Abstract
Does green total factor productivity (GTFP) have an effect on the quality of exported Chinese manufacturing products? In this study, we measure GTFP in Chinese industry from 2005 to 2015 using a model called the slack-based measure–Global Malmquist–Luenberger model. Then, we calculate export quality and empirically examine the relationship and mechanism between them. We find that Chinese GTFP and export quality have both increased. GTFP can effectively drive export product quality, and this relationship is mainly embodied in manufacturing, which is capital-intensive. Additionally, the impact of GTFP on the export product quality is driven primarily through the channels of technological progress and the size of the domestic market. Moreover, only capital investment can play a mutually positive effect with GTFP in joint effects on export quality. Our findings not only fill a gap in existing research, but also shed light on how China can stimulate environmentally sustainable economic development of exports from the perspective of GTFP.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability statement
The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to privacy or ethical restrictions.
Notes
We selected the period from 2004 to 2015 for the following reasons. When we calculated GTFP, we selected industrial wastewater discharged, common industrial solid wastes generated, and industrial waste gas emissions as unexpected output indicators. However, the China Statistical Yearbook of Environment has no statistical data about industrial wastewater discharged and industrial waste gas emissions after 2015. This limits the range of our study sample.
References
Aigner, D., Lovell, C. K., & Schmidt, P. (1977). Formulation and estimation of stochastic frontier production function models. Journal of Econometrics, 6(1), 21–37.
Antonietti, R., & Marzucchi, A. (2014). Green tangible investment strategies and export performance: A firm-level investigation. Ecological Economics, 108, 150–161.
Augier, P., Cadot, O., & Dovis, M. (2013). Imports and TFP at the firm level: The role of absorptive capacity. Canadian Journal of Economics/revue Canadienne D’économique, 46(3), 956–981.
Baker, S. R., Bloom, N., Davis, S. J., & Terry, S. J. (2020). Covid-induced economic uncertainty. No. w26983. National Bureau of Economic Research.
Bastos, P., & Silva, J. (2010). The quality of a firm’s exports: Where you export to matters. Journal of International Economics, 82(2), 99–111.
Bernini, M., Guillou, S., & Bellone, F. (2015). Financial leverage and export quality: Evidence from France. Journal of Banking & Finance, 59, 280–296.
Berry, S., & Waldfogel, J. (2010). Product quality and market size. The Journal of Industrial Economics, 58(1), 1–31.
Bıçakcıoğlu, N., Theoharakis, V., & Tanyeri, M. (2020). Green business strategy and export performance: An examination of boundary conditions from an emerging economy. International Marketing Review, 37(1), 56–75.
Can, M., & Gozgor, G. (2018). Effects of export product diversification on quality upgrading: An empirical study. Journal of International Trade & Economic Development, 27(3), 293–313.
Chai, J. (2023). The impact of green innovation on export quality. Applied Economics Letters, 30(10), 1279–1286.
Charnes, A., Cooper, W. W., & Rhodes, E. (1979). Measuring the efficiency of decision-making units. European Journal of Operational Research, 3(4), 339.
Cheng, Z., & Jin, W. (2020). Agglomeration economy and the growth of green total-factor productivity in Chinese Industry. Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, 101003.
Cheng, Z., & Kong, S. (2022). The effect of environmental regulation on green total-factor productivity in China’s industry. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 94, 106757.
Chung, Y. H., Färe, R., & Grosskopf, S. (1997). Productivity and undesirable outputs: A directional distance function approach. Journal of Environmental Management, 51(3), 229–240.
Crinò, R., & Epifani, P. (2009). Export intensity and productivity. Development Working Papers, 271.
Crinò, R., & Epifani, P. (2012). Productivity, quality and export behaviour. Economic Journal, 122(565), 1206–1243.
Desmet, K., & Parente, S. L. (2010). Bigger is better: Market size, demand elasticity, and innovation. International Economic Review, 51(2), 319–333.
