Estimation of Total Factor Productivity in Five Northwestern Provinces of China

Abstract

Based on the comparison of the main methods for estimating total factor productivity (TFP), this paper focuses on using the DEA-malmquist index method to study the changes in total factor productivity in five major provinces in Northwest China (Gansu, Xinjiang, Shaanxi, Ningxia, Qinghai), and analyze the reasons for the changes in TFP in each province, and explore its economic growth model. The conclusions drawn through empirical analysis are as follows: 1. TFP changes in the five northwestern provinces from 1979 to 2019 are quite different; 2. the TFP changes in the five northwestern provinces from 1979 to 2019 fluctuated greatly; 3. the TFP of Ningxia, Gansu and Qinghai, contributed little to economic growth; 4. the sustainable economic development of the five western provinces and regions needs to solve a series of internal and external problems. The empirical research in this article has certain practical significance for exploring the source of economic growth in the five northwestern provinces of China and guiding the formulation of economic policies on this basis.