countries (SPF); Cross-sectoral external knowledge spillovers within China (SPH); Neutral technical change (TC); Technical efficiency (TE); Technical efficiency change (TEC); Total factor productivity (TFP); International trade (TRD); Degree of urbanization (URB)     

知识产权保护与国际R&D溢出

国际贸易和外商直接投资(FDI)是国际R&D溢出的两个重要渠道,而知识产权保护是影响国际贸易和FDI技术溢出效应的重要因素。据此,本文运用中国1985～2008年的经济数据实证考察了知识产权保护、国际R&D溢出对中国技术进步的影响。分析结论显示:(1)进口贸易和外商直接投资R&D溢出渠道均能显著促进中国的技术进步,外商直接投资R&D溢出渠道是中国提升技术水平的重要途径;(2)知识产权保护的直接效应不利于中国的技术进步;(3)知识产权保护与国内研发的协同效应显著促进了中国的技术进步,知识产权保护与进口贸易和FDI溢出渠道的协同效应对中国技术进步的影响显著为正。     

国际贸易、技术溢出和利益分配失衡

本文从价值生产角度出发,构建了国际贸易利益失衡分配框架下的技术溢出理论模型,利用我国与主要贸易伙伴1990～2009年的数据,实证分析检验国外技术溢出与国际贸易利益失衡分配的变动关系。实证研究发现:国内研发支出能够减小我国同主要贸易伙伴单位美元包含的劳动时间差距,改善我国同主要贸易伙伴间贸易利益分配失衡状态,而且改善程度大于通过进口方式吸收国外技术溢出获得的技术进步;通过进口方式获得的国外有效技术溢出也可以缩小我国与主要贸易伙伴之间的劳动时间差距,然而其系数不显著;通过出口方式获得的国外有效技术溢出值使得我国与贸易伙伴之间的劳动时间差距反而增大。加入人力资本后,这3个变量系数符号没有发生变化,但是这3个变量的系数都变小。脉冲响应函数的结果也佐证了上述结论。     

FDI知识溢出、自主R&D投入与内资高技术企业创新能力——基于中国高技术产业分行业动态面板数据模型的检验

基于知识生产函数,利用 1995～2008 年中国高技术产业 17 个细分行业的面板数据,本文研究了 FDI 知识溢出和自主 R&D 投入对内资企业创新能力的影响.研究表明,内资企业自主 R&D 投入是形成其创新能力的最主要因素;外资企业 R&D 活动对内资企业产生了一定的知识溢出效应,在一定程度上推动了内资企业创新能...     

Export spillover from foreign direct investment in China during pre- and post-WTO accession

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国际知识溢出与中国技术进步实证研究

本文把技术进步分为水平差异型和垂直阶梯型两种模式,从理论上探讨了在不同的技术进步模式下知识溢出对技术进步的影响,接着对国际知识溢出和发展中国家技术进步之间的关系进行了实证分析。本文的实证分析发现,进口渠道的国际知识溢出是中国提升技术水平的最主要途径,而FDI渠道国际知识溢出的技术进步效应并不显著,这是因为进口渠道的国际知识溢出多发生在水平差异型技术进步行业,而FDI渠道的国际知识溢出多发生在垂直阶梯型技术进步行业。因此本文认为,扩大中间投入品进口、引导FDI投向水平差异型技术进步模式行业、鼓励和支持本国企业的研发行为更有利于促进我国的技术进步。     

知识产权保护与国际R&D溢出实证研究

进口贸易和FDI是国际R&D溢出的主要渠道,知识产权保护水平是影响国际技术效应的重要因素。运用中国1985～2009的时间序列数据实证分析表明,进口贸易和FDI能显著促进国际R&D的技术溢出,且吸收能力的加强有助于技术效应的扩大。但是在现有中国经济的发展水平下,知识产权保护的加强会抑制国际技术溢出,阻碍中国劳动生产率的提高。因此,作为发展中国家,完善现有教育体制和提高人力资本自主创新才是关键,同时在不违反WTO协议的前提下,应采取适度的知识产权保护水平。     

Liberalisation, FDI, and productivity spillovers--an analysis of Indian manufacturing firms

The objective of the intensification of reforms in India's trade,technology and industry policies in 1991 was to make Indianindustry competitive. In the light of these attempted changes,the present paper tested two hypotheses, namely (a) whetherliberalisation has improved the productivity of local firms;and (b) whether the spillovers from technology transfer haveincreased in the liberal regime. To test these, techniques frompanel data and stochastic production frontier were employedon 487 firms belonging to 24 three-digit manufacturing industriesfor the period 1989–90 to 1996–97. The results showedthat after liberalisation, the productivity of Indian industry,especially the foreign owned firms, has improved. The econometricresults suggested that only ‘scientific’ non-FDIfirms have benefited from the liberalisation. For the ‘non-scientific’firms, the impact is found to be productivity depressing. Withrespect to spillovers, only those domestic firms, which investedin R&D to decode the spilled knowledge, could benefit.     

