THE CHANGE IN PRODUCTIVITY OF CHINESE STATE ENTERPRISES, 1983-1987

This study estimates the change in productivity of Chinese state enter prises during 1983-1987 using a panel data set of 403 firms. A new app roach to productivity measurement is used. Under this approach, the pr oduction functions can differ arbitrarily across firms, important give n the heterogeneity of the sample. The resulting coefficients estimate the marginal products of each factor as well as overall productivity growth. The results suggest Chinese productivity increased by 4.6% per year, with about half of this growth due to the rapidly improving edu cation of the labor force.