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Human Capital, Economic Growth, and Regional Inequality in China

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Author Info
Belton Fleisher () (Ohio State University and IZA)
Haizheng Li () (Georgia Institute of Technology)
Min Qiang Zhao () (Ohio State University)

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Abstract

We study the dispersion in rates of provincial economic- and TFP growth in China. Our results show that regional growth patterns can be understood as a function of several interrelated factors, which include investment in physical capital, human capital, and infrastructure capital; the infusion of new technology and its regional spread; and market reforms, with a major step forward occurring following Deng Xiaoping’s "South Trip" in 1992. We find that FDI had much larger effect on TFP growth before 1994 than after, and we attribute this to emergence of other channels of technology transfer when marketization accelerated. We find that human capital positively affects output per worker and productivity growth. In particular, in terms of its direct contribution to production, educated labor has a much higher marginal product. Moreover, we estimate a positive, direct effect of human capital on TFP growth. This direct effect is hypothesized to come from domestic innovation activities. The estimated spillover effect of human capital on TFP growth is positive and statistically significant, which is very robust to model specifications and estimation methods. The spillover effect appears to be much stronger before 1994. We conduct cost-benefit analysis and a policy "experiment," in which we project the impact increases in human capital and infrastructure capital on regional inequality. We conclude that investing in human capital will be an effective policy to reduce regional gaps in China as well as an efficient means to promote economic growth.

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Paper provided by Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in its series IZA Discussion Papers with number 2703.

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Length: 56 pages
Date of creation: Mar 2007
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Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2703

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Related research
Keywords: regional inequality; TFP growth; FDI; human capital; technology spillovers;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
O15 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
O18 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Regional, Urban, and Rural Analyses
O47 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Measurement of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence
O53 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Asia including Middle East

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Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Belton Fleisher & Haizheng Li & Min-Qiang Zhao, 2009. "Human Capital, Economic Growth, and Regional Inequality in China," Working Papers 09-01, Ohio State University, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Hiroshi Sato, 2009. "Growth of Villages in China, 1990-2002," Global COE Hi-Stat Discussion Paper Series gd08-023, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University. [Downloadable!]
  3. Belton M. Fleisher & Mi Zhou, 2009. "Are Patent Laws Harmful to Developing Countries? Evidence from China," Working Papers 09-07, Ohio State University, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
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