Research Progress and Prospects of Total Factor Productivity in the Construction Industry

The high-quality development of the construction industry fundamentally stems from the significant improvement of total factor productivity.Therefore,it is of crucial significance for promoting the development of the construction industry to a higher level by scientifically and accurately measuring the total factor productivity of the construction industry and deeply analyzing the influencing factors behind it.Based on a comprehensive consideration of research methods and influencing factors,this paper systematically reviews the existing relevant literature on total factor productivity in the construction industry,aiming to reveal the current research development trend in this field and point out potential problems.This effort aims to provide a solid theoretical foundation and valuable reference for further in-depth research,and jointly promote the continuous progress and development of total factor productivity research in the construction industry.

Research on the Impact of China’s Foreign Trade Technology Spillover on Green Total Factor Productivity of Countries Along the“Belt and Road”:Based on the Institutional Quality Threshold Effect

China’s growing trade with countries along the“Belt and Road”Initiative is accompanied by a focus on green development.Based on the panel data from 2007 to 2018,this paper establishes a threshold regression model to empirically analyze the institutional quality threshold effect of China’s foreign trade technology spillover on the GTFP of countries along the“Belt and Road.”The results show that China’s foreign trade technology spillover has a significant institutional quality double threshold effect on the green total factor productivity of the countries along the“Belt and Road.”As the institutional quality of the countries along the“Belt and Road”crosses a specific threshold value,the impact of China’s foreign trade technology spillover on the green total factor productivity of the countries along the“Belt and Road”has a significant positive promoting effect,and corresponding suggestions are put forward.

Does innovative city pilot policy promote urban green growth in China?An analysis of green total factor productivity,2005-2020

The innovative city pilot policy(ICPP)is an essential manifestation of China’s construction of an innovative and green-driven development country.We incorporated urban green total factor productivity(GTFP)growth into the evaluation of ICPP.Based on the panel data of 223 cities in China from 2005 to 2020,we used the difference-in-differences model to empirically assess the influence and mechanism of the ICPP on urban GTFP growth.The main results show that(i)The ICPP has maintained an effectively fluctuating promotion on urban GTFP growth,mainly manifested in the urban green technological progress improvement.(ii)The ICPP has urban heterogeneity in promoting GTFP growth in pilot cities,mainly affecting key cities such as provincial capitals.(iii)The interaction between the agglomeration of producer services and the ICPP inhibits GTFP growth in pilot cities.

Empirical Analysis of the Impact of Green Finance and Technological Progress on Total Factor Productivity in China’s Industrial Sector

The enhancement of industrial green total factor productivity is pivotal for achieving high-quality and sustainable economic development.This study assesses China’s performance using the SBM-GML model,employing province-level panel data spanning from 2004 to 2020.Furthermore,we examine the influence of green finance and technological progress on industrial green total factor productivity using a spatial econometric model.The findings uncover that the relationship between the level of green financial development and industrial green total factor productivity follows a U-shaped curve.Initially,low levels of green financial development exert a suppressive effect on industrial green total factor productivity,proving ineffective in the short term.However,with the progression of green finance development,a positive and significant long-term impact on industrial green total factor productivity emerges.Moreover,technological progress demonstrates a noteworthy promotional effect on industrial green total factor productivity.The analysis delves deeper into revealing that industrial structure and environmental regulation intensity exhibit a significant negative relationship with industrial green total factor productivity.In contrast,both energy structure and education level showcase a substantial positive relationship with industrial green total factor productivity.

The Impact of the Establishment of National High-tech Zones on Total Factor Productivity of Chinese Enterprises

