Work

Physical Capital, Human Capital, and Social Capital: The Changing Roles in C hina's Economic Growth

Year: 2014

Type: article

Abstract: This paper examines the roles of physical capital, human capital, and social capital in China's economic growth during the reform period 1981–2010. Empirical estimation confirms that physical capital and human capital contribute to the economic growth, probably due to the capital accumulation and the improvement of labor productivity. The impact of social capital turns from being insignificant in the 1980s and the 1990s to be positive in the 2000s, suggesting its rising importance in recent decades. A declining role of physical capital in the economic growth in China from 1990s to 2000s is also found. The findings hold for several additional robustness checks, including focusing on longer term determinants of the economic growth, subregional analysis, and endogeneity. Furthermore, the foreign direct investment inflows and adjustment of economic ownership structure are also important for economic growth in China.

Source: Growth and Change

DOI: 10.1111/grow.12084

Authors: Yuheng Li, Xun Wang, Hans Westlund, Yansui Liu

Institutions: Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research

Language: English

Topic: Economic Growth and Productivity

Subfield: Economics and Econometrics

Field: Economics, Econometrics and Finance

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Decent work and economic growth

Open Access status: green

Funder: National Natural Science Foundation of China