The functional specialization in export of a country(and its sectors)in different activities,such as fabrication,R&D,management and marketing,is crucial to its governance and control on the value chains,which magn...The functional specialization in export of a country(and its sectors)in different activities,such as fabrication,R&D,management and marketing,is crucial to its governance and control on the value chains,which magnifies the shortage of the existing aggregate value added studies on our understanding of global value chains(GVCs).Considering production fragmentation at both the spatial and functional levels,this paper defines the modified functional specialization indicators at the national and sectoral levels from the forward linkage(rather than backward linkage).Based on the World Input-Output Database together with the newly compiled Labor Occupations Database,this paper re-estimates and analyzes the functional specialization and changes in China and major developed economies’exports.The results show that China’s export is mainly specialized in fabrication activity,which is among the world leading level,while it is weak in headquarter activities(especially R&D and management),which is almost locked at the lowest level in the world and could not pose an export threat to the developed economies.China’s manufacturing basically follows the functional development path of“relying on fabrication,entering market,targeting management and R&D”,featuring the coexistence of“strong”fabrication and“weak”management and R&D.The fabrication specialization of the typical processing sector“electronic and optical equipment”has reached the international leading level.The level of functional specialization of China’s service industry is generally lower than that of manufacturing and generally lags behind in the world,indicating that China still has a long way to go before becoming a major power of service in the world.Finally,this paper proposes policy implications and further researches that can be extended.展开更多
文摘The functional specialization in export of a country(and its sectors)in different activities,such as fabrication,R&D,management and marketing,is crucial to its governance and control on the value chains,which magnifies the shortage of the existing aggregate value added studies on our understanding of global value chains(GVCs).Considering production fragmentation at both the spatial and functional levels,this paper defines the modified functional specialization indicators at the national and sectoral levels from the forward linkage(rather than backward linkage).Based on the World Input-Output Database together with the newly compiled Labor Occupations Database,this paper re-estimates and analyzes the functional specialization and changes in China and major developed economies’exports.The results show that China’s export is mainly specialized in fabrication activity,which is among the world leading level,while it is weak in headquarter activities(especially R&D and management),which is almost locked at the lowest level in the world and could not pose an export threat to the developed economies.China’s manufacturing basically follows the functional development path of“relying on fabrication,entering market,targeting management and R&D”,featuring the coexistence of“strong”fabrication and“weak”management and R&D.The fabrication specialization of the typical processing sector“electronic and optical equipment”has reached the international leading level.The level of functional specialization of China’s service industry is generally lower than that of manufacturing and generally lags behind in the world,indicating that China still has a long way to go before becoming a major power of service in the world.Finally,this paper proposes policy implications and further researches that can be extended.
