Green TFP Heterogeneity in the Ports of China’s Pilot Free Trade Zone under Environmental Constraints

In the context of China’s Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ), ports have a new opportunity to realize high-quality development. Based on the analysis of the current situation of pollutant emissions from ports in China’s Pilot Free Trade Zones (FTZs), this paper introduces environmental factors into the analysis framework of the total factor productivity (TFP) of ports in China’s FTZs, and uses the Global Malmquist–Luenberger index method to analyze the evolution trend and heterogeneity of green TFP in 28 ports of China’s 19 FTZs from 2011 to 2017. The results show that firstly, the emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOX) and other pollutants in China’s FTZs have been decreasing year by year. Secondly, both the green TFP and the traditional TFP of the ports in FTZs are on the rise. The absence of environmental factors leads to the underestimation of the TFP of ports. For the green TFP, the main source of its growth is technological progress. Thirdly, there is obvious port heterogeneity in the green TFP of FTZ ports. Nanjing Port has the highest green TFP growth rate, with an average annual growth rate of 21.95%. Ningbo Port, which ranks 14th, has an average annual growth rate of 5.46%. Fuzhou Port, which is rated last, has negative growth. Fourthly, there is also obvious types and regional heterogeneity in the green TFP of FTZ ports. When categorized by type, the average annual growth rate of green TFP in inland ports is significantly higher than that of coastal ports. When categorized by region, the descending order of the average annual growth rate of green TFP is the western region, the eastern region and the central region. Fifthly, the green TFP differences among the eastern, central, and western regions, as well as between inland ports and coastal ports, are shrinking. Moreover, the green TFP differences within inland ports and coastal ports and within central ports and eastern ports are also shrinking, implying there may be σ convergence. The conclusions of this paper have important implications for the scientific understanding of the heterogeneity of green TFP growth in ports in China’s FTZs, and how to promote the green development of ports in China’s FTZs under environmental constraints.

R&D Innovation Adoption, Climatic Sensitivity, and Absorptive Ability Contribution for Agriculture TFP Growth in Pakistan

Innovation adoptions in agriculture sustain high total factor productivity (TFP) growth and overcome a potential production gap, which is beneficial for food security. Research and development (R&D) innovation adoption in agriculture sector is dependent on producers’ willingness to adopt, knowledge capital spillovers, and financial capacity. This research aims to investigate the impact of R&D innovation adoption and climate factors on agriculture TFP growth in Pakistan. The annual time series data were collected from different sources for the period of 1972–2020. For measuring the agriculture TFP, this study adopted the Cobb Douglas and Translog production functions. To analyze the impact of R&D innovation adoption and climate change on agricultural productivity, the dynamic autoregressive distributive lag (ARDL) and two-stage least square (TSLS) approaches were applied for regression analysis. The study outcomes highlight that the agricultural innovation adoption has a significantly positive impact on agriculture TFP growth in Pakistan with weak farmers’ absorptive ability. According to the results, agriculture tractors, innovative seed distribution, and fertilizer consumptions make a significantly positive contribution to agriculture TFP growth. Further, rainfall shows a positive and significant impact on agricultural productivity, where a moderate climate is beneficial for agricultural productivity. The estimation results contain policy suggestions for sustainable R&D adoption and agrarians’ absorptive ability. Based on the obtained results, it has been suggested that producers should focus on R&D innovation adoption to attain higher productivity. The government needs to emphasize innovative technology adoption, specifically to implement the extension services to increase farmers’ education, skills based training, and networking among the farmers to enhance their knowledge capital and absorptive ability. The farmers should also focus on the adoption of climate smart agriculture that can be achieved through the proper utilization of rainwater. For this purpose, the government needs to develop small community dams and large-scale dams for better use of rainwater harvesting.

Has mobile phone technology aided the growth of agricultural productivity in sub-Saharan Africa?

Background: A recent increase in the adoption of mobile phone technology generated a great deal of interest and optimism regarding its effect on economic development in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), particularly on the enhancement of agricultural development.Aim: In this study the impact of mobile phone technology on agricultural productivity in SSA is examined.Setting: The empirical assessment uses a panel data set covering 41 countries over a period of 25 years.Methods: We employed an econometric approach and panel data covering 41 countries and a 25 year-period (1990–2014) to investigate the effect of the adoption of mobile phone technology and other socio-economic variables on agricultural total factor productivity (TFP). The use of regression analyses allowed us to estimate and measure the contribution of certain variables to agricultural TFP growth in SSA.Results: The results show that the uptake of mobile phone technology had a positive effect on agricultural TFP growth in SSA.Conclusion: Mobile phone technology has been established to be one of the drivers of agricultural productivity in SSA.Implication: The implications of this study are that governments, NGOs, and businesses working on improving agricultural productivity and food security in SSA need to continue endorsing mobile technology as a means to improve agricultural productivity.

