China's total factor productivity estimates by region, investment sources and ownership

Abstract

This paper constructs China national and provincial physical capital and human capital for the period 1984–2006. The estimation of physical capital is extended to the use of sources of fund and ownership of fund. The growth accounting framework is used to calculate the output, input and total factor productivity growth rates. The relative variance method is used to compare the relative importance to output growth by input growth and productivity growth. The empirical findings show that although output growth in post-reform China has been contributed much by growth in total factor productivity, output volatility has relied more on input growth, and TFP growth has not been supported by complementary changes. There are regional differences when looking at the performance of individual growth rates.