IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/empeco/v65y2023i1d10.1007_s00181-022-02333-2.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Induced innovation and its impact on productivity growth in China: a latent variable approach

Author

Listed:
  • Ka Kei Gary Wong

    (University of Macau)

  • Min Qiang Zhao

    (Xiamen University)

Abstract

This paper proposes a latent variable approach to examine the induced innovation hypothesis originating from Hicks (The theory of wages, Macmillan, London, 1932). It allows a flexible decomposition of total factor productivity into Type I (exogenous) and Type II (induced) technical changes using a latent variable d as an argument in a variable cost function. By making extensive use of duality theory, we are able to estimate the Hicksian input demand functions, which are explicit in d but may lack a closed-form representation in terms of observable variables such as input prices and output level. The “unobservability” of d is solved by using a numerical inversion estimation method. We apply this methodology with an appropriate estimator to investigate the impact of induced innovation on China’s total factor productivity growth. Our findings indicate that the induced innovation hypothesis is strongly supported by the data and that induced innovation has a positive and profound effect on China’s productivity growth.

Suggested Citation

  • Ka Kei Gary Wong & Min Qiang Zhao, 2023. "Induced innovation and its impact on productivity growth in China: a latent variable approach," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 65(1), pages 371-399, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:empeco:v:65:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1007_s00181-022-02333-2
    DOI: 10.1007/s00181-022-02333-2
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s00181-022-02333-2
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s00181-022-02333-2?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Romer, Paul M, 1986. "Increasing Returns and Long-run Growth," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(5), pages 1002-1037, October.
    2. Binswanger, Hans P, 1974. "The Measurement of Technical Change Biases with Many Factors of Production," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 64(6), pages 964-976, December.
    3. Robert C. Feenstra & Robert Inklaar & Marcel P. Timmer, 2015. "The Next Generation of the Penn World Table," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(10), pages 3150-3182, October.
    4. Wong, Gary & Park, Hoanjae, 2007. "AJAE Appendix: The Use of Conditional Cost Functions to Generate Estimable Mixed Demand Systems," American Journal of Agricultural Economics APPENDICES, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 89(2), pages 1-3, May.
    5. Paris, Quirino & Caputo, Michael R., 1995. "The Rhetoric Of Duality," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 20(1), pages 1-20, July.
    6. Aghion, Philippe & Howitt, Peter, 1992. "A Model of Growth through Creative Destruction," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 60(2), pages 323-351, March.
    7. Isabelle Armanville & Peter Funk, 2003. "Induced innovation: an empirical test," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(15), pages 1627-1647.
    8. Esposti, Roberto & Pierani, Pierpaolo, 2008. "Price-induced technical progress in Italian agriculture," Review of Agricultural and Environmental Studies - Revue d'Etudes en Agriculture et Environnement (RAEStud), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), vol. 89(4).
    9. Moschini, Giancarlo & Moro, Daniele, 1994. "Autocorrelation specification in singular equation systems," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 46(4), pages 303-309, December.
    10. Daron Acemoglu, 2010. "When Does Labor Scarcity Encourage Innovation?," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 118(6), pages 1037-1078.
    11. Chang-Tai Hsieh & Peter J. Klenow, 2009. "Misallocation and Manufacturing TFP in China and India," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 124(4), pages 1403-1448.
    12. K. K. Gary Wong & Belton M. Fleisher & Min Qiang Zhao & William H. McGuire, 2022. "Technical progress and induced innovation in China: a variable profit function approach," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 57(2), pages 177-191, April.
    13. Giannis Karagiannis & George Mergos, 2000. "Total Factor Productivity Growth and Technical Change in a Profit Function Framework," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 31-51, July.
    14. Morrison, Catherine J & Schwartz, Amy Ellen, 1996. "State Infrastructure and Productive Performance," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(5), pages 1095-1111, December.
    15. K. K. Gary Wong & Hoanjae Park, 2007. "The Use of Conditional Cost Functions to Generate Estimable Mixed Demand Systems," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 89(2), pages 273-286.
    16. Chaofan Chen & Qingxin Lan & Ming Gao & Yawen Sun, 2018. "Green Total Factor Productivity Growth and Its Determinants in China’s Industrial Economy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-25, April.
    17. Ludo Peeters & Yves Surry, 2000. "Incorporating Price-Induced Innovation in a Symmetric Generalised McFadden Cost Function with Several Outputs," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 53-70, July.
    18. John M. Antle, 1984. "The Structure of U.S. Agricultural Technology, 1910–78," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 66(4), pages 414-421.
    19. Ludo Peeters & Yves Surry, 2000. "Incorporating price-induced innovation in a symmetric generalised McFadden cost function with several outputs," Post-Print hal-01593889, HAL.
    20. Qinghua Liu & C. Richard Shumway, 2006. "Geographic aggregation and induced innovation in American agriculture," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(6), pages 671-682.
    21. Fabrizio Zilibotti, 2017. "Growing and Slowing Down Like China," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 15(5), pages 943-988.
    22. Pinar Celikkol & Spiro Stefanou, 1999. "Measuring the Impact of Price-Induced Innovation on Technological Progress: Application to the U.S. Food Processing and Distribution Sector," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 12(2), pages 135-151, September.
