Issue 11, 2025
“Beyond GDP”:Feasibility and Desirability——Reflections on Economic Statistics Inspired by Coyle's Review Essay
QIU Dong;HU Lanli;British economist Diane Coyle published a review essay on Eli Cook's The Pricing of Progress:Economic Indicators and the Capitalization of American Life.This paper is inspired by reflections on economic statistics prompted by the review essay.It primarily examines whether, and to what extent, it is feasible to go beyond GDP.First, extending the debate between Coyle and Cook on the issue of “measuring progress”,the paper argues that the practice of economic statistics should focus on “the construction of macroeconomic statistics” and emphasize the importance of foundational issuse in the discipline, drawing on historical lessons to advance it.Furthermore, by addressing the inherently political nature of economic measurement, the paper explains why economic statistics has long been described as “political arithmetic”.It identifies the current objectives of economic measurement and the associated challenges in addressing fundamental matters, and through the dual perspectives of “beyond GDP” and “GDP and what lies beyond it”,offers a comprehensive discussion of whether these measurement goals are attainable and whether the scope of what is being measured is appropriately defined.
Exploring the Sources of New Impetus in China's Economy: From the Perspective of Biased Technological Progress
CHENG Kaiming;TENG Manzhou;LIU Shucheng;China's “extensive” economic growth mode driven by investment is gradually shifting towards a high-quality economic development mode driven by innovation.Therefore, clarifying the new impetus of economic growth and achieving the transformation towards an “intensive” economic growth mode driven by efficiency have become an urgent and important task.Against the background of China's non-steady economic growth, it is important to explore the growth of total factor productivity(TFP) and its sources, as well as to analyze the new impetus of China's economic growth from the perspective of biased technological progress.In order to explore the new impetus of economic growth and separate the enhancing effect of biased technological progress from total factor productivity.It is necessary to construct a factor-augmented technological progress production function that aligns with China's national conditions.Based on panel data of 281 prefecture-level and above cities from 2003 to 2022,the total output growth rate of cities is decomposed into technological progress effect, factor input effect, technology bias effect, and factor allocation effect, providing a new framework for decomposing economic growth momentum.This study shows that there has been a structural shift in the driving factors of technological progress.The index of labor-augmenting technological progress shows a continuous growth trend, while the marginal contribution of capital-augmenting technological progress significantly declined before 2013.During the reporting period, the overall labor income share showed a U-shaped characteristic.The growth rate of total factor productivity was mainly contributed by capital technological progress before 2010,then it was jointly contributed by capital technological progress and labor technological progress.The source of total factor productivity growth achieved a paradigm shift from capital driven to labor driven.Regional heterogeneity analysis shows that there are gradient differences in the direction of technological progress.The intensity of labor biased technological progress in southern cities, eastern cities, and large cities has gradually weakened.Cities in less developed areas have seen more labor-oriented technological progress in the past decade.The decomposition of economic growth momentum shows that the capital technology effect exhibits a global convergence trend, while the labor technology effect exhibits regional differentiation characteristics.Before 2013,the capital investment effect of underdeveloped cities was generally higher than that of developed regions, but it showed the opposite trend after 2013.The overall trend of labor input effect in cities in different regions is same, but cities in developed regions have higher labor input effects than those in underdeveloped ones.This study reveals the sources, evolutionary trends, and regional differences of new driving forces for China's economic growth, providing new empirical evidence for understanding the logic of factor reconstruction in China's regional economic transformation.The government should formulate differentiated policies, establish a technology capital factor adaptation system, implement capital allocation efficiency oriented policies, and construct a human capital gradient compensation mechanism to break the spatial stickiness of factor allocation.
