Abstract:

Economist Angus Maddison is famous for his exploring the revision of economic statistical data, including China’s GDP data since the 1990s. This is a useful work. Maddison has revised China's GDP data from multiple angles, including the revision of China's non-material service sector GDP data. Maddison assumed that the non-material service sector in China has had a zero scientific and technological progress rate since the 1990s, while based on the data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the rate of scientific and technological progress in the non-material service sector should be big. Maddison's assumptions have led to a significant reduction in China's GDP data, and thus China's economic growth rate has dropped significantly. This paper argues that the high-tech progress rate of the non-material service sector-led and promoted by information technology is not only possible but also very likely, so China’s GDP data is credible in general, and of course, some small deviations and inaccuracies existed in China statistical GDP is understandable and acceptable.