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on Efficiency and Productivity |
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Issue of 2011‒08‒22
twelve papers chosen by |
| By: | Halkos, George; Tzeremes, Nickolaos |
| Abstract: | By applying conditional and unconditional data envelopment analysis (DEA) models along side with statistical inference using bootstrap techniques; this paper investigates the link between China’s carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) environmental efficiency and its economic growth (measured in GNI per capita) for the time period of 1965 to 2009. The results reveal that China’s changing consumption patterns has caused emissions levels to increase dramatically the last two decades providing clear evidence of a negative effect of China’s GNI per capita increase on its environmental efficiency. |
| Keywords: | Environmental efficiency; Economic growth; Carbon dioxide emissions; China; Data envelopment analysis; Conditional efficiency; Bootstrap procedures |
| JEL: | C14 Q56 O4 C60 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:32839&r=eff |
| By: | Silva, Leonardo Fonseca da; Ferreira, Pedro Cavalcanti |
| Abstract: | We investigate the role of sectorial differences in labor productivity and the process of structural transformation (reallocation of labor across sectors) in accounting for the time path of aggregate productivity across six Latin American countries (Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela) from 1950 to 2003. We used a general equilibrium model with three sectors (agriculture, industry and services) calibrated to those six economies. The model is used to compare the trajectory of productivity in each sector of activity with that of the United States and it impact on aggregate productivity.While in Brazil and Argentina, the Service Sector was responsible for reversing the process of catch up in productivity that occurred until the 1980s, in others, like Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela, low productivity growth of the three sectors explain their poor performance. |
| Date: | 2011–08–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fgv:epgewp:724&r=eff |
| By: | Temesgen Tadesse Deressa |
| Abstract: | This study argues that the adaptation measures farmers take to reduce the negative impacts of climate change do affect farmers’ efficiency of production. To support this argument, two steps were followed to understand how climatic factors especially long term average seasonal rainfall and temperature; and agro-ecological settings affect production efficiency in Ethiopian agriculture. In the first step, the stochastic frontier approach was employed to analyze the farm level technical efficiency. In the second step, the tobit regression model was adopted to analyze how climatic and agro-ecological settings affect efficiency scores derived from the first step. Results from the first step indicated that the surveyed farmers have an average technical efficiency of 0.50; with significant output elasticits of labor, draft power and tractor. Results from the tobit regression model showed that soil types, run-off, seasonal climatic conditions and agro-ecological settings affect technical efficiency in Ethiopian agriculture. |
| Keywords: | Technical efficiency, seasonal climate, agro-ecology, Ethiopia |
| JEL: | C53 Q25 Q54 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rza:wpaper:223&r=eff |
| By: | Pohit, Sanjib; Pal, Barun |
| Abstract: | This paper makes a modest attempt to apply input-output methodology to understand the structural changes in Indian economy in recent years. Our observations cover the period 1998-99 to 2006-07, the latest year for which India’s input-output table is published. Our analysis indicates that most of the manufacturing as well as services sectors exhibit large intermediate input factor productivity growth during the years under observations. Notable among them are electrical machinery, coke, refined petroleum etc, radio, television and communication equipments, machinery and equipments, construction, and hotels and restaurants. Furthermore barring few sectors, most of these sectors registered capital productivity gain during this period.Surprisingly, India has not been able to register significant capital productivity gains in the labour intensive sectors like food products, textile products etc, even though India has comparative advantage in these sectors being a labour rich economy. We find that there is falling labour productivity in many of the labour intensive sectors like agriculture and allied, mining and quarrying, food products, wood products, pulp and paper. On the other hand, our analysis of technical coefficient of India’s input-output table suggests that input cost on agriculture allied activities in food products, beverages sector has progressively fallen over the years. Moreover, we find that input costs on machinery related items in many of our sector are increasing which suggest that economy is on a path of modernisation. This has also helped in reducing energy cost on production. |
| Keywords: | Input-putput; India; total factor productivity growth; technical change |
| JEL: | D2 C82 D24 |
| Date: | 2011–07–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:32736&r=eff |
| By: | Arvind Virmani; Danish A Hashim |
| Abstract: | Most estimates of Indian manufacturing productivity find a slowdown in the 1990s. This has puzzled analysts, given that 1990s reforms were deeper and wider than the 1980s reforms that raised the growth rate of the Indian economy by 2 per cent points. This paper tests the hypothesis of the J curve of Productivity and Growth following major liberalization and finds it to be broadly supported by the data: Technological obsolescence, gradual adoption of new technology and learning by doing result in negative effects on measured productivity. |
| Keywords: | Economic growth , Economic reforms , India , Industrial production , Manufacturing , Productivity , |
| Date: | 2011–07–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:11/163&r=eff |
| By: | Ferreira, Pedro Cavalcanti; Pessôa, Samuel de Abreu; Veloso, Fernando A. |
| Abstract: | Due to several policy distortions, including import-substitution industrialization, widespread government intervention and both domestic and international competitive barriers, there has been a general presumption that Latin America has been much less productive than the leading economies in the last decades. In this paper we show, however, that until the late seventies Latin American countries had high productivity levels relative to the United States. It is only after the late seventies that we observe a fast decrease of relative TFP in Latin America. We also show that the inclusion of human capital in the production function makes a crucial di¤erence in the TFP calculations for Latin America. |
