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on Efficiency and Productivity |
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Issue of 2014‒05‒17
seventeen papers chosen by |
| By: | Basak Dalgic (Department of Public Finance, Hacettepe University); Burcu Fazlioglu (Department of International Entrepreneurship, TOBB ETU University); Deniz Karaoglan (Department of Economics, METU) |
| Abstract: | We examine the effects of international trading activities of firms on creating productivity gains in Turkey by using a recent firm level dataset over the period 2003-2010. We establish treatment models and investigate the productivity improvements of firms through trade by using Propensity Score Matching (PSM) techniques along with Difference-in-Difference (DID) estimates. Three different groups of treatment are constructed: (i) firms that involve only in importing activities, (ii) firms that involve only in exporting activities, (iii) firms that involve in both exporting and importing activities. The results of the study suggest that both exporting and importing have positive significant effects on total factor productivity (TFP) and labor productivity (LP) of firms. Importing is found to have a greater impact on productivity of firms compared to exporting. Further, two-way trade is found to have more significant effects than those of one-way trade on firm productivity Finally, our results indicate that international trade has greater impact on LP rather than TFP of firms. |
| Keywords: | Productivity, Imports, Exports, Propensity Score Matching. |
| JEL: | F10 D21 D24 C21 C23 |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:met:wpaper:1403&r=eff |
| By: | Ilke Van Beveren (Lessius Department of Business Studies, KU Leuven); Stijn Vanormelingen (HU Brussels, KU Leuven) |
| Abstract: | This paper determines the relative importance of technical efficiency and reallocation for aggregate productivity growth in a small open European economy. To this end we use a dataset containing all Belgian firms active in the private sector, both services and manufacturing. We observe at the firm level a number of factors that have been shown to be drivers of productivity differences across firms. More precisely, we have information on human capital such as the level of education and the amount of on-the-job training received by the employees. Moreover we observe the international activities of the firms such as imports and exports. This allows us to make a careful analysis of the micro foundations of aggregate productivity growth by applying the decomposition introduced by Petrin and Levinsohn (2012). The outcome of this exercise will not only provide us with a better understanding of the slowdown of productivity growth in Europe over the past decades, but also give an indication on the role of different productivity drivers in this process. |
| Keywords: | Productivity, Productivity Decomposition |
| JEL: | D24 O47 C23 |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbb:reswpp:201405-257&r=eff |
| By: | Doan Thi Thanh Ha (International Graduate School of Social Sciences, Yokohama National University and Faculty of International Economics and Business, Foreign Trade University); Kozo KIYOTA (Keio Economic Observatory, Keio University) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the relationship between productivity differentials and firm turnover in Vietnamese manufacturing. We utilize firm-level data between 2000 and 2009, including the year 2007, when Vietnam joined the World Trade Organization (WTO). Our major findings are twofold. First, the productivity of entrants, survivors, and exiters increased simultaneously from 2006 to 2007. This result suggests that the cutoff productivity level increased after trade liberalization. Second, the resource reallocation between firms was facilitated after the liberalization. These findings are consistent with the implications of the recent models of international trade and firm heterogeneity. |
| Keywords: | Total factor productivity, Aggregate productivity, Trade Liberalization, Firm turnover, Vietnam |
| JEL: | O12 D22 O47 F14 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:era:wpaper:dp-2014-07&r=eff |
| By: | Newman, Carol; Rand, John; Tarp, Finn; Thi Tue Anh, Nguyen |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we investigate the relationship between exporting and productivity in the case of Vietnam using an extensive firm level panel dataset for the period 2005-11. We separate out productivity effects of exporting due to self-selection allowing u |
| Keywords: | learning by exporting, self-selection, productivity, Vietnam, firm ownership, innovation |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2014-070&r=eff |
| By: | Christopher Bruffaerts; Bram De Rock; Catherine Dehon |
| Keywords: | nonparametric frontier models; directional distance; order-alpha frontiers; outlier detection; robust efficiency estimation |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eca:wpaper:2013/156905&r=eff |
| By: | Peters, Bettina; Riley, Rebecca; Siedschlag, Iulia; Vahter, Priit; McQuinn, John |
| Abstract: | We examine the links between innovation investment, innovation output and productivity in service enterprises. For this purpose, we use micro data from the Community Innovation Surveys 2006-2008 in Germany, Ireland, and the United Kingdom and estimate an augmented structural model which links innovation inputs, innovation outputs and productivity. Our estimates suggest that innovation in service enterprises was linked to higher productivity. In all three countries analysed, amongst the innovation types that we consider, the strongest link between innovation and productivity was found for marketing innovations. Successful innovation in service enterprises appears to be associated with enterprise size, innovation expenditure intensity (in Germany and the United Kingdom), foreign ownership (Ireland), exporting and engagement in co-operation for innovation activities. The determinants of innovation in service enterprises appear remarkably similar to the determinants of innovation in manufacturing enterprises. |
