Intangible capital distribution in China

Abstract

This paper aims to examine the distribution dynamics of intangible capital investment across Chinese regions and hence contributes to the understanding of China’s regional development. A nonparametric approach is adopted to investigate the long-run distribution dynamics. Intertemporal dynamics and spatial conditional dynamics are analysed to explore the impacts of the global financial crisis and knowledge spill-over on intangibles’ distribution. It is shown that the formation of convergence clusters persists in the long run. High levels of investment tend to be concentrated in a few coastal regions while investment in most Chinese regions is projected to be low. External shocks exert an adverse effect: The post-global financial crisis transition dynamics indicate that most regions tend to converge towards a lower level than the pre-crisis dynamics imply. Finally, knowledge spill-over in the context of intangibles is identified to be an important factor that helps mitigate regional imbalance.