Total Factor Productivity and Income Distribution: A Critical Review

The aim of the present paper is to critically reappraise the validity and the relevance of the notion of total factor productivity (TFP) as a measure of technological progress. Placing the focus on the role that the neoclassical distribution theory plays in measuring technological progress, we take up the recent revival of the tautology argument (Felipe & McCombie 2003) and the simple results of the capital controversies. First, I argue that the measure of TFP exclusively relies on the marginal productivity theory of distribution through which factors’ income shares are linked to their technological progress. Second, it will be shown that the marginal productivity theory of distribution is based on extremely limited theoretical and empirical grounds. Third, therefore, it is concluded that the measure of TFP as a measurement of the contribution made by technical progress to the economic growth has very little to do with the reality.Total Factor Productivity, Marginal Productivity Theory of Distribution, Income Accounting Identity, Capital Controversies

Effective Demand, Local Governments and Economic Growth in Post-Mao China: A Spatial Econometrics Perspective

The purpose of this study is to empirically test the validity of Kaldor’s laws of economic growth in China between 1978 and 2004 and to provide an alternative explanation of sources of Chinese economic growth in a Kaldorian perspective. First, in a spatial econometrics perspective using a regional data set, the present paper empirically verifies that Kaldorian hypotheses on economic growth hold in China during the sample period. Second, it suggests the empirical findings as proving the validity of a demand-side approach. Third, taking this implication, this study provides a more detailed alternative explanation of the sources and processes of economic growth in China during the sample period. Finally, considering a striking finding of the lack of spatial (regional) dependence among Chinese provinces, it also discusses the role of local governments in the development process in China. This study is expected to contribute to the literature as being one of the first studies that identifies sources of Chinese economic growth in demand side.Economic growth in China, Kaldor’s laws, effective demand, Chinese local governments

Balance-of-Payment-Constrained Growth: The Case of China, 1979-2002

The aim of this study is to empirically test the validity of Thirlwall’s Law in China during the reform period of 1979-2002. For the income elasticity of import demand, an aggregate import demand function for the Chinese economy is estimated using ARDL-UECM model and the bounds test. This study finds (1) that for 1979-2002, the Chinese economy has grown on average as fast as Thirlwall’s Law predicts, the average actual growth rate and predicted growth rate were, respectively, 9.25 and 8.55, which are statistically identical; (2) that the growth of GDP and of exports are cointegrated. Both (1) and (2) provide strong support for Thirlwall’s Law in China during the reform period after 1978. The supportive result of Thirlwall’s Law implies the relevance of demand-side approach to economic growth in China.Chinese economy, balance-of-payment constrained growth, aggregate import function, trade multiplier, bounds test for cointegration

Manufacturing, Increasing Returns and Economic Development in China, 1979-2004: A Kaldorian Approach

The aim of this study is to empirically test the validity of the Kaldorian approach to growth and development in China during its reform period of 1979-2004. In order to obtain robust results, both time-series and regional panel data formats are used. The present study finds from both data sets that the Kaldorian hypotheses about economic growth are valid in China during the reform period.Economic growth in China, Kaldor’s Laws, increasing returns to scale, manufacturing industry

Balance‐of‐payment constrained growth: the case of China, 1979–2002

The aim of this study is to empirically test the validity of Thirlwall’s Law in China during the reform period of 1979–2002. This study finds: (1) that for 1979–2002, the Chinese economy has grown on average as fast as Thirlwall’s Law predicts – the average actual growth rate and predicted growth rate were, respectively, 9.25 and 8.55, which are statistically identical; (2) that the growth of GDP and of exports are cointegrated. Both (1) and (2) provide strong support for Thirlwall’s Law in China during the reform period after 1978. The supportive result of Thirlwall’s Law implies the relevance of a demand‐side approach to the economic growth in China. For time series analyses, a bounds test approach is adopted.Chinese economy, balance‐of‐payment constrained growth, demand‐led growth, bounds test for cointegration, F14, F43, O53,

Puzzles, Paradoxes and Regularities: Cyclical and Structural Productivity in the US (1950-2005)

Changes in labor productivity have been a source of puzzlement and paradoxical results for economists. We suggest that puzzles and paradoxes vanish once two simple regularities are properly acknowledged. Okun and Verdoorn’s Laws explain 87 percent of all the variations in labor productivity. Also, our estimation method and our results suggest that conventional measures of Okun’s Law have overestimated the value of the Okun coefficient, and accepted a greater degree of variability than is actually guaranteed by the empirical evidence. Okun’s Law has been relatively stable through time, and there is no significant decrease in the value of the parameter since the 1960s.Productivity, Cycle, Structural Change