Donnenfeld, S., & Mayer, W. (1987). The quality of export products and optimal trade policy. International Economic Review, 159–174.
Färe, R., & Grosskopf, S. (2010). Directional distance functions and slacks-based measures of efficiency. European Journal of Operational Research, 200(1), 320–322.
Fieler, A. C., Eslava, M., & Xu, D. Y. (2018). Trade, quality upgrading, and input linkages: Theory and evidence from colombia. American Economic Review, 108(1), 109–146.
Fontagné, L., Gaulier, G., & Zignago, S. (2008). Specialization across varieties and North-South competition. Economic Policy, 23(53), 52–91.
Fukuyama, H., & Weber, W. L. (2009). A directional slacks-based measure of technical inefficiency. Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, 43(4), 274–287.
Guo, B., Wang, Y., Zhang, H., Liang, C., Feng, Y., & Hu, F. (2023). Impact of the digital economy on high-quality urban economic development: Evidence from Chinese cities. Economic Modelling, 120, 106194.
Gygli, S., Haelg, F., Potrafke, N., & Sturm, J. E. (2019). The KOF globalisation index–revisited. Review of International Organizations, 14, 543–574.
Hall, B. H. (2022). Patents, innovation, and development. International Review of Applied Economics, 1–26.
Hallak, J. C., & Schott, P. K. (2011). Estimating cross-country differences in product quality. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 126(1), 417–474.
Hausmann, R., Hwang, J., & Rodrik, D. (2007). What you export matters. Journal of Economic Growth, 12, 1–25.
Hayakawa, K., Mukunoki, H., & Yang, C. H. (2020). Liberalization for services FDI and export quality: Evidence from China. Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, 55, 101060.
Hayes, A. F. (2017). Introduction to Mediation, Moderation, and Conditional Process Analysis: A Regression-Based Approach. Guilford.
Henn, C., Papageorgiou, C., Romero, J. M., & Spatafora, N. (2020). Export quality in advanced and developing economies: Evidence from a new data set. IMF Economic Review, 68, 421–451.
Huang, J. T. (2018). Sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions and government spending on environmental protection in China-Evidence from spatial econometric analysis. Journal of Cleaner Production, 175, 431–441.
Huang, J., Cai, X., Huang, S., Tian, S., & Lei, H. (2019). Technological factors and total factor productivity in China: Evidence based on a panel threshold model. China Economic Review, 54, 271–285.
Huang, Y., Sheng, L., & Wang, G. (2021). How did rising labor costs erode China’s global advantage? Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 183, 632–653.
Khan, S. J., Dhir, A., Parida, V., & Papa, A. (2021). Past, present, and future of green product innovation. Business Strategy and the Environment, 30(8), 4081–4106.
Khandelwal, A. (2010). The long and short (of) quality ladders. Review of Economic Studies, 77(4), 1450–1476.
Kim, S., Lim, H., & Park, D. (2009). Imports, exports and total factor productivity in Korea. Applied Economics, 41(14), 1819–1834.
Kongkuah, M., Yao, H., & Yilanci, V. (2022). The relationship between energy consumption, economic growth, and CO2 emissions in China: The role of urbanisation and international trade. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 1–25.
Krugman, P. (1980). Scale economies, product differentiation, and the pattern of trade. American Economic Review, 70(5), 950–959.
Lee, C. C., & Lee, C. C. (2022). How does green finance affect green total factor productivity? Evidence from China. Energy Economics, 107, 105863.
Li, Y., & Chen, Y. (2021). Development of an SBM-ML model for the measurement of green total factor productivity: The case of pearl river delta urban agglomeration. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 145, 111131.
Li, R., Liu, Y., & Bustinza, O. F. (2019). FDI, service intensity, and international marketing agility: The case of export quality of Chinese enterprises. International Marketing Review, 36(2), 213–238.
