An Explanation for China’s Economic Growth: Expenditure on R&D Promotes Economic Growth —Based on China’s Provincial Panel Data of 1997-2013

There are so many reasons to explain the China’s economic growth. This paper tries to give a different perspective. This study examines the relationship between expenditure on R&D from government and enterprise and economic growth by using China’s provincial panel data of 1997-2013 with a multiple linear regression. The study finds that there is a strong and positive correlation between expenditure on R&D and economic growth. Moreover, the study has a new finding. Compared to enterprise R&D strong correlation, the correlation between government R&D expenditure and the economic growth is nearly zero. One possibility is that government R&D expenditure is more directed toward basic research, which does not directly promote economic growth. The finding does not imply that government R&D expenditure is not a necessary component for economic growth. Both enterprise and government R&D expenditure are important for economic growth.