Re-estimation of China's Regional Total Factor Productivity Growth under Environment Regulation:1998—2008

Applying Sequential Malmquist-Luenberger(SML) productivity index,this paper measured China's provincial total factor productivity(TFP) growth under environment regulation from 1998 to 2008.The major conclusions were as follows: Firstly,China's economic growth mostly depended on the increase of inputs,technical progress was the driving force of productivity improvement,and the technical efficiency was on a downward trend.Secondly,the TFP growth in the northern coast regions,the eastern coast regions,the middle reaches of Yangtze River,and the southwest area were on an upward trend,yet in the southern coast,the middle reaches of Yellow River,the northwest and the northeast regions were on a downward trend.Thirdly,the growth of TFP under environment regulation has been in an upward trend since 2005,which indicated that China's environment policies promulgated in recent years had played active roles in solving environmental problems and promoting changes in the mode of economic growth.Lastly,there existed a U-type relationship between per capita income and TFP index,the economy openness,the proportion of large enterprise in the industrial structure had positive effect on TFP growth,yet the energy intensity,proportion of state-owned enterprises in the industrial structure had negative effect.