Productivity Of The Green Connotation

How to measure the development of productivity is always one of the main concerns for economists. Traditionally, labor productivity is the basic instrument, however, which induces substituting capital for labor. On the other hand, it brings about the overuse of natural resources because the production function doesn't include the factors of environment and natural resource. Recently, the academia suggests that the resource productivity be a good substitute for labor productivity, but the notion can't be practiced in a feasible way. The reason is that no indicator has been found to denote the collective consumption of natural resources. Therefore, the only way is to estimate the productivity of energy,land,water,materials individually. This paper regards the ecological footprint as the comprehensive indicator of natural resource to measure the resource productivity. It is of great significance to carrying out the Scientific Concept of Development.The economists have made great efforts and obtain the obvious progress. Usually, they treat the energy land minerals as the natural resource input. However, its limitation is also obvious. If no comprehensive indicator is found to represent the input of natural resources, we would not measure the utility efficiency. So, it is a difficulty to integrate all kinds of natural resources into one indicator and cannot be overcome in a short time because the conception of natural resource can be extended and its classification is complicated. On the other hand, many economists use the methods of "shadow price","green GDP" to avoid the dilemma. But the question does not diminish.This paper believes the ecological footprint ( EF ) method presents a methodologically simple but integrated frame work for national natural accounting of capital, which is capable of measuring the impact of Human's consumption on ecosystem. Through the introduction of the ecological productive area to realize the integrated of natural resources, the ecological footprint can measure the consumption of natural resources comprehensively. Therefore, EF can represent the input of all kinds of natural resources in the production function in some way.Moreover, the concept and calculating method based on the EF accord with the mainstream economic principles. Many economists believe the productivity is "the ratio of input and output" or "the ratio of production and the used resources". In fact, the new method of calculating productivity is the ratio of input(EF)and output(GDP) in my paper and the aim is to calculate the efficiency of productive action. So, the author believes that the new method accords not only with the notion of productivity but also with the concept of efficiency. At the same time, the calculation results prove the basic judgement above mentioned and provide the data evidence for the inefficient economic action in our country.Finally, the paper points out that the productivity calculation based on ecological footprint is of rationality according to traditional economics. Therefore, its application can be extend.Compared to the former studies on productivity, this paper features the following aspects of innovation.First, when economists are confronted with the difficulty in measuring all kinds of natural resources in one indicator, this paper regards the ecological footprint as the natural resources and assigns with it the economic connotation, which acts as an integrated indicator to represent the natural resource. The paper achieves a success of extending the research field and overcoming the difficulty of natural resource measuring. So, the attempt is of good rationality in the angle of input factor.Second, in fact, the conception of EF is also misuse which causes its to the application confined and prevents the related research from going deeper. So, this paper attempts to introduce the EF to Economics and the production function of economic growth especially. Consequently, assigning the EF with economic meaning constitutes one innovation of this paper. And this paper's work on extending EF's application will become a hot research field of EF in the future.Third, this paper has calculated the resource productivity and total factors productivity including natural resource during the period of 1978-2004. The results indicate; first, in terms of the resource productivity, there exists a gap between China and the developed countries, especially compared with Japan Switzerland and Norway etc.. Second, the natural resource and capital contribution to growth for 80% and presents the trend of increase year by year, even the figure reached 100% in some years. Third, the contribution of labor is smaller than others. In general, labor's contribution not only is smaller but also shows the trend of decrease year by year, which indicates the current capital-intensive pattern of economic growth excluding the labor and opportunity of employment and overusing the natural resource.Since, the new method's results can support the argument that national resources are inefficiently utilized in China. The author believes: on one hand, the new method based on the EF is of good rationality and applicability; on the other hand, on the background of Scientific Concept of Development, the notion of productivity based on the EF will have a good future and be of greater importance.