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Manufacturing productivity in China and India: The role of institutional changes

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  • Pandey, Manish
  • Dong, Xiao-yuan

Abstract

In this paper we undertake a comparative study of productivity in the manufacturing sector for China and India using data from survey of manufacturing industries for the two countries. We find that productivity of manufacturing industries in China relative to that in India improved substantially over the 1998-2003 period. Specifically, the average total factor productivity (TFP) growth for the manufacturing sector over this period was about 11% higher in China than in India. We document two substantial changes in government policies in China that were not witnessed in India. First, the late 1990s saw an enormous wave of ownership restructuring due to the formal endorsement of private property rights by the Chinese central government. Second, in 1997 a large scale labour retrenchment program was launched to address the long standing problem of labour redundancy in the public sector. Using data from the Chinese survey of manufacturing industries, we quantify the impact of these large scale institutional changes on TFP of Chinese manufacturing industries. We find that these policy changes can explain about 30% of the growth in TFP of manufacturing industries. Hence we conclude that these institutional changes in China can account for a significant part of the gains in productivity of manufacturing industries in China relative to that in India over the 1998-2003 period.

Suggested Citation

  • Pandey, Manish & Dong, Xiao-yuan, 2009. "Manufacturing productivity in China and India: The role of institutional changes," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 20(4), pages 754-766, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:chieco:v:20:y:2009:i:4:p:754-766
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    Cited by:

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    2. Wei Li & Taye Mengistae & Lixin Colin Xu, 2011. "Diagnosing Development Bottlenecks: China and India," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 73, pages 722-752, December.
    3. Yi Jiang & Xiaoting Zheng, 2014. "Private Sector Participation and Performance of Urban Water Utilities in China," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 63(1), pages 155-189.
    4. Sangaralingam Ramesh, 2020. "Entrepreneurship in China and India," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 11(1), pages 321-355, March.
    5. Sai Ding & Alessandra Guariglia & Richard Harris, 2016. "The determinants of productivity in Chinese large and medium-sized industrial firms, 1998–2007," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 45(2), pages 131-155, April.
    6. Hehe Liu & Tianyu Yang, 2015. "Explaining the Productivity Growth Gap Between China and India: The Role of Structural Transformation," The Developing Economies, Institute of Developing Economies, vol. 53(2), pages 100-121, June.
    7. Acharya, Hem, 2013. "Employment Growth by Accelerated Manufacturing in India- A Comparative Study and Lessons to Be Learnt from China," MPRA Paper 46697, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Yimin Zhang & Tianmu Wang, 2010. "Profitability and Productivity of the Chinese Textile Industry," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 18(5), pages 1-21, September.

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