| Keywords: | Internationalisation of services; innovation; productivity |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esr:wpaper:wp480&r=eff |
| By: | Mariana Blanco; Juan Fernando Vargas; Patricio S. Dalton |
| Abstract: | Abstract: We investigate whether and how the type of unemployment benefit institution affects productivity. We designed a eld experiment to compare workers' productivity under a welfare system, where the unemployed receive an unconditional monetary transfer, with their productivity under a workfare system, where the transfer is received conditional on the unemployed spending some time on ancillary activities. First, we find that having an unemployment benefit institution, regardless of whether it makes transfers conditional or unconditional, increases workers' productivity. Second, we find that productivity is higher under Welfare than under Workfare. Becoming unemployed under Welfare comes at the psychological cost of a drop in self-esteem, presumably due to the shame or stigma associated with receiving an unconditional unemployment benefit. We document the empirical relevance of precisely this channel. The differences we observe in productivity suggest that this psychological cost acts as an extra non monetary incentive for workers under Welfare to put a higher effort in their work. |
| Keywords: | Unemployment Benets, Workfare, Productivity, Self-esteem, Shame. |
| JEL: | J24 J65 J45 |
| Date: | 2013–11–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:col:000092:011015&r=eff |
| By: | Howard, Emma; Newman, Carol; Rand, John; Tarp, Finn |
| Abstract: | In this paper we explore the extent to which firms experience productivity spillovers from clustering using a rich data source from Vietnam for 2002 to 2007, a period of significant transition. We address issues of simultaneity, self-selection and endogen |
| Keywords: | clustering, productivity, endogenous location choice, spillovers, Vietnam |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2014-071&r=eff |
| By: | Francesco Venturini; Ana Rincon-Aznar; Dr Michela Vecchi |
| Abstract: | We analyse the impact of ICT spillovers on productivity using company data for the U.S. We account for inter- and intra-industry spillovers and assess the role played by firm’s absorptive capacity. Our results show that intra-industry ICT spillovers have a contemporaneous negative effect that turns positive 5 years after the initial investment. For inter-industry spillovers both contemporaneous and lagged effects are positive and significant. In the short run, companies’ innovative effort is complementary to ICT spillovers, but such complementarity disappears with the more pervasive adoption and diffusion of the technology. |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nsr:niesrd:11717&r=eff |
| By: | Gelb, Alan; Meyer, Christian J.; Ramachandran, Vijaya |
| Abstract: | We consider economic development of sub-Saharan Africa from the perspective of slow convergence of productivity, both across sectors and firms within sectors. Why have .productivity enclaves., islands of high productivity in a sea of smaller low-productiv |
| Keywords: | productivity, manufacturing, dualism, firms, sub-Saharan Africa |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2014-042&r=eff |
| By: | MORIKAWA Masayuki |
| Abstract: | This paper, using large panel data of Japanese companies (2001-2011), empirically analyzes the determinants of the size of headquarters and their effect on productivity. Headquarters functions, the core service sector within companies, play important roles in supporting strategic decision making in modern companies. However, it is often advocated that the downsizing of headquarters improves organizational efficiency. The size of headquarters is closely related to the issue of centralization/decentralization of decision making, and, theoretically, an optimal level of decentralization depends on various conditions. The major results of this study are as follows. First, the mean size of headquarters is stable during the sample period, but the cross-sectional dispersion of the size is very large even within a narrowly-defined industry. Second, company size, diversification of business activities, and the number of establishments are negatively related to the size of headquarters, suggesting that the growth and complication of businesses lead to decentralization of decision making. Third, the information and communications technology (ICT) network inside a company reduces the size of headquarters, although the magnitude of this effect is small. Fourth, headquarters contribute positively to the total factor productivity (TFP) of the companies. Finally, ICT network and headquarters have a complementary role in productivity. |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:rdpsjp:14028&r=eff |
| By: | Christopher Bruffaerts; Bram De Rock; Catherine Dehon |
| Abstract: | Understanding the factors that may impact how well universities are transforminga set of inputs into research outputs is of great interest for university andpublic authorities. The goal of this paper is on the one hand to measure the researchefficiencies of US universities and on the other hand to study the impact ofenvironmental variables on them. To reach this objective, the latest techniques innonparametric frontier models are used with both classic and robust methodologies.Focus is in particular devoted to the impact of the institution type (publicor private), the teaching load, the degree of collaboration with industrial partnersand the degree of international collaborations on the production process associatedto research activities. The impact of the size of a university on the way ressourcesare used regarding research activities is also studied. |
