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Productivity assessment of the real estate industry in China: a DEA-Malmquist index

Xiao-xiao Liu (University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China) (Institutes of Science and Development, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China)
Hui-hui Liu (University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China) (Institutes of Science and Development, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China)
Guo-liang Yang (University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China) (Institutes of Science and Development, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China)
Jiao-feng Pan (University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China) (Institutes of Science and Development, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China)

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management

ISSN: 0969-9988

Article publication date: 21 December 2021

Issue publication date: 4 April 2023

566

Abstract

Purpose

The high-quality development of the real estate industry is crucial to the transformation of China's economy. However, few studies apply the productivity to explore the development path of the real estate industry in China. To fill this gap, this study mainly investigates the total factor productivity (TFP) of the real estate industry of 30 sample provinces in mainland China from 2007 to 2016.

Design/methodology/approach

The Malmquist index is applied to estimate the productivity (i.e. TFP) of the real estate industry, based on the data envelopment analysis (DEA). Then, the truncated tobit regression analysis explores the external influencing factors on the TFP of the real estate industry.

Findings

Through empirical analysis, it is found that the high-quality development of the real estate industry depends on the technological innovation by the real estate enterprises and the targeted policies by the provincial government. Moreover, the development of the real estate industry has a positive correlation with the growth of China's economy but a negative correlation with the development of other industries.

Practical implications

TFP mainly reveals the development status of the provincial real estate industry and identifies the driving force for exploring the high-quality development mode of the real estate sector. Furthermore, the fluctuation rule of TFP can be applied to predict the development trend of the real estate industry in the future.

Originality/value

As an application, this study measures the TFP of the Chinese real estate industry in different provinces and periods. The results have meaningful policy implications for policymakers regulating the real estate industry.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the support of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 71671181). The authors would like to thank the editor of Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management and two anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments and suggestions.

Conflicts of interest: The author declares there is no conflict of interest regarding the publication of this paper.

Citation

Liu, X.-x., Liu, H.-h., Yang, G.-l. and Pan, J.-f. (2023), "Productivity assessment of the real estate industry in China: a DEA-Malmquist index", Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, Vol. 30 No. 3, pp. 1243-1270. https://doi.org/10.1108/ECAM-07-2020-0561

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited

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