The National High-tech Zone(NHTZs)is an important strategic platform for cultivating high-tech industries and realizing high-quality economic development in China.Based on the combined data from 2006 to 2014 of the industrial enterprise database,the customs database,and the China Development Zones Audit and Announcement Catalogue(abbreviated asthe Catalogue),this paper systematically investigates the influence of the construction of NHTZs on enterprise’s total factor productivity(TFP).Results show that NHTZs have a positive impact on the TFP of enterprises in the zone,and this conclusion is still valid after considering endogeneity problems.Furthermore,the above productivity effects of NHTZs are heterogeneous in terms of enterprise ownership,external environment and establishment time,and NHTZs have greater stimulation effects on enterprise productivity after comparing with other types of functional zones.An investigation of the specific mechanisms at play shows that NHTZs promote the TFP of enterprises in the zone through the release of preferential policies,strengthening the“technology spillover effects”of imported intermediate goods,enhancing enterprise’s innovation ability and attracting talent.In addition,based on the decomposition of industry productivity,this paper also investigates the impact of NHTZs on changes in industry productivity and finds that NHTZs promote the overall productivity of specific industries mainly by stimulating the productivity improvement of incumbent enterprises and expanding the market share of high-productivity enterprises.Moreover,the preferential policies of NHTZs do not significantly stimulate high-productivity enterprises to enter the zones,nor do they cause low-productivity enterprises to exit.This research is helpful in objectively evaluating the economic effects of the NHTZs in China and in providing a theoretical basis for its further adjustment.

An Empirical Study on the Influence of Agricultural Public Infrastructure on Total Factor Productivity of China’s Grain Production

A critical method of ensuring grain production is to increase the total factor productivity(TFP),and the key measure to increase the TFP of grain production lies in the construction of agricultural public infrastructure.For this topic,existing literature lacks systematic and empirical analysis.Therefore,research on the influence of agricultural public infrastructure on the TFP of China’s grain production has relatively strong policy implications and theoretical value.For this study,we collected panel data for grain inputs and outputs as well as for agricultural public infrastructure in China’s provinces(autonomous regions/municipalities)from 1990 to 2017,and adopted the stochastic frontier function(SFF)approach to measure the TFP of provincial-level grain production.Through this empirical study,we analyzed the influence of agricultural public infrastructures,such as irrigation,roads,and electric power facilities on the TFP of China’s agriculture.We found that such facilities have a positive influence on the TFP of grain production.Specifically,when the input for irrigation facilities is increased by 1 percent,the TFP of grain production will rise by 5.74 percent.Based on this finding,policy recommendations are proposed for enhancing grain TFP through agricultural public infrastructure construction.

Changes in Total Factor Productivity,Technological Progress and Efficiency of Banana Industry in China

Based on the DEA-based Malmquist index method,the total factor productivity was calculated for 5 major banana production areas in 2003-2004,and it was further divided into technological progress and technical efficiency.The results show that the total factor productivity of banana industry in China was 1.3% in the sample period,mainly due to technological progress,the average growth rate was 2.6%,while the pure technical efficiency and scale efficiency was -0.1% and -1.2% respectively.The improvement of total factor productivity in banana industry in China relied mainly on technological progress,cultivation of new banana varieties,management of high quality cultivation,popularization and application of water conservation and fertilizer saving technology,and injury-free picking technologies.The pure technical efficiency and scale efficiency of banana production were negative,indicating that the management level of banana was not high.The effect of scale economy of this industry through agglomeration and consolidation is still to be practiced.Banana growers should promote the improvement of large scale and management level of the banana industry at the same time of promoting the technological progress.

Growth in Total Factor Productivity of Shandong Province for Environmental Constraints

This paper analyzed the total factor productivity of Shandong Province and its impact on the local economic environment through Malmquist-Luenberger productivity index. The results of the paper were included as follows. Without consideration of the environmental constraints, Index M of the total factor productivity of Shandong Province from high to low was Heze, Jinan, Qingdao, Weihai, Dongying, Zaozhuang, Jining, Tai'an, Dezhou, Liaocheng, Yantai, Zibo, Weifang, Linyi, Binzhou, Rizhao, Laiwu, among which Index M of Linyi, Binzhou, Rizhao, Laiwuwere were less than 1; taking the environmental constraints into account, Index ML of the total factor productivity of Shandong Province was reduced, from high to low was Jinan, Qingdao, Weihai, Yantai, Heze, Liaocheng, Tai'an, Weifang, Jining, Linyi, Zibo, Dongying, Zaozhuang, Rizhao, Laiwu, Binzhou, Dezhou, among which Index ML of 9 cities behind Jining were less than 1. In terms of the development mode, Jinan, Qingdao, Tai'an, Weihai, Jining and Heze were resource-conserving and environment-friendly cities; Dongying and Zaozhuang were resourceconserving and environment-polluted cities; Liaocheng, Linyi, Weifang and Yantai were resource-wasted and environment-friendly cities; Binzhou, Dezhou, Laiwu, Rizhao and Zibo were resource-wasted and environment-pol uted cities.

