An Empirical Analysis for Over-Sophisticated Export and Regional Economic Growth

This paper investigates the hypothesis of export sophistication-led growth in the case of China. Using a panel data covering Chinese provinces and the period between 2003 and 2008, this paper examines whether regional exports with higher sophistication help to increase rates of regional growth. The empirical results reveal a positive relationship between export sophistication and growth in China. And the relationship is found to be driven by the export of coastal provinces.