Research on the Impact of Data Element Flow on Urban Economic Resilience
ZHANG Hu;GAO Zihuan;YAO Ke;The current “two overall situations” are intertwined and mutually influencing, the conflict between China and the United States is escalating comprehensively, the economic recovery is fragile and weak, and global uncertainties, instability, and insecurity are compounded, seriously threatening the stable operation of China's economy.In this context, as cities are the fundamental unit of economic activity, enhancing urban economic resilience has become an important guarantee for resisting external shocks and restoring economic vitality.However, with the rapid development of digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data, the digital economy has become a new driving force for economic development.Data element, along with labor, capital, land, and technology, are collectively regarded as the five major production factors, and the determinants of economic resilience have also changed.This study is based on the perspective of data element flow, systematically sorts out the theoretical mechanism of the impact of data element flow on urban economic resilience, and proposes related hypotheses such as the data element flow can enhance urban economic resilience.On this basis, this article uses a panel interactive fixed effects model to measure the economic resilience level of 240 prefecture-level and above cities in China from 2010 to 2021,and further employs the panel data model to explore the impact of data element flow on urban economic resilience.The reliability of the research conclusions is verified by using instrumental variable method, Heckman two-stage model, replacing core variables, considering dynamic effects, adjusting sample scope, etc.At the same time, the mechanism and heterogeneity of data element flow on urban economic resilience are examined, and the external conditions and boundary effects of data element flow are deeply explored.The research results indicate that the data element flow helps to enhance the urban economic resilience, especially with a significant impact on its resistance dimension.Mechanism analysis shows that the data element flow can promote urban economic resilience through two channels: promoting technological innovation and optimizing industrial structure.Heterogeneity analysis shows that the impact of data element flow on urban economic resilience varies depending on geographical location, resource endowment, city level, and policy environment.Further discussion reveals that digital infrastructure provides external conditions for the data element flow to enhance urban economic resilience, and this impact has boundary effects.This article proposes policy recommendations such as improving the market system for data element, accelerating the construction of digital infrastructure, and implementing supporting policies tailored to local conditions.These policy recommendations provide a theoretical foundation for exploring paths to enhance urban economic resilience and decision-making references for the government to guide the data element flow in enhancing urban economic resilience.
Digital Infrastructure Empowers High-quality Development of Urban Economy
PENG Jizeng;PENG Taoqiang;The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China proposed to “improve the mechanism for the integrated application of new infrastructure and accelerate the digital transformation of traditional infrastructure.” The development of digital infrastructure, with broadband networks as its core, reshapes urban innovation patterns and plays a pivotal role in promoting high-quality development within the context of Chinese-style modernization.Based on panel data from 284 cities spanning the period 2011 to 2020,this study employs the “Broadband China” pilot policy as a natural experiment.By considering the perspectives of structural optimization and resource allocation, this study utilizes a multi-point Difference-in-Differences model to empirically examine the impact and implementation pathways of digital infrastructure construction on empowering high-quality urban economic development.The findings indicate that the establishment of “Broadband China” pilot cities significantly promotes the high-quality development of urban economies, with the policy effect exhibiting a marginal increasing trend over time.Government attention allocation, urban innovation vitality, and the development of digital finance serve as critical mechanisms through which “Broadband China” pilot city construction enhances high-quality economic development, with urban innovation vitality playing a predominant role in this process.The “Broadband China” pilot policy has a more pronounced promoting effect on high-quality economic development in cities with high levels of digital development, large-scale cities, cities in the eastern and southern regions, cities within urban agglomerations, and service-oriented cities.The policy's effectiveness is influenced by regional industrial structure characteristics and resource allocation efficiency.Structural optimization and efficient resource allocation exert a positive moderating effect on the policy effects of “Broadband China.” Based on these insights, the study offers policy recommendations for local governments to actively advance the “Broadband China” strategy, optimize the overall layout of digital infrastructure, and cultivate new drivers and advantages for high-quality economic development.
Measurement and Spatio-temporal Evolution of the Collaborative Agglomeration between Producer Services and Manufacturing
ZHAO Xinshun;ZHANG Xiaowan;Understanding the spatio-temporal evolution of the collaborative agglomeration between producer services and manufacturing, hereinafter referred to as collaborative agglomeration between the two industries, is crucial for regional coordinated development, for upgrading the industrial structure and building a modern industrial system.A theoretical analytical framework based on the vertical linkage model, incorporating three sectors and two regions, is constructed, and a novel industrial collaborative agglomeration index-Coagg index-is proposed to measure the collaborative agglomeration the two industries in 284 prefecture-level and above cities in China from 2004 to 2021.Subsequently, statistical methods such as Moran's I,Dagum Gini coefficient, kernel density estimation, and Markov chain are used to analyze the spatio-temporal characteristics, regional differences and dynamic evolutionary patterns of collaborative agglomeration between the two industries.The study reveals the following: First, the overall level of collaborative agglomeration between the two industries in China has not yet reached a high level of development and shows a downward trend.Second, clear echelon characteristics are observed across different regions and urban size levels, with cities like Shenzhen and Dalian taking the leading roles.Third, spatial aggregation characteristics are prominent, mainly dominated by “low-low” and “high-high” aggregation types.Fourth, the overall regional differences have expanded, and the super-variable density and intra-regional differences are the main causes of the overall regional difference.Fifth, in terms of the dynamic evolution of distributions, kernel density estimation reveals patterns of bipolar or multipolar differentiation at both national and regional levels; Markov chain results show that being adjacent to high-level regions can increase the probability of local medium-low level and medium-high level regionals transferring to higher levels, while being adjacent to low-level regions inhibits the transition of local low-level industries to higher levels.Based on these findings, policy recommendations are proposed in four key areas, including developing industrial agglomeration demonstration zones, narrowing regional disparities, enhancing spatial spillover effects, and emphasizing geographic proximity, in order to provide decision-making references to support the high-quality collaborative agglomeration development of producer services and manufacturing.