Total Factor Productivity and Influence Factors of Economic Environment in the Yellow River Delta

The paper analyzed total factor productivity of Binzhou City, and key factors that influence its economic growth and effluent discharge. The results showed that(i) production efficiency of the city during 2005–2013 kept stable, mean of Malmquist-Luenberger index was 1.044,9 without considering effluent discharge, and the average annual increase rate was 4.49%, and that was 1.020,4 considering effluent discharge, the average annual increase rate was 2.04%, and the increase rate reduced by 2.45%.(ii) GDP growth showed significant negative correlation and positive correlation with capital input and energy input, but insignificant negative correlation and positive correlation with labor force input and technological progress.(iii) Effluent discharge showed insignificant negative correlation and positive correlation with capital input and energy input, but significant negative correlation and positive correlation with labor force input and technological progress.

Empirical Research on the Influence of Export Market Diversification on Total Factor Productivity: Based on the Perspective of Trade Protection

This paper mainly explores the impact of export market diversification as an important measure to deal with trade friction on firms total factor productivity.Firstly,this article focuses on the theoretical analysis of the impact mechanism,including risk diversification,reversal effect and spillover effect.Based on the sample data of Chinese manufacturing export enterprises from 2000 to 2007,this paper conducts an empirical test on the relationship between export market diversification and total factor productivity.The result indicates that export market diversification has a significant positive effect on the total factor productivity of enterprises.After considering the endogenous problem,by controlling the fixed effects,using the two-stage least square method and changing the duration of the sample for robustness analysis,the results are still consistent.In addition,the role of diversification policy in total factor productivity presents heterogeneous characteristics in terms of different types of enterprise ownership,export intensity,industry competition,trade methods,and the development degree of exporting market.Accordingly,this paper puts forward corresponding policy recommendations.

The Impact of Digital Economy on Total Factor Productivity of China’s Service Industry

As a kind of integrated economy,digital economy has an important impact on the economic growth and production and lifestyle of multiple countries and regions,and plays a significant role in promoting the reconstruction of the international economic pattern.As an important industry of China’s national economy,the service industry is crucial to China’s economic growth.This paper measures the development level of digital economy in provinces and cities through constructing digital economy index system,uses super efficiency SBM-Malmquist model to measure total factor productivity of service industry,and tests the influence effect of digital economy on total factor productivity of Chinese service industry.Finally,the optimization path of digital economy on China’s service industry is proposed.

Do smart city policies improve energy efficiency?Evidence from China

To address air pollution and offer a convenient and comfortable living environment,the Chinese government launched a smart city pilot(SCP)project in 2012,accompanied by a comprehensive set of environmental and energy-related laws and regulations.Although academic interest in smart cities has surged,there remains a notable gap in empirical research exploring the economic,environmental,and energy effects of such initiatives.Taking 232 prefecture-level cities from 2003 to 2017 as research subjects,this study measures energy effi‐ciency by using energy consumption per unit of GDP and adopts a difference-in-differences(DID)analysis to investigate the impact of SCPs on energy efficiency.The empirical results indicate that SCPs improved energy efficiency by promoting urban technological innovation capabilities and green total factor productivity,and this effect was more pronounced in cities that were more dependent on traditional fossil fuel energy sources and had more developed fiscal and financial levels.Studying the impact of smart city construction on energy utilization efficiency in developing countries,such as China,is not only significantly enlightening for China’s green and low-carbon transition but also provides reference opinions for constructing smart cities and the path to enhancing energy efficiency in other developing countries.The findings provide valuable insights into the global development of smart cities,urban sustainability,and high-quality economic growth.