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.     

China's Foreign Trade: A “New Normal”

Since the global financial crisis of 2007/2008, China's foreign trade has continued to grow faster than international trade, but its drivers are now different from those prevailing before. The participation of the Chinese economy in the global production chains through processing activities is no longer the main driver of its trade performance. The new driving force of change is ordinary trade, based mainly on local inputs and domestic demand. China, which played a major role in the globalization process as an export base for multinational companies, is now shifting to having a “normal” foreign trade system, which is more closely integrated into the domestic economy.     

How Mobile Are Resources in Chinese Agriculture？ —— Implications for China＇s Agricultural Trade Policy

Agricultural trade policy in China has been the subject of heated discussion since China's accession to the WTO. Studies have been carried out and propositions put forth regarding comparative advantage, food security, development of the industry, and farmers’ income. In this paper, we attempt to provide an analysis from another important perspective: resource mobility, which is an essential assumption in free trade theory. By examining the mobility of different production resources in Chinese agriculture, namely natural resources, capital inputs, human resources and institutional arrangements, we found that for most production resources in Chinese agriculture, mobility is low. The results have significant policy implications in two respects: first, protective measures in the transitional period for certain crops in certain areas in China are legitimate and necessary to ensure social stability; and second, policy instruments to improve resource mobility in Chinese agricultural should be explored and implemented to realize more trade benefit in the future. (Edited by Xinyu Fan)     

中国对外直接投资逆向技术溢出的影响因素分析

国内外研究显示,一国对外直接投资具有技术寻求动机,而且普遍存在逆向技术溢出效应,但是针对对外直接投资逆向技术溢出的影响因素研究处于相对空白。本文以中国作为分析对象,从东道国的创新能力、国际技术传递渠道和中国的消化吸收能力3个方面归纳出中国对外直接投资逆向技术溢出的10个影响因素,建立偏最小二乘回归模型并运用辅助分析手段对这些因素进行了实证检验。结果发现:东道国的研发资本存量、人均国民收入和中国的GDP是影响中国对外直接投资逆向技术溢出的三大因素,真实汇率水平与我国对外直接投资逆向技术溢出负相关,而政府支持力度的影响很小,中国对外直接投资寻求逆向技术溢出主要还是企业的要求和行为。     

The impact of China’s outward foreign direct investment on domestic innovation

This paper explores the reversal technology spillovers of outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) on Chinese firms. Combining a uniquely merged database of Chinese firm-level OFDI and patent data and applying the Propensity-Score-Method-Difference-In-Differences (PSM-DID) methodology, we find a positive causal effect of OFDI on invention patent applications. Some estimations of heterogeneous effects show that OFDI promotes invention patent applications for private enterprises but has mute impact on state-owned and foreign-owned enterprises. With respect to OFDI host countries, OFDI toward developed countries is more effective for promoting innovation activities than developing countries. Three potential transmission channels of OFDI are empirically tested: direct technology purchases, access to high-tech inputs, and international mobility of personnel. Lastly, some policy implications are raised for China’s “Going Out” strategy and the economic development driven by innovation.     

反向技术溢出、技术进步和我国经济增长——基于面板协整模型的分析

本文选取了1990～2007年间中国进口和对中国FDI前十位的国家和地区,扩展了CH模型,建立了包含进口和FDI两个物化型技术溢出指标的面板模型,利用面板单位根和协整技术,得到随机效应模型,分析溢出国对华出口和FDI对溢出国的反向技术溢出效应,结果表明:从溢出国角度看,对外投资比对外贸易更有利于这些国家和地区全要素生产率的提高,因此,溢出国更倾向于对华FDI,我国招商引资政策需要做出调整。     

