The 18th “Theory and Policy” at RUC NADS

What You Import Matters: Capital versus Intermediate Goods

Speaker: Professor QIU Dongxiao

Associate Dean of Faculty of Business and Economics, the University of Hong Kong and President of Hong Kong Economic Association

Moderator：LIU Qing

Professor of National Academy of Development and Strategy, Renmin University of China

Time：  Nov.26, 2018 (Monday) 14:00-15:30

Venue：Meeting Room 815, Chongde Building West Wing (Keyan Building Block A）

Abstract：

International sourcing is a strong driving force for firm productivity growth. In this paper, we compare the distinct productivity effects of importing capital and intermediate inputs. Using a large dataset of Chinese manufacturing firms, we show that although accounting for only one-sixths of the total input imports, capital imports contribute more than 50% of the productivity gains from international sourcing. While both types of imports exert immediate effects on productivity, capital imports also have strong dynamic productivity and R&D-inducing effects. We find that 25% of the productivity gains from capital imports are due to the dynamic effects. The findings of this paper bear clear implications for the structure of tariff liberalizations.

Speaker profile：

Professor Qiu Dongxiao is currently Associate Dean (teaching and learning) of Faculty of Business and Economics, the University of Hong Kong. He is also the founding President of China International Trade Research Association and President of Hong Kong Economic Association. Professor Qiu once served as Distinguished Visiting Professor of Tsinghua University, Sun Yat-Sen University, Shenzhen University, and Kobe University and Visiting Fellow of Hong Kong Institute for Monetary Research.

Professor Qiu’s main research fields are industrial organization, international trade and foreign direct investment. He is a quite fruitful researcher and has repeatedly received research funds from the Hong Kong Research Grants Council. Meanwhile, he has published more than 50 papers in international leading academic journals and written many works. He has made extraordinary achievements in research areas including strategic international trade policies and research on global outsourcing, etc. Professor Qiu has been teaching for many years, winning near-unanimous backing from his students, including undergraduates, postgraduates and students in MBA, EMBA and senior management training. Besides, He has also won many outstanding teaching awards from the University of Hong Kong and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.