Impact Of Technical Progress Research Articles

Impact of technical progress and fiscal support to agriculture on agricultural carbon emissions

Impact of technical progress and fiscal support to agriculture on agricultural carbon emissions

Research on the impact of technical progress on the carbon productivity in China’s service industry

The energy consumption and carbon emission of the service industry should not be ignored. In order to achieve green and low-carbon development, improving the carbon productivity of the service industry is an extremely important method, and technical progress is a key path to improving the carbon productivity of the service industry. This paper decomposes the technical progress of China’s service industry into technical progress of non-energy factors and technical progress of energy factor, and analyzes the impact and action mechanism of these two technical progress on the carbon productivity of China’s service industry respectively from the theoretical and empirical perspectives. The main conclusions of this paper are as follows: From 2003 to 2019, technical progress had a significant positive impact on the carbon productivity of China’s service industry. The influence coefficients of technical progress of non-energy factors and technical progress of energy factor are 0.285 and 0.306. In terms of the type of technical progress, the technical progress of energy factor has a greater impact. The technical progress of non-energy factors and energy factor have a significant promoting effect on the improvement of carbon productivity of service industry in all regions of China. In Eastern, central and Western China, the influence coefficients of the former are 0.318, 0.289 and 0.266, and the influence coefficients of the latter are 0.352, 0.296 and 0.273. The mechanism test finds that the technical progress of non-energy factors and energy factor directly affect the carbon productivity of China’s service industry on the one hand, and indirectly affect the carbon productivity of China’s service industry through the production efficiency and energy use efficiency of the service industry on the other hand.

Dynamic environmental regulation threshold effect of technical progress on China’s environmental pollution

The impact of technical progress (TP) on environmental pollution (EP) has been extensively studied, but the lag effect of EP and the role of environmental regulation (ER) in the impact of TP on EP have been neglected. Firstly, under the premise of considering the lag effect of EP, this paper established dynamic panel threshold models to empirically analyze the nonlinear dynamic ER threshold effect of generalized technical progress (GTP) and narrow-sense technical progress (NTP) on EP. Secondly, the system generalized method of moments estimation was used to investigate whether the impact channels of GTP and NTP on EP under different ER were smooth. Finally, from the perspective of ER, this paper analyzed the spatiotemporal characteristics of GTP and NTP on EP. The empirical results are as follows: Firstly, there is a nonlinear dynamic ER threshold effect of TP on EP. When the intensity of ER crosses the threshold, the suppression effect of GTP on EP would be stronger than that of NTP. Secondly, the impact of GTP on EP is greater than that of NTP, and when the intensity of ER crosses the threshold, the increase of the impact of GTP on EP is greater than that of NTP. Thirdly, when ER is in the low-level interval, the impact channels of TP on EP are not smooth, but when the intensity of ER crosses the threshold, some impact channels have been opened. Finally, the inhibitory effect of TP on EP has been strengthened for a long time, the western regions have achieved better results in reducing EP by improving TP compared with the central and eastern regions.

The impact of research and development activity on the TFP level in manufacturing in Poland

Research background: The paper presents the issue of total factor productivity in the manufacturing industry in Poland. It has been assumed that total factor productivity (TFP) is a synthetic measure of efficiency of the production process and a measure of the impact of technical progress on the rate of economic growth.
 Purpose of the article: The main aim of the paper is to assess the differentiation in the level of total factor productivity (TFP) occurring among the Section C manufacturing divisions in Poland. In particular, the paper raises the issue of measuring and analysing the relationship between expenditure on research and development and the level of TFP in manufacturing divisions in Poland.
 Methods: In the presented research, the TFP level was determined by using the two-factor Cobb-Douglas production function, while econometric panel models were used to assess the studied relationship.
 Findings & Value added: The presented considerations show that manufacturing divisions in Poland are diversified in terms of total factor productivity. Generally, manufacturing divisions with high R&D intensity, i.e. divisions classified as so-called high-tech ones, are characterised by a high TFP level. The econometric analysis carried out allows us to conclude that expenditure on R&D incurred in manufacturing enterprises significantly affects the level of TFP.