技术差距、技术溢出与中国的技术进步:基于中美行业贸易数据的实证分析

文章利用1998~2007年的中美制造业四位数行业数据,对中美技术差距对进出口贸易技术溢出效应的影响进行了实证研究。结果显示,中美之间的贸易确实促进了中国的技术进步,中国正加速对美国的技术追赶;回归结果同时显示,随着中国技术水平逐渐逼近美国,贸易带来的技术溢出具有"天花板效应",以贸易来促进国内技术进步的难度在加大。进一步的分析表明,相比较出口而言,随着中美两国技术水平的接近,进口溢出引致的技术进步会更快遭遇递减局面。文章的分析结果表明,随着中国国内产品技术水平的提高与中美技术差距的缩小,传统的以贸易促进步策略越来越难以奏效,此时加大科技投入,激励并促进中国国内的自主研发是提高国内技术水平与技术进步的根本之策。     

国际贸易、知识产权与我国技术创新——基于1998～2009年省际面板数据的实证研究

本文对国际贸易和知识产权在我国技术创新中的作用进行了研究。本文运用省级面板数据实证研究影响我国技术创新的主要因素,研究表明,通过国际贸易和知识产权保护产生的技术溢出对创新有促进作用,但存在区域差异。从全国层面上看,贸易和知识产权对技术进步促进作用不显著;基于东中西部三大区域的实证研究表明,国际贸易和知识产权对东部地区技术进步有显著地促进作用;中部地区,知识产权促进技术进步效应明显;但在西部地区,由于经济发展和人力资本水平的"门限效应",促进技术进步的溢出条件尚未发生作用。     

Exports,Product Differentiation and Knowledge Spillovers

Empirical studies on aggregate export behavior have recently emphasized the role played by innovation as the main force driving product differentiation and competitiveness for developed countries. These studies treat foreign innovation as a variable that affects negatively national export shares. We incorporate the impact of foreign innovation in a standard new trade theory model and find that, if knowledge spillovers exist, foreign knowledge accumulation could even have a positive effect on national exports. We then test the model using aggregate export data for a set of 21 OECD economies and find that the foreign stock of knowledge affects exports positively for the less advanced countries in the sample and negatively for the G7 economies. JEL Classification Numbers: F12, O31, C22, C23     

How do Chinese industries benefit from FDI spillovers?

Recently, Foreign Invested Enterprises (FIEs) in China have increased their investment in not only production activity but also R&D activity. This paper examines the impact of spillovers from such activities by FIEs on two types of innovations by Chinese domestic firms: Total Factor Productivity (TFP) and invention patent application, using comprehensive industry and province-level data. We evaluate such spillovers according to FIEs' ownership structure, the origin of foreign funds and whether they are from the same industry or from other industries. We find an interesting asymmetry between spillovers to TFP and invention patent applications; while we do not find significant intra-industry spillovers from FIEs but find robust inter-industries spillover related to TFP, we find substantial intra-industry spillovers promoting invention patent applications but no evidence of inter-industries spillovers. Furthermore, whereas spillovers from FIEs to Chinese firms' TFP stem from their production activities, the source of spillovers related to invention patent applications is mostly through their R&D activity. Our findings indicate a need for multidimensional evaluation of the role of FDI in developing countries.     

Rules of origin and technology spillovers from foreign direct investment under international duopoly

Using a simple three-country model of international duopoly, this study analyzes the optimal choice of rules of origin (ROO) in a free trade area/agreement (FTA) when firms from outside the FTA must undertake foreign direct investment (FDI) in FTA countries and conduct part of their production process within the FTA to comply with the ROO. FDI causes spillovers of the superior production technology from a non-FTA firm to its competitor within the FTA, depending on how much of the production process is shifted to the FTA area. In this situation, this study predicts that as the degree of multilateral trade liberalization before formation of the FTA is higher, the optimal ROO tends to be less stringent.     

Export Spillovers to Chinese Firms: Evidence from Provincial Data

Multinational firms are important conduits of managerial skills, foreign market linkages, and technology. Foreign export spillovers associated with multinational firms have the potential to reduce entry costs for local exporting firms. This paper examines whether exports by multinational firms increase the probability of exporting by domestic Chinese firms. The findings from the Probit estimation highlight the varying relationships between multinational exports and local foreign entry based on the type of ownership. The results from separating foreign-invested enterprises into overseas Chinese companies and OECD-based multinational firms suggest that the export activity of the former does not increase the probability of exporting by local firms, whereas the latter positively influence the export decision of local firms, particularly under processing trade.