By Li Weiming and Gao Shiji, Research Team on “Environmental Regulation, Productivity Improvement and Green Development”, Institute of Resources and Environment Policies, DRC

Research Report, No.76, 2018 (Total 5351) 2018-5-2

Abstract: Under the background of increasingly inflexible pressure of the resource and environment on economic growth, it is more scientific to measure the quality of growth of an economy by using the indicator of green total factor productivity. This report provides a systematic introduction to the OECD's green total factor productivity accounting framework and its main conclusions. The results show that in the past two decades, many OECD countries have achieved economic growth by increasing productivity, while the economic growth of the BRIICS countries has been relying more on the continued increase in factor inputs. For countries that achieve economic growth by relying heavily on resource consumption or on serious-pollution industries, the productivity contribution tend to be overestimated; while for countries that focus on investing in the efficient use of resources or on pollution reduction, the productivity contribution is underestimated. Given that the emission of pollutants continues to decrease in most OECD countries, their economic growth rate should be adjusted upwards, while the growth rate of those countries with higher emission of pollutants should be adjusted downwards. To achieve high-quality development, China must pay close attention to green total factor productivity, strengthen international cooperation in research, improve related statistical systems, and construct a green total factor productivity accounting system with Chinese characteristics.

Key words: green total factor productivity, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), accounting framework, main conclusions