| Keywords: | conditional efficiency measures; Kernel Smoothing; nonparametric frontiers; research efficiency; two-stage regression; university ranking |
| Date: | 2013–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eca:wpaper:2013/147877&r=eff |
| By: | Antonio Cubel (Universidad de Valencia (Spain)); Vicente Esteve (Universidad de Valencia, Universidad de Alcalá and Universidad de La Laguna (Spain)); M. Teresa Sanchis (Universidad de Valencia and Instituto Figuerola (Spain)); Juan A. Sanchis-Llopis (Universidad de Valencia and ERI-CES (Spain)) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the relationship between total factor productivity (TFP) and innovation-related variables during the second half of the 20th century. We perform this analysis for several European countries (France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Spain) and the U.S., extending Coe and Helpman’s (1995) empirical specification to include human capital. We use a new dataset of patents data for the past 150 years to calculate the stock of knowledge using the perpetual inventory method. Our time series empirical analysis confirms the heterogeneous relationship between innovation variables (domestic stock of knowledge, imports of knowledge, and human capital) and productivity. Our results reveal the extent to which observed differences in technology adoption patterns and the levels of endowment of such resources can explain differences in TFP dynamics across countries. The estimated coefficients confirm the considerable gap that still exists between the European countries and the U.S. in innovation-related variables. Furthermore, we obtain a finding that may have important implications for innovation policies: the higher the level of investment in human capital, the higher the level of investment in domestic innovation, and the higher the response of TFP to a 1% increase in any of the aforementioned variables. |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eec:wpaper:1404&r=eff |
| By: | Nicholas Bloom; Erik Brynjolfsson; Lucia Foster; Ron Jarmin; Megha Patnaik; Itay Saporta-Eksten; John Van Reenen |
| Abstract: | There are strong links between the performance of US manufacturing plants and the quality of their systems of monitoring, targets and incentives, according to research by Professor Nicholas Bloom and colleagues. Their analysis of data on more than 30,000 establishments, gathered in the first large-scale survey of management practices in America, finds that effective performance monitoring, targets and incentives are strongly linked to more intensive use of IT. The study also finds that there is huge variation in management in America: for example, establishments in America's South and Midwest have more structured management practices on average than those in the Northeast and West. Higher management scores have a strong relationship with improved productivity and profits. |
| Keywords: | IT, management, productivity, organization |
| JEL: | M1 |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepcnp:423&r=eff |
| By: | Chhair, Sokty; Newman, Carol |
| Abstract: | The potential benefits of the geographical clustering of economic activity have been well documented in the literature, yet there is little empirical evidence quantifying these effects in developing country contexts. This is surprising given the emphasis |
| Keywords: | clustering, productivity spillovers, competition effects, informal firms, Cambodia |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2014-065&r=eff |
| By: | Hakimi, Abdelaziz; Hamdi, Helmi |
| Abstract: | In this article, we investigate the link between the duration of bank relationships and its consequences on the performance of Tunisian firms. Performance is measured by the return on equity (ROE) and the return on Assets (ROA). We collected data of 100 Tunisian companies for the period of 2000-2007. Applying panel data estimation, our results opine that the cost of credit decreases the performance of Tunisian firms while the duration of bank relationships improves their performance and increase their profitability. |
| Keywords: | Bank relationships, Tunisia, Panel Data |
| JEL: | G30 L10 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:55754&r=eff |
| By: | Wei Jin (College of Public Policy and Administration, Zhejiang University); ZhongXiang Zhang (Department of Public Economics School of Economics, Fudan University) |
| Abstract: | International diffusion of advanced environment and energy-related technologies has received much attention in recent environmental economics studies. As a much needed complement to the “black box” complex numerical modelling, this paper contributes to developing a simple, intuitive analytical framework to unveil the mechanism of international technology diffusion for energy productivity growth. We draw on the Solow growth model to build a benchmark exogenous framework to explore the basic mechanism of energy technology diffusion. This exogenous model is then extended to a Romer-type endogenous one where the R&D-induced expansion of energy technology varieties is used to represent the deep structure of technology diffusion. We show that the growth rates of energy productivity are the same across countries in the balanced growth path equilibrium, but the cross-country differences in the efficiency of foreign technology absorption and indigenous innovation lead to cross-country divergence in the levels of energy productivity. The economy that has a stronger capacity of assimilating foreign technology diffusion and undertaking indigenous innovation tends to gain a higher level of energy productivity. |
| Keywords: | Technological Innovation, Energy Technology Diffusion, Solow Growth Model, Endogenous Growth Model |
| JEL: | Q55 Q58 Q43 Q48 O13 O31 O33 O44 F18 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2014.40&r=eff |