Research on the Spatiotemporal Evolution and Development Obstacles of New Quality Productive forces's Ecological Environment
XU Hao;FENG Tao;Accelerating the cultivation of new quality productivity is the key to China's current economic transformation and upgrading, and optimizing the ecological environment for the development of new quality productive forces is the prerequisite for accelerating the cultivation of new quality productive forces.Firstly, based on the connotation of the Marxist concept of productive forces, this paper analyzes the ecological environment factors of the development of new quality productive forces from the perspective of innovation value chain.Then, an evaluation index system for the ecological environment of new quality productive forces is constructed from five dimensions: organizational competition, factor input, development output, market environment and policy incentives.Using data from 30 mainland provinces in China from 2013 to 2022 as samples, entropy weight method, spatial Moran index, and obstacle degree model are used for analysis.The results show that the overall ecological environment level of China's new quality productive forces is on the rise, with the eastern region significantly better than the central and western regions, and the northeast region deteriorating year by year; In 2022,Guangdong, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang ranked among the top three, while Qinghai had the fastest development with an average annual growth rate of 4.496%;The eight major economic zones have significant differences, showing a trend of relative convergence and absolute divergence, with the Northwest Economic Zone optimizing the fastest; The south is significantly better than the north, showing a relative and absolute dual trend of development between the north and the south; There is significant spatial agglomeration in the ecological environment of inter provincial new quality productive forces, with spatial agglomeration characteristics transitioning in provinces and cities such as Beijing, Hunan, and Jiangxi.The main obstacles to optimizing the ecological environment of new quality productive forces have shifted from insufficient infrastructure in 2013 to insufficient talent investment in 2022.Talent investment has become the main obstacle to the development of the eastern, central, and western regions, while the administrative environment is the main obstacle to the development of the Northeastern region.There are significant differences in regional and inter provincial obstacles, which need to be overcome according to local conditions.Finally, it is recommended to optimize the ecological environment according to local conditions by optimizing the talent ecology, improving the policy ecology, and enhancing the market ecology, in order to accelerate the formation of new quality productive forces.
Digital Infrastructure Construction and Coordinated Development of Urban “Carbon Reduction, Pollution Reduction, Green Expansion and Growth”
XIN Chongchong;LUO Yangfan;ZHONG Shunbin;Accelerating the construction of digital infrastructure is an important foundation for realizing the coordinated development of the urban “carbon reduction, pollution reduction, green expansion and growth”.On the basis of theoretical explanation of the coordinated development of urban digital infrastructure construction in promoting urban “carbon reduction, pollution reduction, green expansion and growth”,using the panel data of 282 cities at or above the prefecture level from 2006 to 2021,and based on the quasi-nature of “Broadband China” strategic demonstration city, this paper empirically investigates the role of digital infrastructure construction in promoting urban “carbon reduction, pollution reduction, green expansion and growth” by using DID method.The research finds that: firstly, the construction of urban digital infrastructure is helpful to promote the coordinated development of “reducing carbon, reducing pollution, green expansion and growth”,and this conclusion still holds after a series of robustness tests and discussions on endogenous issues.Second, the construction of digital infrastructure has a stronger role in promoting the coordinated development of “carbon reduction, pollution reduction, green expansion and growth” in the eastern region, cities with high degree of cooperation, cities with good economic conditions and cities with high Internet level.Third, digital infrastructure construction promotes the coordinated development of “reducing carbon, reducing pollution, green expansion and growth” by promoting green technology innovation, strengthening environmental regulation and increasing government environmental protection expenditure.In this regard, it is suggested to continue to strengthen the construction of urban digital infrastructure and promote the development of digital economy; Adopt differentiated measures to advance the development of the digital economy in light of conditions; Enhance the breadth and depth of urban digital application, so that it can effectively promote the coordinated development of “carbon reduction, pollution reduction, green expansion and growth” in cities for a long time.
