This study investigates the effects of a household head’s participation in wage work on farm productivity in China. To this end, we use a Chinese household income survey from 2002, which includes 4,391 households in 22 provinces, autonomous regions, and directly administered municipalities. For this data set, we estimate stochastic production frontiers (SPF) separately for farm households whose head is a wage worker (households with a wage worker) and those whose head is not a wage worker (households without a wage worker). After estimating SPF for each group of households, we compare the deterministic production frontiers and technical efficiency. The empirical results for the eastern and central regions show that typical households with a wage worker tend to have lower farm productivity because of their lower technical efficiency. This lower technical efficiency is due to their smaller farm land. To improve technical efficiency in these regions, the government should try to make the land market more active and allow farm households to expand their land. The empirical results for the western region show that typical households with a wage worker may have higher farm productivity because of their higher technical efficiency. This higher technical efficiency is due to better education of the household head and better utilization of farming knowledge and family members. However, the higher technical efficiency depends on more farm work being carried out by women and the elderly, which might not be sustainable in the future. To address this concern, the government should encourage farmers to use more farm machinery and newer varieties of crops so that their production frontier can shift upward.

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R&D (research and development) activities have historically played a major role in strengthening companies’ growth and competitiveness. A study of the R&D activities of firms in China, as well as the determinants of these activities, is important, because transforming the country’s industrial structure is required for the economic development of labor-intensive industries that depend on low-wage labor. This study uses the panel Tobit model to analyze firm-level panel data on manufacturing firms above a certain size in China, gathered between 2004 and 2007. Using this model, this study analyzed the factors that affect these firms’R&D investment. The main results are as follows. First, in terms of financial factors, middle-small and non-public (i.e., private, etc.) firms face financial constraints. Second, export activities have a positive effect on R&D investment in local firms, especially private firms, but have no effect on foreign firms and HMT (Hong Kong, Macao Taiwan) firms. Third, an increase in profit and number of years of operation are also important factors. Finally, it is revealed that foreign and HMT firms invest less in R&D, while larger firms invest more in R&D in China.

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