New Economics Papers
on Efficiency and Productivity
Issue of 2005‒05‒29
eight papers chosen by
  1. Disaggregated Productivity Growth and Technological Progress in the interpretation of Spanish Economic Growth, 1958-1975 By Mª Teresa Sanchis Llopis
  2. Productivity differentials in the U.S. and EU distributive trade sector: Statistical myth or reality? By Timmer, M.P.; Inklaar, R.
  3. Regional differences in productivity growth in the Netherlands: an industry-level growth accounting By Broersma, L.; Dijk, J. van
  4. Cyclical productivity in Europe and the United States, evaluating the evidence on returns to scale and input utilization By Inklaar, R.
  5. Does the European Union need to revive productivity growth? By Ark, Bart van
  6. Productivity differentials in the U.S. and EU distributive trade sector: Statistical myth or reality? By Timmer, M.; Inklaar, R.
  7. How inefficient are small-scale rice farmers in eastern India really?: Examining the effects of microtopography on technical efficiency estimates By Nobuhiko Fuwa; Christopher Edmonds; Pabitra Banik
  8. New evidence of scope economies among lending,deposit-taking, loan commitments and mutual fund activities. By Santiago Carbó Valverde; Francisco Rodríguez Fernández
  1. By: Mª Teresa Sanchis Llopis
    Abstract: Spanish economic records in terms of GDP growth and convergence to European levels in the sixties, provide an excellent opportunity to look at a central question underlying in the interpretation of any process of economic growth. The relevance of industrial specific technological progress is confronted to a general and multifaceted productivity change coming from a variety of sectors and causes. This paper exploits sectoral growth accounting methodology in two different ways in order to answer this crucial question revisited recently by historiography with reference to British Industrial Revolution and to Information and Telecommunications Technologies. First, we calculate TFP growth following the Kendrick approach (1961) and using four input-output tables corresponding to 1958, 1962, 1970 and 1975 disaggregated at 25 productive branches. And Second, we examine the impact of electricity and electric machinery and equipment as a General Purpose Technology (GPT) in Spanish economic growth.
    Date: 2005–05
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cte:dilfrp:dilf0503&r=eff
  2. By: Timmer, M.P.; Inklaar, R. (Groningen University)
    Abstract: In this paper we asses whether productivity growth differentials between the U.S. and Europe in the distributive trade sector are real or mainly a statistical myth. New estimates of retail trade productivity are constructed, taking into account purchase prices of goods sold. We also adjust U.S. wholesale productivity growth for the upward bias due to the use of constant-quality prices of ICT-goods sales. We find that multifactor productivity growth in the U.S. has been higher than in Europe after 1995, but that this lead is smaller than suggested by national accounts based estimates. This finding is robust for various productivity measurement models.
    Date: 2005
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:rugccs:200501&r=eff
  3. By: Broersma, L.; Dijk, J. van (Groningen University)
    Abstract: It is well known that the productivity growth in Europe is slowing down, against an increasing growth rate in the US. The Netherlands is one of countries in Europe with the lowest growth rates of productivity. This paper presents the results of a growth accounting exercise applied to regional industry data of The Netherlands between 1995-2002. We find that low productivity growth in The Netherlands is particularly situated in the economic core regions of the west and south and is caused by slow growth of MFP. Compared to the more peripheral regions, MFP-growth is lower in all industries, except social and non-market services. The high level of traffic congestion and relatively low labour effort in the core regions can explain part of this slow MFP-growth.
    Date: 2005
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:rugccs:200504&r=eff
  4. By: Inklaar, R. (Groningen University)
    Abstract: This paper studies procyclical productivity growth at the industry level in the U.S. and in three European countries (France, Germany and the Netherlands). Industry-specific demand-side instruments are used to examine the prevalence of non-constant returns to scale and unmeasured input utilization. For the aggregate U.S. economy, unmeasured input utilization seems to explain procyclical productivity. However, this correction still leaves one in three U.S. industries with procyclical productivity. This failure of the model can also be seen in Europe and is mostly concentrated in services industries.
    Date: 2005
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:rugggd:200574&r=eff
  5. By: Ark, Bart van (Groningen University)
    Date: 2005
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:rugggd:200575&r=eff
  6. By: Timmer, M.; Inklaar, R. (Groningen University)
    Abstract: In this paper we asses whether productivity growth differentials between the U.S. and Europe in the distributive trade sector are real or mainly a statistical myth. New estimates of retail trade productivity are constructed, taking into account purchase prices of goods sold. We also adjust U.S. wholesale productivity growth for the upward bias due to the use of constant-quality prices of ICT-goods sales. We find that multifactor productivity growth in the U.S. has been higher than in Europe after 1995, but that this lead is smaller than suggested by national accounts based estimates. This finding is robust for various productivity measurement models.
    Date: 2005
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:rugggd:200576&r=eff
  7. By: Nobuhiko Fuwa (Agricultural Economics, Chiba University); Christopher Edmonds (Economics Study Area, East-West Center); Pabitra Banik (Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata, India)
    Abstract: We focus on the impact of failing to control for differences in land types defined along toposequence on estimates of farm technical efficiency for small-scale rice farms in eastern India. In contrast with the existing literature, we find that those farms may be considerably more technically efficient than they appear from more aggregated analysis without such control. Farms planted with modern rice varieties are technically efficient. Furthermore, farms planted with traditional rice varieties operate close to the production frontier on less productive lands (upland and mid-upland), but significant technical inefficiency exists on more productive lands (medium land and lowland).
    JEL: O13 O33 Q12 Q16
    Date: 2005–05
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ewc:wpaper:wp79&r=eff
  8. By: Santiago Carbó Valverde (Department of Economic Theory and Economic History, University of Granada); Francisco Rodríguez Fernández (Department of Economic Theory and Economic History, University of Granada)
    Abstract: Financial innovation and technology affect bank cost, revenue and profits. Most of the previous empirical studies have not found significant cost, profit or revenue scope economies or output pair complementarities either between traditional and non-traditional banking products or between traditional activities themselves. We study scope economies and output pair complementarities in a ‘broad banking’ environment: the Spanish banking sector. The results indicate that after including off-balance sheet business in the output mix, cost and profit scope economies rise and are statistically significant. Besides, consumer valuation of financial services is only detected when the off-balance sheet business is added to the output definition.
    Keywords: banking, scope economies, off-balance sheet.
    JEL: G21 L11
    Date: 2005–05–22
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gra:wpaper:05/01&r=eff
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