Understanding PRC investment statistics

Carsten Holz

China Economic Review, 2020, vol. 61, issue C

Abstract: Investment statistics of the People's Republic of China are a source of much consternation. Fixed asset investment, a concept originating in the planned economy, comes with severe limitations. While detailed sector, ownership, and other data are available, data coverage changes continuously over time, data quality is a problem, and the concept itself is hardly appropriate for economic analysis today. Gross fixed capital formation, an alternative investment measure based on the national accounts, may be more appropriate for economic analysis but the production of these data is shrouded in mystery and only the most aggregate data are available. No matter which measure of investment one chooses, the researcher or policy-maker faces a veritable minefield of data issues that this paper helps navigate.

Keywords: Fixed asset investment; Gross fixed capital formation; Newly increased fixed assets; National accounts; Chinese statistics; Data falsification (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:chieco:v:61:y:2020:i:c:s1043951x20300584

DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2020.101461

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