Li, Y., Wu, Y., Chen, Y., & Huang, Q. (2021). The influence of foreign direct investment and trade opening on green total factor productivity in the equipment manufacturing industry. Applied Economics, 53(57), 6641–6654.
Lin, B., & Chen, Z. (2018). Does factor market distortion inhibit the green total factor productivity in China? Journal of Cleaner Production, 197, 25–33.
Liu, Z., & Xin, L. (2019). Has China’s Belt and Road Initiative promoted its green total factor productivity? Evidence from primary provinces along the route. Energy Policy, 129, 360–369.
Liu, D., Zhu, X., & Wang, Y. (2021). China’s agricultural green total factor productivity based on carbon emission: An analysis of evolution trend and influencing factors. Journal of Cleaner Production, 278, 123692.
Liu, H., Zhang, J., Huang, H., Wu, H., & Hao, Y. (2023). Environmental good exports and green total factor productivity: Lessons from China. Sustainable Development, 31(3), 1681–1703.
Lu, X. H., Jiang, X., & Gong, M. Q. (2020). How land transfer marketization influence on green total factor productivity from the approach of industrial structure? Evidence from China. Land Use Policy, 95, 104610.
Lu, P., Liu, J., Wang, Y., & Ruan, L. (2021). Can industrial agglomeration improve regional green total factor productivity in China? An empirical analysis based on spatial econometrics. Growth and Change, 52(2), 1011–1039.
MacKinnon, D. (2012). Introduction to Statistical Mediation Analysis. Routledge.
Madsen, J. B. (2008). Economic growth, TFP convergence and the world export of ideas: A century of evidence. Scandinavian Journal of Economics, 110(1), 145–167.
Michaely, M. (1984). Trade, Income Levels, and dependence. North-Holland.
Pietrucha, J., & Żelazny, R. (2020). TFP spillover effects via trade and FDI channels. Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, 33(1), 2509–2525.
Ramzan, M., Sheng, B., Shahbaz, M., Song, J., & Jiao, Z. (2019). Impact of trade openness on GDP growth: Does TFP matter? Journal of International Trade & Economic Development, 28(8), 960–995.
Rath, B. N., & Akram, V. (2017). Export diversification and total factor productivity growth in case of South Asian region. Journal of Social and Economic Development, 19(1), 196–210.
Rusiawan, W., Tjiptoherijanto, P., Suganda, E., & Darmajanti, L. (2015). Assessment of green total factor productivity impact on sustainable Indonesia productivity growth. Procedia Environmental Sciences, 28, 493–501.
Shadbegian, R. J., & Gray, W. B. (2005). Pollution abatement expenditures and plant-level productivity: A production function approach. Ecological Economics, 54(2–3), 196–208.
Shang, Y., Lian, Y., Chen, H., & Qian, F. (2023). The impacts of energy resource and tourism on green growth: Evidence from Asian economies. Resources Policy, 81, 103359.
Shao, S., Tian, Z., & Fan, M. (2018). Do the rich have stronger willingness to pay for environmental protection? New evidence from a survey in China. World Development, 105, 83–94.
Shi, B. (2011). Extensive margin, quantity and price in China’s export growth. China Economic Review, 22(2), 233–243.
Song, M., & Wang, S. (2018). Market competition, green technology progress and comparative advantages in China. Management Decision, 56(1), 188–203.
Song, M., Du, J., & Tan, K. H. (2018). Impact of fiscal decentralization on green total factor productivity. International Journal of Production Economics, 205, 359–367.
Tang, J., & Qin, F. (2022). Analyzing the impact of local government competition on green total factor productivity from the factor market distortion perspective: Based on the three stage DEA model. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 1, 1–29.
Tolba, H. E. S. M. (2022). The trade participation of developing countries in the context of the global value chains. Business & Management Review, 13(2), 276–284.
Tone, K. (2001). A slacks-based measure of efficiency in data envelopment analysis. European Journal of Operational Research, 130(3), 498–509.
