Indigenous Innovation In China: Implications For Sustainable Growth

This paper aims to examine indigenous innovation and draw implications for sustainable economic growth in China. It investigates China’s capacity and achievements in indigenous innovation at both the macro and micro levels. China’s indigenous innovation is also compared to that in other major economies in the world. It is found that China’s innovation development is well ahead of other economies at the similar stage of development but there is a gap between China and the world’s leading innovative economies. Both aggregate and disaggregate evidence shows that China is catching up rapidly with the world’s innovation leaders. If current growth momentum is maintained, China is well positioned to become one of the most innovative economies in the world in the coming decade. There are however some serious issues to be resolved before China’s innovation potential could be realized.Indigenous innovation, R&D, Chinese economy

Gas Market Integration: Global Trends and Implications for the EAS Region

East Asia is already the main destination of the world's commercial liquefied natural gas (LNG). However, the gas markets in the EAS area are either underdeveloped or fragmented. The objectives of this study are twofold, namely, i) to present a review of the trends in global gas market integration and ii) to draw implications and make recommendations for gas market development in the EAS area. To achieve the goal of an integrated gas market in the EAS region, governments in member economies must work together to implement a plan. Specifically, four recommendations are made to the EAS states: adopt a formal program to promote and nurture the development of gas markets in member states and phased sectoral reforms in relatively mature markets; set targets to gradually harmonise regulatory and technical standards in the gas sector; coordinate better to promote their "gas" causes; and boost cross-border connectivity and trading within the area and eventually achieve regional gas market integration.

Environmental Efficiency and Its Determinants in China’s Regional Economies

The increasing awareness of environmental protection has put great pressure on the improvement in environmental regulations in China. How has the current system performed in the nation’s rapidly growing economy? The answer to this question is either controversial or yet to be explored in the case of China. The objective of this paper is to present a quantitative analysis of environmental performance in China’s regional economies and to examine the determinants of regional variation in performance. The findings are employed to draw policy implications for environmental protection and shed light on sustainable development in China.Environmental efficiency, environmental regulation, the Chinese economy.

Service Sector Growth in China and India: A Comparison

China and India have recently achieved spectacular economic growth. However, services in these two Asian giants have played a very different role. In India, the service sector contributes to more than 54 per cent of GDP while its GDP share in China is much smaller (below 41 per cent in 2004). To provide an explanation for the contrasting trajectories, this paper examines and compares service sector developments in these two Asian giants. It investigates the determinants of demand for services and sheds light on the outlook for service sector growth in the two countries.China and India, Asia, service sector, growth determinants and regression analysis

Innovation and Economic Growth in China

China has enjoyed high economic growth for three decades since the initiative of economic reform in 1978. This growth has however been driven mainly by labour-intensive, export-oriented manufacturing activities. Has innovation played a role in China’s economic growth? What are the determinants of innovation in the Chinese economy? These are some of the questions which are to be explored in this study. Answers to these questions have important policy implications for China’s economic development in the future as innovation is vital for the transformation of the country’s growth model.Innovation, economic growth, Chinese economy

Comparing Regional Development in China and India

Economic growth in China and India has attracted many headlines recently. As a result, the literature comparing the two Asian giants has expanded substantially. This paper adds to the literature by comparing regional growth, disparity and convergence in the two economies. This is the first of its kind. The paper presents a detailed examination of economic growth in the regions of China and India over the past twenty years. It also provides an assessment of regional disparity in the two countries and investigates whether there is any evidence of regional convergence during the period of rapid economic growth. It attempts to identify the sources of regional disparity and hence draw policy implications for economic development in the two countries in the near future.regional development, China, India, disparity, convergence

Environmental Regulation and Productivity Growth: A Study of the APEC Economies

Environmental regulation has become more and more important in policy making among the world economies. How has it affected productivity growth and hence economic growth? The answer to this question is either controversial or yet to be explored in many cases. The objective of this paper is to present a case study of 17 Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies. A directional distance function approach is employed to estimate output-oriented Malmquist-Luenberger productivity indices. The latter are in turn decomposed into efficiency changes and technological progress. Work in this paper differs from the existing literature by taking into consideration of the impact of environmental regulation on productivity growth. Three scenarios are modeled, ie. no control on CO2 emissions (unregulated), maintaining current emission level and a partial reduction of emissions. In general, it is found that the rates of productivity growth incorporating CO2 as an undesirable output are slightly higher than those estimated following the traditional method. Furthermore, the causes of productivity changes are also investigated in this paper.Technical efficiency, technological progress, total factor productivity, directional distance functions, Malmquist–Luenberger index, DEA

Determinants of China’s Energy Imports: An Empirical Analysis

Sustained economic growth in China has triggered a surge of energy imports, especially oil imports. This paper investigates the determinants of China’s energy import demand by using cointegraiton and VECM techniques. The findings suggest that, in the long run, growth of industrial production and expansion of transport sectors affect China’s oil imports, while domestic energy output has a substitution effect. Thus, as the Chinese economy industrializes and the automotive sector expands, China’s oil imports are likely to increase. Though China’s domestic oil production has a substitution effect on imports, its growth is limited due to scarce domestic reserve and high exploration costs. It is anticipated that China will be more dependent on overseas oil supply regardless of the world oil price.Energy consumption, energy imports, China and VECM

Does innovation matter for Chinese hightech exports? a firm-level analysis

This paper analyzes the role of innovation activities in the export participation of Chinese high-tech firms during the period of 2005-2007. Using a parametric, instrumental variable approach and a non-parametric matching method, we find that firm-level innovation efforts, measured by R&D and product innovation dummies, play only a minor role for domestic exporters. Foreign-invested firms dominate the high-tech exports but do not rely on indigenous innovation activities. These results thus confirm prior findings that the success of Chinese high-tech exports does not result from heavy R&D expenditure and technological progress. Moreover, different types of innovation measures show different impacts on the likelihood of exporting. The impacts of innovation on exporting vary widely across industries and provinces.Exporting, Innovation, R&D, High technology, China