Technological Sophistication of China's Industrial Finished Goods for Export——A New Approach to Estimation

Based on the perspective of international vertical specialization,this paper creates a set of new approach to estimating the domestic technological sophistication(DTS)of export goods.Deducting the values of imported intermediate inputs contained in export goods,this paper conducts an estimation and analysis of the DTS of China's industrial finished goods for export between 2002 and 2007 at the national,industrial and regional levels.Results of our study indicate that:(1) the DTS of China's export goods demonstrates an overall tendency of steady increase and its evolving pattern demonstrates distinctive differences across sectors;(2) the DTS is on the increase for natural resources sectors,low-technology sectors,medium-technology sectors and certain high-technology sectors including transportation equipment manufacturing,general and dedicated equipment manufacturing,and electrical machinery and apparatus manufacturing while the DTS is on the significant decrease for electronic and communication equipment manufacturing and instruments,meters and other metering devices manufacturing;and(3) provinces with relatively high average values of DTS of export goods are primarily located in China's eastern region while provinces with significant DTS growth rates are mainly located in China's central and western regions and the gaps of DTS of export goods among China's eastern,central and western regions have a tendency of convergence.

Technological Improvement in China's Export Sophistication

This paper has developed a measurement approach that integrates price with the product technical content initiated by Lall et al.(2006),i.e.,dividing HS6-quantile products into high-end,middle-end and low-end levels through the quantile ranking of prices of the same product from different countries or regions in a target market.Our estimation has discovered that due to the lack of product price differentiation,traditional method for the measurement of product technical content overestimated technical content of the low-end segment in the same category of products while underestimated technical content of the high-end segment in the same category of products.Re-calculation based on Rodric's result indicates that specialness of Chinese exports is mainly reflected by high-end and middle-end products.In addition,the competition result of the sophistication of Chinese exports indicates that since the middle of the 1990 s,the sophistication of Chinese exports has remained relatively low compared with the average level of the world and developing countries;from an economic perspective,improvement in the sophistication of Chinese exports primarily derived from middle-end and low-end products;from a category-specific perspective,improvement in the sophistication of Chinese exports primarily derived from low-technology export products.

The Dual Effects of Global Value Chain Embeddedness on Chinese Exports’ Technological Sophistication

This paper develops a framework for the assessment of global value chain embeddedness based on the dual structure of product embeddedness and functional embeddedness and provides a theoretical demonstration of the dual effects of the level, structure and the value sources of global value chain embeddedness on export technology sophistication. From there, the paper carries out an estimation of non-competitive input- output table using quadratic optimized algorithm with differentiation between processing trade and general trade to arrive at various indicators of foreign value-added ratio that reflect the level of global value chain embeddedness. On this basis, the panel econometric model for 27 manufacturing sectors of China between 2001 and 2010 is employed to test the effect of foreign value-added ratio on the technology sophistication of manufacturing export. Our research indicates that by taking part in division of labor in the global value chain and acquiring foreign intermediate inputs, China＇s manufacturing sector has increased its export technology sophistication. It also indicates that, compared with such inputs as raw materials and parts and components, service input has great contributions to technology improvement. With the direct contributions of foreign value-added under control, the foreign value-added from developed countries has a restrictive effect on the R＆D activities of export manufacturing, which gives rise to the one-way technology reliance on dominant enterprises of the value chain and the ＂low-end lock-up＂ effect; meanwhile, the method of embeddedness that takes advantage of the foreign value-added of other countries is more dependent on the indigenous R＆D capacity of export enterprises and thus more favorable to the improvement of export technology sophistication.

