Title: Analysis of the growth of regional productivity in Pearl River Delta and Yangtze River Delta in Mainland China

Authors: Meng-Kai Lin; Yung-Hsiang Lu; Yu-Ting Huang

Addresses: Science and Technology Policy Research and Information Center, National Applied Reseach Laboratories, Taiwan ' Department of Biobusiness Management, National Chia Yi University, Taiwan ' Shih Hsin University, No. 111, Sec. 1, Muzha Rd., Wenshan Dist., Taipei City 116, Taiwan

Abstract: For the high economic development in China, elevation of productivity serves as a key factor. The purpose of every ongoing reform and execution of plan is to boost productivity and the Pearl River Delta (PRD) and Yangtze River Delta (YRD) have benefited a lot. This study aims at 25 cities, which are at least municipalities in PRD and YRD from 1996 to 2010, applying metafrontier model to consider the differences among regions. We also exempt the impact of environmental variables to reasonably evaluate technical efficiency of regional economics. The result indicates that there exists difference in productivity in PRD and YRD. PRD opens to the outside world earlier; its concept and system are more advantageous than those of the YRD. Moreover, PRD serves as the birthplace of China's system innovation; however, as policies turn the direction to YRD gradually, economic development of PRD goes downhill and its productivity is in an unstable state.

Keywords: mainland China; regional economy; generalised metafrontier Malmquist productivity index; gMMPI; catch-up.

DOI: 10.1504/IJAITG.2019.099619

International Journal of Agriculture Innovation, Technology and Globalisation, 2019 Vol.1 No.1, pp.67 - 90

Received: 03 Apr 2018
Accepted: 15 Sep 2018
Published online: 14 May 2019 *

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