The Technological Gap between China and World Frontiers at the Industrial Level:1985-2009

Using sequential DEA methodology, this paper has measured the variations in the technological gaps of China＇s industrial sectors compared with the world frontiers of technology. From a temporal dimension, variations in the technological gaps of China＇s industrial sectors can be divided into the following four stages： slight abatement of technological gaps between 1985 and 1992, and between 1999 and 2007; stagnation in the variation of technological gaps between 1994 and 1999; and continuous abatement of technological gaps between 2008 and 2009. From the industry dimension, by 2009, 58.8% of China＇s industrial sectors had gradually reached or approached the world frontiers of technology; 29.4% of industrial sectors had experienced technological improvements but still lagged far behind the world frontiers of technology; 11.8% of industrial sectors significantly lagged behind the world frontiers of technology.