Study on the Measurement of Industrial Structure “Sophistication,Rationalization and Ecologicalization” Based on the Dynamic Analysis of Grey Relations——A Case Study of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei

The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region is one of the regions with the most dynamic economies,highest degrees of openness,strongest innovation capacities and largest populations,as well as an important engine driving China’s economic development.Currently,the development of the BeijingTianjin-Hebei region faces many difficulties,including an inefficient distribution of regional functions,imbalance in industrial structure,low sophistication,and serious overburdening of resources and the environment.Promoting the overall coordinated development of the region has become an urgent challenge.In this paper,according to the conventions of industrial structure optimization,the three core indicators of regional industrial structure rationalization,sophistication and ecologicalization are constructed.With the help of the grey dynamic correlation model,the three indicators are coupled with the economic growth rate,and the industrial structure optimization index of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region is comprehensively measured.The study shows that rationalization of the industrial structure in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region is increasing but that this trend is not obvious;sophistication of the industrial structure is relatively high and has also been operating at a high level;however,the overall ecological level of the industrial structure in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region is not high and presents the characteristics of high in the middle and low at both ends.In terms of the relationship between industrial structure and economic growth in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region,ecologicalization of the industrial structure has the greatest influence on economic growth,followed by sophistication of the industrial structure,and rationalization of the industrial structure has the weakest influence.

What Drives Chinese Firms'Export Sophistication?A Perspective from the Rise of Minimum Wages

This paper re-examines the driving factors behind the upgrading of China s export sophistication.Based on county-level minimum wages and firm-level export data for 2000-2013,this paper finds that the labor cost shocks caused by rising minimum wages have a significant positive impact on Chinese firms'export sophistication.Channel tests show that the positive effect of rising minimum wages on firms'export sophistication derives from the exit of less sophisticated products and the reallocation of the relative share of surviving products,rather than introducing new highly sophisticated products.Heterogeneity analysis reveals that rising minimum wages have a greater impact on export sophistication for low-wage firms,domestic firms,and labor-intensive firms.This paper has implications for developing countries regarding the transition from a low-cost labor trade model to a sophistication-driven trade model.

Impact of Embeddedness in Global Value Chains on the Differentiation of Technological Sophistication of Exports

This paper adopts the production decomposition developed by Wang et al.(2017)and data from the World Input-Output Database(WIOD)to estimate the degrees of forward and backward participation in global value chains(GVCs)in 2000-2014 by the world’s major economies including China,and to do an empirical examination on the impact that heterogeneous forms of participation in GVCs have on the improvement of GVCs.The results show that forward participation in GVCs helps increase the sophistication of exports,while backward participation in GVCs exerts different infl uence on the sophistication of exports.While a lower level of backward participation by a country is constrained by the country’s current position in the international division of labor and thus does not help increase the sophistication of its exports,a higher level of backward participation helps break through the bottleneck of low-end locking in GVCs and increase the sophistication of exports.

Toward inclusive list-making for trade liberalization in environmental goods to reduce carbon emissions

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation(APEC)is contemplating expanding its list of environmental goods(EG)for trade liberalization to fight climate change.In support of doing so,this study proposes that a long list that retains controversies is better for carbon emission reduction than a short common list.This study examines four mechanisms of longer lists:enlarging market scales,enriching product mixes,enhancing product sophistication,and enriching trade patterns.Using China’s emerging EG trade during the 2001-2015 period as a case study,this study compares four EG lists with different EG.The results show that:(1)a longer list reduces carbon emissions from both imports and exports,making domestic regions with different advantages have better chances of improving carbon efficiencies.(2)Product sophistication reduces the emission gap between trading partners,regardless of the length of EG lists.(3)China’s EG exports contribute to carbon reduction in leading regions,while EG imports provide laggard regions with better chances of reducing carbon emissions.These findings provide three implications for future list-making:it is important to(1)seek a long and inclusive list rather than a short common list,(2)shift the focus from environmental end-use to the technological contents of products,and(3)balance the demand of laggard regions to import and the capacity of leading regions to export.

Explaining the lack of FDI in western China:an industrial perspective

It is difficult to attract FDI into western China.This situation might not be explained by traditional geographical factors,because the gap of inward FDI between the western and the eastern regions of China has increased.This paper attempts to explain the situation from an industrial perspective by exploring the industrial differences in the two regions and analyzing their effects in terms of industrial development level,industrial structure and industrial linking capability.The results reveal that industrial factors are important barriers to the inflow of FDI to western China.

