Focused
Research Area
Productivity Analysis
of the Chinese Economy
Coordinator
Dr.
Hing-Lin Chan, Department of Economics, School of Business
(E-mail: hlchan@hkbu.edu.hk)
Objectives
To many developing countries,
China presents one of the most interesting cases for
studies. Although the country was able to make significant
economic progresses in many important sectors, the
process of transformation is by no means a smooth
one. In particular, the country has still needed to
tackle a number of difficult problems. Against this
background, it is therefore interesting to study the
experience of China in reforming its economy.
In order to evaluate this experience,
we have chosen to study the productivity change in
China. In particular, we are interested in examining
a number of interesting questions pertinent to the
reform. First, has China been able to make significant
improvement in its productivity performance? Second,
in what sectors the productivity performance has been
most successful? Third, what are the determining factors
behind the change of productivity? In our opinion,
these studies will allow us to know more about the
causes of economic progress in China.
Activities
Held
Professor C.A. Knox Lovell from
the University of New South Wales visited the School
during May 10-14, 1999, and conducted two seminars
on "A growth maximizing tax structure for New
Zealand" and "Yet another Malquist Productivity
Index Decomposition".
Dr. Yanrui Wu, Lecturer at Department of Economics
in University of Western Australia, visited the School
in June 1999, and conducted two seminars on "Accounting
for China's Growth: the Role of Productivity"
and "Regional Integration, Productivity and Growth:
Evidence from the Economies of Taiwan, Hong Kong,
Guangdong and Fujian".
Dr. George Battese, Associate Professor at Department
of Econometrics in University of New England, visited
the School during 9-14 September 1999, and conducted
a seminar on "Stochastic Production Frontier
Analysis".
Professor Subal C. Kumbhakar, Department of Economics,
University of Texas at Austin, conducted two seminars
on "Incorporating exogenous influences of efficiency"
and "Estimation of firm specific technological
bias, technical change and total factor productivity
growth: A dual approach" in December, 1999.
Seminar
Title : |
Marginal cost and price over the business cycle:
comparative evidence from Japan and the United
States |
Speaker
: |
Professor Bob Hart, Department of Economics,
University of Stirling, United Kingdom. |
Time
: |
2:30 p.m.- 4:00 p.m.; 3rd April, 2000 (Monday).
|
Abstract
: |
We estimate marginal cost
over the cycle for Japan and the U.S., concentrating
on the intensive margin of the firm's activity.
Estimation is undertaken for sixteen 2-digit industries
over a 30-year period to the early 1990s. Costs
movements consist of changes in the nominal wage,
movements along the marginal wage schedule, and
changes in total hours per unit of output. Marginal
cost implications of variations in the proportion
of overtime/total hours and in marginal overtime
premiums are accommodated. We also provide estimates
of the cyclical behaviour of price-cost mark-ups.
Marginal cost is found to be counter-cyclical
in both countries although stronger in the U.S
[Nb Labour hoading and productivity feature very
strongly in this paper.] |
Seminar
Title : |
Pro-cyclical
Labour Productivity: a closer look at a stylised
fact
Speaker : Professor Bob Hart, Department of Economics,
University of Stirling, United Kingdom. |
Speaker
: |
Professor Bob Hart, Department
of Economics, University of Stirling, United Kingdom.
|
Time
: |
2:30 p.m.- 4:00 p.m. 5th April, 2000 (Wednesday).
|
Abstract
: |
At 4-digit U.S. manufacturing
industry level, we find evidence suggesting that
the stylised fact of pro-cyclical labour productivity
should be treated with great caution. We use the
NBER Manufacturing Productivity database to investigate
the relationship between labour productivity and
real output for four hundred and fifty industries
for the years 1958 to 1991. Labour productivity
is significantly pro-cyclical in 63 per cent of
industries and acyclical in 36 per cent. In the
latter respect, a high proportion of investment
goods industries display acyclical productivity.
Cross-section regressions are carried out that
seek to explain the inter-industry distribution
of cyclicality. The analysis attributes an important
role to variations in materials costs, as a proxy
for fluctuation in factor utilisation. |
|