Total Factor Productivity with Chinese Characteristics

Although total factor productivity(TFP)is a common concept in mainstream Western economics,its origins are actually embedded in Marx's understanding of improving labor productivity.As an important element of labor productivity under socialized production conditions,TFP is further reflected in the category of"socially necessary labor time"in two distinct senses.Re-examining TFP from the perspective of Marxist political economy and incorporating it into the theoretical system of political economy of socialism with Chinese characteristics vividly illustrates the essence of"adhering to original principles,assimilating foreign concepts,and embracing a forward-looking vision"within political economy of socialism with Chinese characteristics.In practice,it is necessary to start with Marx's theory of productive labor and delineate the sectors involved in productive labor so that TFP and its fluctuations can be measured in a more relevant way.In the context of the new era and the new journey,as the key to achieving high-quality economic development in China,efforts are needed to increase TFP.This requires balancing economic factors such as the long term and short term,supply and demand,and gross quantity and structure,and promoting transformative changes in the quality,efficiency,and dynamism of economic development.

Agricultural Policy, Climate Factors and Grain Output: Evidence From Household Survey Data in Rural China

This paper estimates a stochastic frontier function using a panel data set that includes 4 961 farmer households for the period of 2005-2009 to decompose the growth of grain production and the total factor productivity （TFP） growth at the farmer level. The empirical results show that the major contributor to the grain output growth for farmers is input growth and that its average contribution accounts for 60.92% of farmer’s grain production growth in the period of 2006-2009, whereas the average contributions sourced from TFP growth and residuals are only 17.30 and 21.78%, respectively. The growth of intermediate inputs is a top contributor with an average contribution of 44.46%, followed by the planted area （18.16%）, investment in fixed assets （1.05%）, and labor input （-2.75%）, indicating that the contribution from the farmer’s input growth is mainly due to the growth of intermediate inputs and that the decline in labor inputs has become an obstacle for farmers in seeking grain output growth. Among the elements consisting of TFP growth, the contribution of technical progress is the largest （32.04%）, followed by grain subsidies （8.55%）, the average monthly temperature （4.26%）, the average monthly precipitation （-0.88%）, the adjusted scale effect （-5.66%）, and growth in technical efficiency （-21.01%）. In general, the contribution of climate factors and agricultural policy factor are positive and significant.

Regional Economic Efficiency and Its Influencing Factors of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Metropolitans in China Based on a Heterogeneity Stochastic Frontier Model

Using a heterogeneity stochastic frontier model(HSFM),we empirically investigated the economic efficiency of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei from 2003 to 2016 and its influencing factors.The key findings of the paper lie in:1)in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei,the overall economic and technological efficiency tended to increase in a wavelike manner,economic growth slowed down,and there was an obvious imbalance in economic efficiency between the different districts,counties and cities;2)the heterogeneity stochastic frontier production functions(SFPFs)of Beijing,Tianjin and Hebei were different from each other,and investment was still an important impetus of economic growth in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei;3)economic efficiency was positively correlated with economic agglomeration,human capital,industrial structure,infrastructure,the informatization level,and institutional factors,but negatively correlated with the government role and economic opening.The following policy suggestions are offered:1)to improve regional economic efficiency and reduce the economic gap in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei,governments must reduce their intervention in economic activities,stimulate the potentials of labor and capital,optimize the structure of human resources,and foster new demographic incentives;2)governments must guide economic factors that are reasonable throughout Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and strengthen infrastructure construction in underdeveloped regions,thus attaining sustainable economic development;3)governments must plan overall economic growth factors of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and promote reasonable economic factors(e.g.,labor,resources,and innovations)across different regions,thus attaining complementary advantages between Beijing,Tianjin,and Hebei.

Farm Production Growth in the Upper and Middle Parts of the Yellow River Basin,China,During 1980-1999

