The Measurement of Total Factor Productivity and Its Spatial Evolution Trend in Four Regions of China

Abstract

In this paper, we aim to contribute to the growth literature and provide suggestions for improving China's TFP by measuring the Total Factor Productivity (TFP) of 30 provinces (excluding Tibet) in China, and analyzing the spatial evolution trend of Total Factor Productivity (TFP) in China's four major economic regions. The study shows that the TFP in China is not high and shows a downward trend from 2000 to 2015. The scale efficiency is the main driving force for the promotion of TFP in China. In addition, the Total Factor Productivity of each province shows spatial autocorrelation in most years and is relatively backward in the central region, western region and northeastern region of China, where some provinces have relatively large negative effects on the surrounding areas and relatively strong radiation effects. The provinces with high TFP clusters are more in the eastern regions, but the radiation effects are not obvious.