Productive Contribution of Public Spending and Human Capital in Developing Countries Revisited: The Role of Trade Openness

This study examines the catalytic role of trade openness in the relationships between human capital and public spending and total factor productivity (TFP) growth in 44 developing countries over the 1980–2014 period. Applying various estimation techniques to deal with autocorrelation, heteroscedasticity and cross-section dependence, the study finds that (a) the effect of human capital on TFP is nonlinear, (b) government consumption positively affects TFP but military spending is a negative factor and (c) trade openness significantly improves the positive influences of these factors on TFP. The results imply the important role of trade liberalisation in productivity evolution in developing countries. JEL Codes: F43, H52, O47

Technology Adoption and Learning-by-Doing: The Case of Bt Cotton Adoption in China

Although the benefits of genetically modified (GM) crops have been well documented, how do farmers manage the risk of new technology in the early stages of technology adoption has received less attention. We compare the total factor productivity (TFP) of cotton to other major crops (wheat, rice, and corn) in China between 1990 and 2015, showing that the TFP growth of cotton production is significantly different from all other crops. In particular, the TFP of cotton production increased rapidly in the early 1990s then declined slightly around 2000 and rose again. This pattern coincides with the adoption of Bt cotton process in China. To further investigate the decline of TFP in the early stages of Bt cotton adoption, using aggregate provincial-level data, we implement a TFP decomposition and show that the productivity of GM technology is higher, whereas the technical efficiency of GM technology is lower than that of traditional technologies. Especially, Bt cotton exhibited lower technical efficiency because farmers did not reduce the use of pesticide when they first started to adopt Bt cotton. In addition, we illustrate the occurrence of a learning process as GM technology diffuses throughout China: after farmers gain knowledge of Bt cotton, pesticide use declines and technical efficiency improves.

Trends in Productivity Growth of Indian Pharmaceutical Industry: A Growth Accounting Analysis

The pharmaceutical industry of India is one of the most rapidly expanding research-based industries of Indian manufacturing. This paper attempts to examine the trends in partial and total factor productivity (TFP) growth of India’s pharmaceutical industry using industry-level time series data covering a period of 25 years from 1993-94 to 2017-18, which is further divided into pre-product and post-product patent periods. Three alternative indices of growth accounting approach viz., Translog, Solow, and Kendrick have been used to measure the growth of total factor productivity with four input production framework. The study results indicate significant increasing trends in capital intensity as well as labour, energy and material productivity and a significant declining trend in capital productivity over the entire study period. This study also finds a positive turnaround in the TFP growth of Indian’s pharmaceutical industry during the post-product patent era. The decomposition analysis confirms that output growth in the pharmaceutical industry is input-driven rather than productivity-driven as TFP growth contributes only 8.5 percent to the observed output growth. From the policy standpoint, this paper also suggests greater emphasis on resource efficiency by improving the quality of factor inputs, particularly capital, through increased R&D activities and adoption of cutting-edge technology.

An Investigation into the Channel of Public Expenditure to Boost Industrial Productivity in Pakistan

It is a fact that public expenditure has a strong association with industrial productivity. The industrial sector recorded slow growth of 5.43%, which adds 20.90% to the GDP of Pakistan (2017-2018). This study aims to find the effects of public expenditure on Total Factor Productivity (TFP) in the industrial sector of the country. The study constructed two different models. In the first model, the study used time series data from 1975 to 2018, and the growth of adjusted TFP was calculated by the growth accounting method. In the second model, the study collected data from 1977 to 2018 and checked the impact of government expenditure on the TFP growth in the industry. The unit root tests, Ordinary Least Square (OLS), and Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) were employed. The findings of the study revealed that public expenditures on education were significant and positively related to TFP growth in industries. Public expenditure on health, agriculture, and inflation had a significant and positive association with TFP growth in the industries. Foreign direct investment had a negative but significant impact on TFP growth. The results of the present study suggest that industrial productivity can be increased by increasing the expenditure on education and health.