The impact of inputs on farm production growth was evaluated by analyzing the economic data of the upper and middle parts of the Yellow River basin, China for the period of 1980-1999. Descriptive statistics were employed to characterize the temporal trends and spatial patterns in farm production and five pertinent inputs of cultivated cropland, irrigation ratio, agricultural labor, machinery power and chemical fertilizer. Stochastic frontier production function was applied to quantify the dependence of the farm production on these inputs. The growth of farm production was decomposed to reflect the contributions by input growths and change in total factor productivity.. The change in total factor productivity was further decomposed into the changes in technology and in technical efficiency. The gross value of farm production in the region of study increased by 1.6 fold during 1980-1999. Among the five selected farm inputs, machinery power and chemical fertilizer increased by 1.8 and 2.8 fold, respectively. The increases in cultivated cropland, irrigated cropland, and agricultural labor were all less than 0.16 fold. The growth in the farm production was primarily contributed by the increase in the total factor productivity during 1980-1985, and by input growths after 1985. More than 80% of the contributions by input growths were attributed to the increased application of fertilizer and machinery. In the change of total factor productivity, the technology change dominated over the technical efficiency change in the study period except in the period of 1985-1990, implying that institution and investment played important roles in farm production growth. There was a decreasing trend in the technical efficiency in the region of study, indicating a potential to increase farm production by improving the technical efficiency in farm activities. Given the limited natural resources in the basin, the results of this study suggested that, for a sustainable growth of farm production in the area, efforts should be directed to technology progress and improvement in technical efficiency in the use of available resources.

Measurement and Analysis of Production Performance of Rural Households in Jinzhai County, Anhui Province

Using a multi-input multi-output production technology and survey data from Jinzhai County, western Anhui Province, China, the author first measured the production performance of rural households their efficiency, economy of scale, and productivity during 19781997, and then related the measured production performance with institutional change, market access, and other factors. Preliminary results show that: 1) performance differs a great deal across households and over time; 2) institutional changes and market accessibility have played a major role in improving performance; 3) depending on the specific resources, their effects are variable.

Total Factor Productivity in China's Manufacturing Sector in the Aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis

This paper improves the estimation of firm-level total factor productivity(TFP)by considering energy use and including small-and medium-sized enterprises using data from the Chinese National Tax Survey Database(2008-2011).It analyzes the production efficiency of Chinese manufacturing firms using the improved TFP data and finds that(i)the TFP data frequently used in previous studies overestimated firms'real production efficiency;(i)the TFP of manufacturing firms decreased from 2008 to 2011 due to declines in both technical efficiency and allocation efficiency,(ii)the lower capacity utilization of production factors led to lower technical efficiency;and(iv)allocation efficiency decreased more in provinces and industries with higher shares of state-owned enterprises.The findings have policy implications for enhancing growth potential in the long run.

Research on the Industrial Transfer and Restructuring Path of the Energy-Intensive Manufacturing Industry in Western China

The orderly transfer of the manufacturing industry is a major action in China’s industrial restructuring.From the perspective of industrial transfer,we used the concentration ratio to depict the trend of the industrial transfer of energy-intensive manufacturing in the eastern,central,and western regions since the policy of large-scale development of western China was implemented.We measured the total factor productivity(TFP)of western China using the DEAMalmquist index method.We conducted a regression analysis to measure the effect of western China’s undertaking of the transfer of the energy-intensive manufacturing industry.The findings of this study show that during 2000–2019,eleven provinces(as well as autonomous regions and municipalities)in western China undertook the transfer of the energy-intensive manufacturing industry from the eastern and central regions to varying degrees,exhibiting significant phase features regarding the rate and scale of transfers.Further investigation also demonstrated that the transfer of energy-intensive manufacturing industries has a U-shaped enabling effect on TFP in western China with the scale effect greater than the technology effect.Therefore,it is necessary to transition from“extensive industrial transfer”at the cost of the labor force,land,and resources to“modern industrial transfer”featured by technology and efficiency improvements to contribute to industrial restructuring in western China effectively.

Creative Industries Agglomeration,Regional Innovation and Productivity Growth in China

This paper falls into the broad area of economic geography and economics of creativity,and it presents an alternative approach to explain why total factor productivity(TFP)growth is different across China′s regions.It establishes an empirical model to estimate the spatial agglomeration effects of creative industries on regional TFP growth,using China′s provincial panel data during the period of 2003 to 2010.We found that the creative industries agglomeration(CIA)has significant and positive impact on regional TFP growth.The result also implies that the CIA can facilitate regional TFP growth through promoting regional innovation instead of improving regional efficiency.Therefore,we argue that policy makers should take some measures to retain and establish more creative zones.