    23. Paul Preckel & J. A. L. Cranfield & Thomas Hertel, 2010. "A modified, implicit, directly additive demand system," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(2), pages 143-155.
    24. Belton M. Fleisher & William H. McGuire & Xiaojun Wang & Min Qiang Zhao, 2021. "Induced innovation: evidence from China’s secondary industry," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(52), pages 6075-6093, November.
    25. Allen,Robert C., 2009. "The British Industrial Revolution in Global Perspective," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521868273, January.
    26. Eunsuk Hong & Laixiang Sun, 2011. "Foreign Direct Investment and Total Factor Productivity in China: A Spatial Dynamic Panel Analysis," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 73, pages 771-791, December.
    27. Wim Vijverberg & Feng-Cheng Fu & Chu-Ping Vijverberg, 2011. "Public infrastructure as a determinant of productive performance in China," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 36(1), pages 91-111, August.
    28. Zhang, Hongsong, 2019. "Non-neutral technology, firm heterogeneity, and labor demand," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 145-168.
    29. Cao, Kang Hua & Birchenall, Javier A., 2013. "Agricultural productivity, structural change, and economic growth in post-reform China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 165-180.
    30. Yanrui Wu, 2011. "Total factor productivity growth in China: a review," Journal of Chinese Economic and Business Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(2), pages 111-126.
    31. Chavas, Jean-Paul, 1984. "The theory of mixed demand functions," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 24(3), pages 321-344, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. K. K. Gary Wong & Belton M. Fleisher & Min Qiang Zhao & William H. McGuire, 2022. "Technical progress and induced innovation in China: a variable profit function approach," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 57(2), pages 177-191, April.
    2. Broadberry, Stephen & Ghosal, Sayantan & Proto, Eugenio, 2017. "Anonymity, efficiency wages and technological progress," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 379-394.
    3. Roberto Esposti & Pierpaolo Pierani, 2008. "Price-induced technical progress in Italian agriculture," Review of Agricultural and Environmental Studies - Revue d'Etudes en Agriculture et Environnement, INRA Department of Economics, vol. 89(4), pages 5-28.
    4. Jones, C.I., 2016. "The Facts of Economic Growth," Handbook of Macroeconomics, in: J. B. Taylor & Harald Uhlig (ed.), Handbook of Macroeconomics, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 3-69, Elsevier.
    5. Lee, Velma & Viale, Ariel M., 2023. "Total factor productivity in East Asia under ambiguity," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    6. Belton M. Fleisher & William H. McGuire & Xiaojun Wang & Min Qiang Zhao, 2021. "Induced innovation: evidence from China’s secondary industry," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(52), pages 6075-6093, November.
    7. H. Youn Kim & Keith R. McLaren & K. K. Gary Wong, 2020. "Valuation of public goods: an intertemporal mixed demand approach," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 59(5), pages 2223-2253, November.
    8. Schreiner, Lena & Madlener, Reinhard, 2022. "Investing in power grid infrastructure as a flexibility option: A DSGE assessment for Germany," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    9. Torsten Heinrich & Jangho Yang & Shuanping Dai, 2020. "Growth, development, and structural change at the firm-level: The example of the PR China," Papers 2012.14503, arXiv.org.
    10. Dakpogan, Arnaud & Smit, Eon, 2018. "The effect of electricity losses on GDP in Benin," MPRA Paper 89545, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Broadberry, Stephen & Ghosal, Sayantan & Proto, Eugenio, 2011. "Is Anonymity the Missing Link Between Commercial and Industrial Revolution?," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 974, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    12. Justin Yifu Lin & Fan Zhang, 2015. "Sustaining Growth of the People's Republic of China," Asian Development Review, MIT Press, vol. 32(1), pages 31-48, March.
    13. Chen, Binkai & Lin, Justin Yifu, 2021. "Development strategy, resource misallocation and economic performance," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 612-634.
    14. World Bank Group, "undated". "Africa's Pulse, No. 18, October 2018," World Bank Publications - Reports 30455, The World Bank Group.
    15. Andreas Irmen, 2021. "Automation, growth, and factor shares in the era of population aging," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 26(4), pages 415-453, December.
    16. Susanto Basu & Luigi Pascali & Fabio Schiantarelli & Luis Serven, 2022. "Productivity and the Welfare of Nations," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 20(4), pages 1647-1682.
    17. Zoltan J. Acs & Saul Estrin & Tomasz Mickiewicz & László Szerb, 2018. "Entrepreneurship, institutional economics, and economic growth: an ecosystem perspective," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 51(2), pages 501-514, August.
    18. Beerli, Andreas & Weiss, Franziska J. & Zilibotti, Fabrizio & Zweimüller, Josef, 2020. "Demand forces of technical change evidence from the Chinese manufacturing industry," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    19. Gries, Thomas & Fritz, Marlon & Wiechers, Lukas, 2023. "Growth with Mismatch - Theory and Evidence from TFP Estimates," VfS Annual Conference 2023 (Regensburg): Growth and the "sociale Frage" 277660, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    20. Gros, Daniel & Alcidi, Cinzia, 2014. "The Global Economy in 2030: Trends and Strategies for Europe," CEPS Papers 9142, Centre for European Policy Studies.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Induced innovation; China; Total factor productivity; Numerical inversion method;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D21 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Theory
    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • O53 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Asia including Middle East

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:empeco:v:65:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1007_s00181-022-02333-2. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.