Evolution of Technology Content in China's Exports and International Comparison

Under the global value chain, a country extensively employs foreign intermediate inputs in manufacturing its export products, which may not employ entirely local technology. Science-based measurement of technology content in and structure of exports should be conducted using production process data. Using world input-output tables(WIOTs) of 1995-2011, this paper developed a new method for measuring the export technology content of China and other major countries. Our research findings suggest that, since 1995, there has been some technology upgrade of Chinese exports. China's overall and sector-specific technology contents, and domestic technology contents and indexes all increased and demonstrated a weak convergence towards the average level of developed countries. Judging by the relative rankings of sector-specific technology levels, China is almost locked at the lowest level in the world, and cannot challenge the technological superiority of developed countries like the U.S. and Japan.

Evolution of China's Import Structure from 2000 to 2014

This paper creates a new analytical framework for analyzing the international trade structure, estimates the changes in China＇s import structure, and conducts a comparative analysis with 18 countries. This paper＇s findings are as follows： （1） Between 2000 and 2014, China＇s import structure underwent fundamental changes, with a significant rise in the share of non-agricultural primary commodities and high-tech products in China＇s total imports. The overall technology level in China＇s imports decreased at first before keeping on the rise since 2007. （2） High-tech products always represent the highest share of around 20% in the world import market. However, the share of high-tech products in China＇s imports did not meet the worm average level until 2012. （3） Developing countries account for less than 25% of China＇s imports except for agricultural primary commodities. Developed countries have always accounted for more than 50% of China＇s total imports of medium-high-tech, high-tech and ultra-high-tech products.

A Study on the Lexical Complexity of Narrative Translation by English Major Learners

Vocabulary researches play an important role in language teaching.In recent decades,lexical complexity has drawn great attention by researchers and scholars.A large number of empirical studies have been conducted to find out whether correlations exist between writing quality and lexical complexity in written texts.In the present study,299 English learners participated in the experiment from a comprehensive university.The data were timed CE texts translated by these learners.This study intends to answer the two questions with the assistance of such tools as LCA and SPSS.After analyzing the data with 9 indices from LCA,the results of this study are as follows:1.Chinese students’translated texts gain a high lexical density,which shows that content words can account for a large percentage in narrative translations.In the lexical sophistication measures,LS1 and LS2 do not differ greatly while CVS1 gets the greatest fluctuation.Among lexical variation indices,NDW is generally high.2.All indices in lexical variation and lexical sophistication show a high positive correlation with translation quality,while lexical density bears a negative relationship with translation quality.The findings of the current study indicate students’vocabulary use in translation and provide implications for English teaching,especially translation and vocabulary teaching.

颜色文化——蓝绿色

清新和成熟 蓝绿色是蓝色和绿色的混合色,代表一种甜美的女性特质,而较深的蓝绿色则于甜美中增添了成熟. 蓝绿色的特性 同蓝色和绿色一样,深浅不一的蓝绿色有令人平和恬静的效果.……

Introduction:The past,present,and future of research on running barefoot and in minimal shoes

Barefoot running has been around for millions of years,and it is safe to presume that for most of that time,the practice occasioned little interest.Our ancestors ran barefoot because they had no shoes.When footwear was first invented during the last 40,000 years (no doubt at different times and in different places),shoes were by necessity minimal-essentially sandals and moccasins-designed to protect the sole of the foot but lacking any of the sophisticated features and materials present in modem running shoes such as elevated cushioned heels,arch supports,and toe springs.Most of these features were invented in the 1970s,and they quickly became more popular and sophisticated as running underwent a worldwide boom.Today,the vast majority of runners think it is normal to wear cushioned running shoes,and would never dream of running without them.

