Abstract

Supported by new statistical series on stocks of physical capital and of human capital built for the occasion, this article attempts to improve the explanation of China’s economic growth in the long term. It begins by presenting the original databases that will be used later, emphasising the construction methods of different stocks of physical capital (Part 1) and stocks of human capital (Part 2) for China in the period from 1952 to 2012. It then offers econometric estimates made within the framework of a broad range of theoretical models, ranging from standard or augmented Solowian specifications until more or less sophisticated linearised formalisations of endogenous growth, with research-and-development (R&D) indicators, in order to clarify the question of the factors that contribute to the long-term Chinese GDP growth (Part 3).