Technical Progress in the Relationship between Competition and Investment

This paper investigates the impact of technical progress on the relationship between competition an investment. The competition is measured as the degree of substitutability and technical progress enlarges the size of innovation in cost reduction. In a context of duopoly, technical progress raises investment of the industry and tends to reduce the degree of substitutability that maximizes investment. Five examples illustrate this feature and highlight the fact that technical progress is not neutral with respect to the relationship between competition and investment.

Modelling building’s decarbonization with application of China TIMES model

Over the recent decades, China’s building energy consumption has been growing rapidly. Also the fuel mix has been changing quickly with more natural gas & electricity and less coal being used. Meanwhile, the technologies used in building sector are improving in efficiency. In this paper, the impact of technical progress and the use of renewable energy in building sector are analyzed. The energy saving and emission reduction potential of building sector are also measured. China TIMES model is used to model the future energy consumption and carbon emissions in building sector. The modelling results indicate that building energy consumption is expected to grow to around 41.6EJ in the reference scenario in 2050. The energy saving potential in 2050 can be up to 4EJ due to the improvement of both building insulation (envelop) and energy use technologies. Renewable energy used in buildings can be a great contributor to the carbon mitigation in buildings. China’s building sector can reach a relatively low-carbon future with more low- and non-carbon fuels consumed.

The effects of environmental regulation and technical progress on CO2 Kuznets curve: An evidence from China

Based on environmental Kuznets curve theory, a panel data model which takes environmental regulation and technical progress as its moderating factors was developed to analyse the institutional and technical factors that affect the path of low-carbon economic development. The results indicated that there was a CO2 emission Kuznets curve seen in China. Environmental regulation had a significant moderating effect on the curve, and the inflection of CO2 emissions could come substantially earlier under stricter environmental regulation. Meanwhile, the impact of technical progress on the low-carbon economic development path had a longer hysteresis effect but restrained CO2 emission during its increasing stage and accelerated its downward trend during the decreasing stage which was conducive to emission reduction. Strict environmental regulation could force the high-carbon emitting industries to transfer from the eastern regions to the central or the western regions of China, which would make the CO2 Kuznets curve higher in its increasing stage and lower in its decreasing stage than that under looser regulation. Furthermore, energy efficiency, energy structure, and industrial structure exerted a significant direct impact on CO2 emissions; we should consider the above factors as essential in the quest for low-carbon economic development.

Accounting for asymmetric price responses and underlying energy demand trends in OECD industrial energy demand

This paper explores the way technical progress and improvements in energy efficiency are captured when modelling OECD industrial energy demand. The industrial sectors of the developed world involve a number of different practices and processes utilising a range of different technologies. Consequently, given the derived demand nature of energy, it is vital when modelling industrial energy demand that the impact of technical progress is appropriately captured. However, the energy economics literature does not give a clear guide on how this can be achieved; one strand suggests that technical progress is ‘endogenous’ via asymmetric price responses whereas another strand suggests that it is ‘exogenous’. More recently, it has been suggested that potentially there is a role for both ‘endogenous’ technical progress and ‘exogenous’ technical progress and consequently the general model should be specified accordingly.This paper therefore attempts to model OECD industrial energy demand using annual time series data over the period 1962–2010 for 15 OECD countries. Using the Structural Time Series Model framework, the general specifications allow for both asymmetric price responses (for technical progress to impact endogenously) and an underlying energy demand trend (for technical progress and other factors to impact exogenously, but in a non-linear way). The results show that almost all of the preferred models for OECD industrial energy demand incorporate both a stochastic underlying energy demand trend and asymmetric price responses. This gives estimated long-run income elasticities in the range of 0.34 to 0.96; estimated long-run price-maximum elasticities in the range of −0.06 to −1.22; estimated long-run price-recovery elasticities in the range of 0.00 to −0.27; and estimated long-run price-cut elasticities in the range of 0.00 to −0.18. Furthermore, the analysis suggests that when modelling industrial energy demand there is a place for ‘endogenous’ technical progress and an ‘exogenous’ underlying energy demand trend; consequently, it is argued that, any modelling strategy should start by including both and only imposed restrictions if accepted by the data.