A useful electroencephalography(EEG) marker of brain plasticity: delta waves

Plasticity is a natural property of living organisms that is crucial for adaptation and evolution.Over the last decades,the availability of sophisticated neuroimaging techniques（in particular,functional magnetic resonance imaging（f MRI）,and transcranial magnetic stimulation（TMS））,has made it possible to explore in vivo the on-line functioning of brain and its plasticity.However,

Application of Fracture Gas Measurement to the Earthquake Studies in China

The earth is an enormous open system and the gas-releasing phenomenon of the crust is the major means of exchange of matters and energy at different crustal depth.Therefore,a powerful gas-releasing channel is actually a "window" to understand the subterranean physical and chemical variations as well as stress-strain changes.The releasing places,quantities and ways obtained by systematically observing and recording can reveal the pressure variation and opening state of channels in the crust,and furthermore provide important information for earthquake prediction,tectonic activity and monitoring of volcanic activity.The fracture-gas measurement has been applied widely to earthquake sciences and has played an important role.The authors introduced systematically the application situation and preliminary achievements in China,and pointed out that though this technique is at the beginning stage and not very sophisticated but its capacities for being easy-carrying,fast-operating and inexpensive,makes for a

EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES OF MEDICAL EQUIPMENT SELECTION USING THE MULTI-STAGE WEIGHTING EVALUTION METHOD

As more and more sophisticated medical equipment being purchased by hospi-tals,the selection is becoming an increasingly complex and important process.Usu-ally there are three steps in the selection process: planning,feasibility and model se-lection evaluation.Model selection evalution is the most complex stage.The consid-

On the Tragedy of Nick in Snowdrops—The Tension between the Sophisticated and the Nave

Snowdrops is a tale of an Englishman abroad. Nick is a thirty-something lawyer working in Moscow to broker huge deals between banks, oil companies and property developers. His project on a major loan to a subsidiary of an energy company is underway, and meanwhile, he comes across an enchanting girl, Masha and soon becomes involved with Masha's world, psychologically. This thesis tries to analyze the tension of the conflict between the corrupted native and the nave foreigner, and the sophisticated disposition of the narrator and the other innocent part. And thorough analyzing the tension reflected from other characters, the reason for Nick's tragedy is revealed.

Influence of Legislation in Toxicology

The influence of toxicology on legislation is quite clear in countries where chemicals are regulated by the authorities. There is normally a toxicological evaluation—in addition to other considerations—behind sales and use permissions and the levels that are accepted in food, air, water, etc. How does legislation affect toxicology? If there is no legislation, then clinical and forensic toxicology will be the most used toxicological disciplines (accidents and other cases of poisoning). The more sophisticated and restrictive the legislation becomes, the more toxicology is used not only to permit the use of chemicals but also to ban them. In addition, legislation for the protection of experimental animals has a profound influence in toxicology and accelerates the use of in vitro and other alternative methods. This paper discusses whether countries in the 'developed' world are overdoing it, thereby maybe hampering the essential use of chemicals in the developing countries. 1989 Academic Press, Inc.

Cover Story

The cover photo shows one of the largest and most sophisticated volcanic centres in the Kamchatka Peninsula.With a long and peculiar evolutionary history,the Ksudach caldera is situated in the southern part of the Eastern volcanic belt of Kamchatka in Russia.This volcanic massif comprises two Late Pleistocene calderas,three Holocene calderas,a young post-caldera stratovolcano-Shtyubel cone,and two caldera lakes-Klyuchevoye and Shtyubelya.

The Personality of M?δεια(Medea): An Ethical Approach

M?δεια(Medea), the tragedy written by Euripides (431 BC), refers to the story of a woman who seduced by her love for Jason, left her hometown of Colchis, and flew with him to Greece. Jason then betrayed Medea and got married with the daughter of Creon, King of Corinth. Medea, in order to get revenge, killed both Jason’s bride and his father-in-law, and then, after slaughtering her own children, she left to Athens. The approach of Medea’s personality, as a subject of this paper, takes place in the light of the ethical philosophy through comparative quote mainly of the representatives of the spirit of that period, sophists and Socrates, but also of later philosophers, such as Immanuel Kant. This contribution aims to demonstrate the timelessness of human experience through the centuries and explain why the literature of other cultures and eras continues to be of interest.