| dc.description.abstract | This dissertation investigates the determinants of economic growth in China since 1978, with a
focus on the determinants of spatial growth. A study of the theories of economic growth shows
that both proximate and fundamental factors can contribute to economic growth. In the case of
China, institutional changes are the keys to the Chinese transitional economy. Given the special
nature of China's economy, the main institutional reforms since 1978 are examined, together
with the gradual transition process.
Furthermore, from the overview of empirical literature, it is found that the proximate
determinants such as initial gross domestic product (GDP), investment, population growth,
human capital and openness are determinants of economic growth in China based on the findings
in cross-country growth literature. From growth accounting exercises, capital formation and total
factor productivity (TFP) growth can be seen to play important roles in the rapid economic
growth in China.
However, while the nationwide economic growth is impressive, the pace of reform and economic
development has been uneven across provinces. In the existing literature, geography and
preferential policy are emphasised as particular factors that affect coastal-interior disparity. This
study incorporates the economic variables identified as important stimulants to growth, drawing
on major findings in the study of convergence and economic growth to estimate the determinants
of regional economic growth in China. To address the weaknesses of using ordinary least squares
(OLS) for cross-country regression analyses, fixed-effects ordinary least squares (OLS) and
random-effects generalised least squares (GLS) panel data estimators are applied to provincial
data from 1994 to 2003. It is concluded that the convergence hypothesis does not hold in China,
and that export, investment, education, foreign direct investment (FDI) growth and coastal
dummy have a positive effect on regional GDP per capita growth in China while population
growth affects the annual growth rate negatively. | |