The Impact of Technical Progress and Fuel Switching on Building Sector's Decarbonization in China

During the recent decades, China's building energy consumption has been growing rapidly. And the energy structure also changes quickly with more natural gas & electricity and less coal. Meanwhile, the technology used in building sector is improving towards higher energy efficiency. In this paper, the impact of technical progress and fuel switching in building sector are analyzed. China TIMES model is used to model the future energy consumption in building sector. The modelled results indicate that energy consumption grows up to around 39EJ in 2050 while the energy intensity still stays in a reasonable level in building sector. And with a stricter policy on fuel switching, building sector can reach a relatively low-carbon future with more clean and low-carbon fuel used in this sector, but it's still very hard to access the emission peak before 2050.

The evolving role of agricultural technology indicators and economic growth in rural poverty: has the ideas machine broken down?

The objective of the study is to examine the impact of technical progress in agriculture on changes in rural poverty in Pakistan by using annual data from 1975–2011. Data is analyzed by the set of sophisticated econometric techniques i.e., cointegration theory, Granger causality test and variance decomposition, etc. The results reveal that agricultural technology indicators act as an important driver to alleviate rural poverty in Pakistan. Granger causality test indicate that causality runs from technological indicators to rural poverty but not vice versa. However, agricultural irrigated land and industry value added, both does not Granger cause rural poverty, which holds neutrality hypothesis between the variables. Variance decomposition analysis shows that among all the technological indicators, agricultural machinery in form of tractors have exerts the largest contribution to changes in rural poverty in Pakistan. The study concludes that agricultural technology indicators are closely associated with economic growth and rural poverty in Pakistan. Technology in Pakistan has a low pace but still old technology continuously contributed towards poverty reduction. The question whether idea machine is broken down or not? Still need further exploration.

Imperfect competition, technical progress and capital accumulation

This paper constructs a dynamic equilibrium growth model, in which some firms act as monopsonies on the labor market. The framework is an overlapping generations growth model with altruistic agents. Two types of firms exist, competitive and non‐competitive, the latter being endowed with a more productive technology. They behave strategically on the labor market, in taking into account the impact of their demand for labor on the equilibrium wage and on their profit. In this framework, the impact of technical progress on capital accumulation can be positive or negative, depending on its effect on monopsony power.

Is technological change biased toward energy? A multi-sectoral analysis for the French economy

Since the adoption and implementation of new technologies has an important influence on the structure and performance of the economy in both developed and developing countries, many research papers are devoted to the technology–economy nexus. Motivated by the fact that the impact of technical progress on the demand for different production factors may vary depending on the bias of the technological change, in this paper, by estimating a translog cost-share system and using state-space modeling technique, we investigate to what extent the direction of technical change is biased toward energy and away from other factors. By applying this methodology to the French economy for the period 1978–2006 the obtained results suggest that: first, technical change has a non-neutral impact on factor demands; second, capital-saving technical progress is present in the majority of the sectors studied; third, energy demand has increased in all sectors but electricity and gas. These findings may have important policy implications for environmental and energy issues in France.