Enterprise Digital Transformation, Supply Chain Spillover Effect and Employment Stabilization
HU Lei;WU Qiang;JIANG Zhener;Employment is the foundation of peoples livelihood, which bears on social stability and economic development.In the context of the booming development of the digital economy, digital transformation has not only emerged as a key path for enterprises to enhance competitiveness, but also has a profound impact on the job market.By improving production efficiency and expanding market size, digital transformation of enterprises can enhance their capacity to absorb employment.As collaboration within industrial and supply chains continues to gain importance, enterprises along the chain establish financial and business connections through their input-output relationships.Consequently, decisions made by one enterprise are transmitted to others along the chain, giving rise to supply chain spillover effects.Therefore, it is worth exploring whether the employment effects of digital transformation of enterprises can spill over along the supply chain.Using data from Chinese A-share listed companies from 2009 to 2022,this study empirically examines the impact and mechanism of digital transformation of suppliers on the labor employment scale client firms.It is found that digital transformation of suppliers significantly expands the scale of employment in clients.Mechanism tests indicate three primary channels: improving clients' financial conditions, enlarging clients' production scale, and enhancing clients' market competitiveness.Heterogeneity analyses reveal notable differences across contexts.The employment expansion effect weakens when clients firms have higher levels routine task intensity or greater overstaffing, but is more pronounced among labor-intensive clients.The spillover is stronger when suppliers and clients operate in different industries or regions, and when clients are state-owned, high-growth, or high-productivity firms.The effect is also more prominent for clients located in regions with higher labor-market integration or those in Eastern China.The conclusion of this study provides a theoretical basis and empirical evidence to clarify the impact mechanism of supplier's digital transformation on the labor employment scale of clients.In light of this, four policy suggestions are proposed: accelerate the promotion of enterprises digital transformation, play the “multiplier” role of employment; strengthen the linkage effect of industrial and supply chains, improve the modernization level of industrial and supply chains; play the employment creation effect of digital transformation, prevent and resolve the impact of employment substitution; formulate differentiated support policies, and promote the effective linkage between digital transformation and stable employment.These suggestions provide important policy implications for promoting the deep integration of the real economy and digital economy, enhancing the modernization level of industrial and supply chains, and stabilizing and expanding employment scale.
Research on the Impact of Digital Government on Green Innovation
GUO Xiaoxu;ZHANG Rao;With the development of the digital economy and the advancement of Chinese-style modernization, government functions are changing to digitalization and big data application, and exerting the green effect of digital government has become a new driving force for promoting sustainable socio-economic development.Based on the data of A-share listed enterprises in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2008 to 2022,this study constructs a difference-in-differences(DID) model to explore the impact of digital government on corporate green innovation by using the pilot policy of information-enabled cities as a quasi-natural experiment.It further tests the mechanism of digital government's effect on corporate green innovation and the difference of its effect through the mechanism effect test and the group regression examination.It is found that digital government can significantly promote corporate green innovation.The mechanism is examined from the perspective of “society-enterprise-government”.At the level of internal corporate governance mechanism, digital government can promote corporate green innovation by promoting corporate digital transformation, reducing corporate transaction costs, and inhibiting corporate R&D manipulation.At the level of external regulatory environment mechanism, it is found that digital government can promote corporate green innovation by increasing public awareness of environmental protection which enhancing environmental protection, and improving the environmental protection of the environment which expands new kinetic space for the enhancement of corporate green innovation by improving public environmental awareness and enhancing environmental enforcement.The heterogeneity test finds that the promotion of corporate green innovation by digital government is more obvious in enterprises with higher attention to digital information, enterprises in highly marketized regions, and non-state-owned enterprises.The findings help to comprehensively evaluate the environmental governance effects of digital government development, and provide policy insights for the in-depth implementation of the pilot strategy of information-enabled cities and the leading role of digital government in corporate green innovation.