(Economics School , Southweat Minzu University, Sichuan Chengdu)
Abstract: Through transforming the traditional shift-share composition to annual growth rates, this paper examines influences of structural change of provinces in China on growth rate of economy-wide productivity and its fluctuations since 1978. Our main findings are as follows: (1) Respective contributions of the within and structural components to overall productivity growth per annum are 85% and 15% on average; (2) Differential patterns of structural change account for the bulk of the difference in regional growth rates; (3) Productivity growth in industry accounts for the half of economy-wide productivity growth across provinces on average, whereas productivity in services growing slowly explains the half of low-growth provinces’ performances; (4) Structural change effects of all provinces diminish over time, however, it is within-sector productivity-especially productivity in industry-growing slowly that caused growth slowdowns across provinces.
Key words: Structural Transformation; Shift-Share Composition; Labor Productivity; Growth Slowdowns