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on Efficiency and Productivity |
|
Issue of 2006‒10‒21
five papers chosen by |
| By: | Sinkkonen , Johanna (Bank of Finland) |
| Abstract: | In this paper labour productivity growth and its impacts are studied at the industry level. The development of productivity is analysed in 54 industries in 14 EU countries and in the US between 1979 and 2001. The conclusion of the study is that the industry structure that leads to fast productivity growth is connected to falling export prices. The relationship between labour productivity growth and labour compensation growth is relative weak and therefore the majority of the utility resulting from the productivity growth does not benefit the labour force. |
| Keywords: | industry structure; labour productivity; export prices; labour compensation |
| JEL: | F41 J30 O47 |
| Date: | 2005–02–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:bofrdp:2005_004&r=eff |
| By: | Anthony Plumridge (School of Economics, University of the West of England); Don J. Webber (School of Economics, University of the West of England); Martin Boddy (Faculty of the Built Environment, University of the West of England); John Hudson (Depatment of Economics, University of Bath) |
| Abstract: | The HM Treasury identifies key ‘drivers’ of business performance and productivity differentials, which include skills, investment and competition. This paper presents an empirical investigation into the effects of these drivers on business-level productivity per employee across England, Scotland and Wales in order to identify whether spatial differences in the influence of these drivers exist. We adopt the Cobb-Douglas production function approach and our results suggest that, after taking account of sector specific effects, productivity differentials do exist between businesses across Great Britain and that policy instruments do potentially enhance productivity. The results indicate that these key drivers are equally applicable across countries of Great Britain. However, there is evidence to suggest that scale effects for labour and capital do differ across England, Wales and Scotland and that policy makers should be aware of these asymmetries. |
| Keywords: | Productivity per employee; HM Treasury’s key drivers; scale effects |
| JEL: | C21 R38 R58 |
| Date: | 2006–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uwe:wpaper:0611&r=eff |
| By: | F. Daveri; M. Maliranta |
| Abstract: | Is the process of workforce aging a burden or a blessing for the firm? Our paper seeks to answer this question by providing evidence on the ageproductivity and age-earnings profiles for a sample of plants in three manufacturing industries (“forest”, “industrial machinery” and “electronics”) in Finland. Our main result is that exposure to rapid technological and managerial changes does make a difference for plant productivity, less so for wages. In electronics, the Finnish industry undergoing a major technological and managerial shock in the 1990s, the response of productivity to age-related variables is first sizably positive and then becomes sizably negative as one looks at plants with higher average seniority and experience. This declining part of the curve is not there either for the forest industry or for industrial machinery. It is not there either for wages in electronics. These conclusions survive when a host of other plausible productivity determinants (notably, education and plant vintage) are included in the analysis. We conclude that workforce aging may be a burden for firms in high-tech industries and less so in other industries. |
| Keywords: | Aging, technology, TFP, wage determination, Finland, new economy, growth |
| JEL: | D24 J24 J31 E60 |
| Date: | 2006 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:par:dipeco:2006-ep07&r=eff |
| By: | Piñeiro, Erik; Guve, Bertil |
| Date: | 2005–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhb:pinkwp:6&r=eff |
| By: | Jokipii, Terhi (Bank of Finland Research); Milne , Alistair (Bank of Finland and Cass Business School London) |
| Abstract: | Using an unbalanced panel of commercial, savings and co-operative banks for the years 1997 to 2004 we examine the cyclical behaviour of European bank capital buffers. After controlling for other potential de-terminants of bank capital, we find that capital buffers of the banks in the accession countries (RAM) have a significant positive relationship with the cycle, while for those in the EU15 and the EA and the combined EU25 the relationship is significantly negative. We additionally find fairly slow speeds of ad-justment, with around two-thirds of the correction towards desired capital buffers taking place each year. We further distinguish by type and size of bank, and find that capital buffers of commercial and savings banks, and also of a sub-sample of large banks, exhibit negative co-movement. Co-operative banks and smaller banks on the other hand, tend to exhibit positive cyclical co-movement. |
| Keywords: | bank capital; bank regulation; business cycle fluctuations |
| JEL: | G21 G28 |
| Date: | 2006–09–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:bofrdp:2006_017&r=eff |