The drivers of export value-added in China’s provinces: a multi-regional input–output model

Abstract

ABSTRACT It is vital to calculate Chinese provinces’ exports in domestic and global value chains from the perspective of value-added to address the problem of double counting. In this study, we calculated the direct and indirect domestic value-added in exports of 30 Chinese provinces using cross-border and cross-regional input–output tables in 2007 and 2012. We analysed the drivers of export value-added based on structural decomposition analysis. The results show that there is a value-added spatial imbalance in trade development. The export value-added of eastern provinces is significantly higher than that of central and western provinces, but this imbalance is gradually improving. The domestic value chain is the main channel for each province to realize export value-added, and the province production channels account for the highest proportion in this chain. The export value-added through international production channels is relatively small but growing in importance. The structural analysis shows that the increase of Chinese provinces’ export value-added is mainly caused by an increase of export scale and the provincial multiplier effect, while the value-added ratio of Chinese provinces has the main restraining effect. The spillover effect from industrial cooperation between provinces and other economies also increases the domestic value-added of exports.