| Date: | 2011–08–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fgv:epgewp:723&r=eff |
| By: | Asha Sundaram |
| Abstract: | This paper looks at the impact of trade liberalization on output, factor intensity and labor productivity of micro enterprises with differential access to banks. It uses Indian data on micro enterprises employing fewer than ten workers in the manufacturing sector and finds that trade liberalization, measured by a fall in the tariff, is associated with higher enterprise output, capital-labor ratios and labor productivity in districts with a larger number of bank branches per capita. Evidence is consistent with strong complementarities between trade liberalization effects and better access to credit and greater economic dynamism due to greater bank presence in the enterprise’s location. In addition, the research points to greater likelihood of outsourcing of production activity to micro enterprises in more open industries. The study highlights the role of credit market institutions, labor regulation and linkages between micro enterprises and large firms in determining the effects of trade liberalization on developing country manufacturing. |
| Keywords: | Trade Reform, Banks, Manufacturing, Informal Firms, Productivity, Outsourcing |
| JEL: | F16 J32 L24 O14 O17 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rza:wpaper:225&r=eff |
| By: | Harrison, Ann E.; Martin, Leslie A.; Nataraj, Shanthi |
| Abstract: | Recent trade theory emphasizes the role of market-share reallocations across firms ("stealing") in driving productivity growth, while the older literature focused on average productivity improvements ("learning"). The authors use comprehensive, firm-level data from India's organized manufacturing sector to show that market-share reallocations did play an important role in aggregate productivity gains immediately following the start of India's trade reforms in 1991. However, aggregate productivity gains during the overall period from 1985 to 2004 were driven largely by improvements in average productivity, which can be attributed to India's trade liberalization and FDI reforms. |
| Keywords: | Economic Theory&Research,Industrial Management,E-Business,Labor Policies,Debt Markets |
| Date: | 2011–08–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5761&r=eff |
| By: | Joachim Wagner (Institute of Economics, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Germany) |
| Abstract: | The literature on international trade and firm performance grows exponentially. This paper attempts to summarize what we learn from this literature to guide both future empirical and theoretical work in this area, and public debates and policy makers, in an evidence-based way. The focus is on the empirical part of the literature that consists of recently published papers using data for firms from manufacturing or services industries to study the links between international trade (exports and imports) and dimensions of firm performance (productivity, wages, profitability and survival). It discusses recent add-ons to the box of tools for empirical investigation in this field and suggests topics for future research. |
| Keywords: | International trade, firm performance, empirical studies, survey |
| JEL: | F14 |
| Date: | 2011–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lue:wpaper:210&r=eff |
| By: | Caliendo, Lorenzo; Rossi-Hansberg, Esteban |
| Abstract: | A firm's productivity depends on how production is organized given the level of demand for its product. To capture this mechanism, we develop a theory of an economy where firms with heterogeneous demands use labor and knowledge to produce. Entrepreneurs decide the number of layers of management and the knowledge and span of control of each agent. As a result, in the theory, heterogeneity in demand leads to heterogeneity in productivity and other firms' outcomes. We use the theory to analyze the impact of international trade on organization and calibrate the model to the U.S. economy. Our results indicate that, as a result of a bilateral trade liberalization, firms that export will increase the number of layers of management and will decentralize decisions. The new organization of the average exporter results in higher productivity, although the responses of productivity are heterogeneous across these firms. In contrast, non-exporters reduce their number of layers, decentralization, and, on average, their productivity. The marginal exporter increases its productivity by about 1% and its revenue productivity by about 1.8%. |
| Keywords: | Communication Costs; Cost function; Hierarchies; Knowledge; Management; Trade Liberalization; Wage Distribution |
| JEL: | D21 D24 F12 F13 |
| Date: | 2011–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:8535&r=eff |
| By: | CZARNITZKI Dirk; LOPES BENTO Cindy |
| Abstract: | Applying a variant of a non-parametric matching estimator, we consider European funding and national funding as heterogeneous treatments, distinguishing and simultaneously analyzing the effect these treatments have on innovation input and performance. In terms of input, getting funding from both sources yields the highest impact. If funding from only one source is received, EU grants have higher effects. In terms of output, holding innovation expenditures constant, funding from both sources display higher sales of market novelties and future patent applications at the firm level. If only one grant is obtained, we find superiority for national funding. |
| Keywords: | Subsidies; Innovation; Policy Evaluation; Treatment effects; Nonparametric matching estimation |
| JEL: | C14 H50 O38 |
| Date: | 2011–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:irs:cepswp:2011-42&r=eff |
| By: | Joseph P. Hughes; Loretta J. Mester |
| Abstract: | Earlier studies found little evidence of scale economies at large banks; later studies using data from the 1990s uncovered such evidence, providing a rationale for very large banks seen worldwide. Using more recent data, the authors estimate scale economies using two production models. The standard risk-neutral model finds little evidence of scale economies. The model using more general risk preferences and endogenous risk-taking finds large scale economies. The authors show that these economies are not driven by too-big-to-fail considerations. They evaluate the cost implications of breaking up the largest banks into banks of smaller size. |
| Keywords: | Production (Economic theory) ; Risk ; Systemic risk ; Banks and banking |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedpwp:11-27&r=eff |