Wang, W., Rehman, M. A., & Fahad, S. (2022). The dynamic influence of renewable energy, trade openness, and industrialization on the sustainable environment in G-7 economies. Renewable Energy, 198, 484–491.
Weder, R. (2003). Comparative home-market advantage: An empirical analysis of British and American export. Review of World Economics, 139, 220–247.
Wu, J., Xia, Q., & Li, Z. (2022). Green innovation and enterprise green total factor productivity at a micro level: A perspective of technical distance. Journal of Cleaner Production, 334, 131070.
Xia, F., & Xu, J. (2020). Green total factor productivity: A re-examination of quality of growth for provinces in China. China Economic Review, 62, 101454.
Xie, W., & Xue, T. (2020). FDI and improvements in the quality of export products in the Chinese Manufacturing Industry. Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, 56(13), 3106–3116.
Xie, J., Sun, Q., Wang, S., Li, X., & Fan, F. (2020). Does environmental regulation affect export quality? Theory and evidence from China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(21), 8237.
Xing, Z., Huang, J., & Wang, J. (2023). Unleashing the potential: Exploring the nexus between low-carbon digital economy and regional economic-social development in China. Journal of Cleaner Production, 413, 137552.
Xu, B. (2010). The sophistication of exports: Is China special? China Economic Review, 21(3), 482–493.
Xu, J., & Mao, Q. (2018). On the relationship between intermediate input imports and export quality in China. Economics of Transition, 26(3), 429–467.
Yang, F., Yuan, H., & Yi, N. (2022). Natural resources, environment and the sustainable development. Urban Climate, 42, 101111.
Yu, L., Zhao, D., Niu, H., & Lu, F. (2020). Does the belt and road initiative expand China’s export potential to countries along the belt and road? China Economic Review, 60, 101419.
Yu, D., Li, X., Yu, J., & Li, H. (2021). The impact of the spatial agglomeration of foreign direct investment on green total factor productivity of Chinese cities. Journal of Environmental Management, 290, 112666.
Yu, Y., Yamaguchi, K., & Kittner, N. (2022). How do imports and exports affect green productivity? New evidence from partially linear functional-coefficient models. Journal of Environmental Management, 308, 114422.
Zameer, H., Wang, Y., & Yasmeen, H. (2020). Reinforcing green competitive advantage through green production, creativity and green brand image: Implications for cleaner production in China. Journal of Cleaner Production, 247, 119119.
Zhang, D. (2022). Environmental regulation, green innovation, and export product quality: What is the role of greenwashing? International Review of Financial Analysis, 83, 102311.
Zhang, H., & Yang, X. (2016). Intellectual property rights protection and export quality. International Journal of Development Issues, 15(2), 168–180.
Zhou, Y., Xing, X., Fang, K., Liang, D., & Xu, C. (2013). Environmental efficiency analysis of power industry in China based on an entropy SBM model. Energy Policy, 57, 68–75.
Zhu, G., Liu, Y., Wang, L., Sang, L., Zhao, K., Zhang, Z., ... & Qiu, D. (2023). The isotopes of precipitation have climate change signal in arid Central Asia. Global and Planetary Change, 225, 104103.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to the editors and anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and efforts. Our anonymous reviewers provided invaluable suggestions and constructive insights that significantly promoted the quality of our paper. We owe particular thanks to the Editors for their academic excellence and scholarly expertise.
Funding
This research was funded by the National Social Science Fund of China under Grant 22BJL098 and 22&ZD095, and the Social Science Fund of Jiangsu Province under Grant 22EYA002.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
All authors are involved in writing the manuscript and have all proved the submitted form.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
There is no conflict of interest in regard to the content discussed in this article.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Feng, W., Yuan, H. & Chen, Y. The impact of green total factor productivity on export product quality: evidence from china. Environ Dev Sustain (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-024-04591-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-024-04591-9