East Asia and its potentials in boosting economic growth in developing economies: the case of Africa

Using threshold cointegration and error-correction model, this paper has investigated the channels through which Africa (proxied by South Africa) can boost its economic growth via its trade with East Asia (represented by China). The results support threshold cointegration and non-linear adjustments in the relationship between South African economic growth and the nature and level of its imports of capital goods from China. In contrast, the findings provide no support for the idea that exporting to China is a particularly beneficial conduit of faster productivity growth. In other words, the findings suggest that the impact of technical progress on Africa's economic growth rates is labour augmenting, and that learning-by-importing externalities have the potential for generating economic growth in Africa. Eventually, exports of primary commodities are likely to result in static effects, since they might raise GDP once for all (a level effect) without increasing the rate of growth of GDP in the long run (a growth effect).

Economic and Technical Drivers of Technology Choice: Browsers

The diffusion of new technologies is their adoption by different economic agents at different times. A classical concern in the diffusion of technologies (Griliches 1957) is the importance of raw technical progress versus economic forces. We examine this classical issue in a modern market, web browsers. Using a new data source, we study the diffusion of new browser versions. In a second analysis, we study the determination of browser brand shares. Both analyses let us compare the impact of technical progress to that of economic forces. For browsers, distribution with a complementary technology, personal computers, was a critical economic force. We find that distribution had a larger effect than technical improvements did on browser users' decisions, not only about using the newest browser version (diffusion) but also about brand choice. Because browsers are critical to mass market commercial computing applications, this meant that distribution mattered for the rate and direction of technical change in the entire economy.

Efficiency in European banking

This paper extends the established literature on modelling the cost characteristics of banking markets by applying the flexible Fourier functional form and stochastic cost frontier methodologies to estimate scale economies, X-inefficiencies and technical change for a large sample of European banks between 1989 and 1997. The results reveal that scale economies are widespread for smallest banks and those in the ECU 1 billion to ECU 5 billion assets size range. Typically, scale economies are found to range between 5% and 7%, while X-inefficiency measures appear to be much larger, between 20% and 25%. X-inefficiencies also appear to vary to a greater extent across different markets, bank sizes and over time. This suggests that banks of all sizes can obtain greater cost savings through reducing managerial and other inefficiencies. This paper also shows that technical progress has had a similar influence across European banking markets between 1989 and 1997, reducing total costs by around 3% per annum. The impact of technical progress in reducing bank costs is also shown to systematically increase with bank size. Overall, these results indicate that Europe's largest banks benefit most from technical progress although they do not appear to have scale economy advantages over their smaller counterparts.

De l'impact du progrès technique sur la croissance dans un modèle à générations de capital

This paper focuses on the impact of technical progress on growth in the framework of a vintage capital model. This structure of capital allows for creative destruction, in the sense that the obsolescence of capital results from embodied technical progress in new equipments. The rate of growth is endogenous in Harrod-Domar's way and depends on a rate of technical progress which remains exogenous, contrary to what happens in endogenous growth theory. The model reduces to a system of linear differential-difference equations. Under a certain level of technical progress, the rate of growth is asymptotically constant. Above it, the model oscillates around a stationary state. Even if its impact is positive in a partial equilibrium context, an increase in the rate of technical progress has a negative impact on growth in a general equilibrium framework.

The impact of technical progress on unit price of selected products in developing industries

This paper reports the results of an analysis of the relationship between average unit prices and several causal factors in two major developing industries in the United States from the end of World War II through 1965. The objective was to assess the impact of changes in the magnitude of the assumed causal variables, particularly technical progress, on the dependent variable, average unit shipment price. The variables that were examined for causation included industry's scale-of-production, state-of-technology, input factor costs, profit level, and for one industry, unit of output.

The impact of technical progress on unit price of selected products in developing industries

This paper reports the results of an analysis of the relationship between average unit prices and several causal factors in two major developing industries in the United States from the end of World War II through 1965. The objective was to assess the impact of changes in the magnitude of the assumed causal variables, particularly technical progress, on the dependent variable, average unit shipment price. The variables that were examined for causation included industry's scale-of-production, state-of-technology, input factor costs, profit level, and for one industry, unit of output.