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on Efficiency and Productivity |
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Issue of 2024‒03‒18
eight papers chosen by |
| By: | Rostand Arland Yebetchou Tchounkeu (Department of Economics and Social Sciences, Universita' Politecnica delle Marche); Raffaella Santolini (Department of Economics and Social Sciences, Universita' Politecnica delle Marche); Giulio Palomba (Department of Economics and Social Sciences, Universita' Politecnica delle Marche); Elvina Merkaj (Department of Economics and Social Sciences, Universita' Politecnica delle Marche) |
| Abstract: | The aim of this study is to assess the impact of healthcare efficiency on the mortality rate of elderly people aged 65 and 75 years old and over. To do this, we estimate a dynamic panel data model using the system generalised method of moments (SYS-GMM) on 106 Italian provinces over the period 2012-2019. To measure the efficiency index in the health sector, we apply the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method. We also calculate the index via a bootstrap DEA method for robustness checks. Our results show that, on average, a 10% increase in healthcare efficiency at the Italian provincial level reduces the mortality rate of older adults by approximately 2% to 3%. Improving healthcare efficiency is crucial in enhancing the health services for the elderly and reduce mortality for this age group. Our findings could be helpful to policymakers in adopting measures that aim to increase healthcare efficiency, taking into account the specific needs of an aging population. |
| Keywords: | health efficiency, elderly mortality, DEA, dynamic panel data analysis |
| JEL: | I10 I18 |
| Date: | 2024–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:anc:wpaper:485&r=eff |
| By: | Rosalia Greco (Bank of Italy) |
| Abstract: | Since 2000, Italy's output growth lagged behind countries like Germany, France, and Spain, primarily due to weak labor productivity dynamics. Italy's labor productivity growth, especially low before the Great Recession, showed a small improvement afterwards, driven by the business sector. Productivity growth and levels vary across sectors, with the industrial sector generally outperforming market services in all countries. Italy's low aggregate growth, however, cannot be traced back to a composition tilted towards low productivity sectors, rather to across-the-board insufficient sectors' productivity growth. Few exceptions emerge in the industrial sector in 2014-2019: some manufacturing sectors that are more exposed to international trade exhibited higher productivity growth in Italy than elsewhere. Investment affects labor productivity growth through capital deepening. Investment trends, influenced by the financial crisis, varied across countries and sectors. Investment in intangibles (especially important for innovation) consistently increased, while investment in other assets fluctuated, with Italy and Spain experiencing delayed recovery. Intangibles constituted a larger share of investment in the industrial sector, and were most relevant in France. |
| Keywords: | labor productivity, growth, investment |
| JEL: | E22 E24 O47 O52 |
| Date: | 2023–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdi:opques:qef_825_23&r=eff |
| By: | Saumik Paul; Dhushyanth Raju |
| Abstract: | This study examines the effects of mining productivity shocks on the formal-informal duality in manufacturing and services. Using firm census data from 2014 for Ghana, we measure the rates of informality along extensive (unregistered firms) and intensive (registered firms hiring labourers 'off the books') margins. We find that the changes in the rates of informality along both margins across sectors following mining shocks are heterogeneous. |
| Keywords: | Mining, Informality, Firm productivity, Ghana |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2024-6&r=eff |
| By: | Mollisi Vincenzo (Department of Economics, Social Studies, Applied Mathematics and Statistics, University of Torino, Torino, Italy;) |
| Abstract: | Public authorities have increasingly resorted to public-private partnership (PPP) arrangements for the delivery of public services. A PPP bundles the construction, management, and maintenance of a facility in a unique contract. Using data from the Italian district heating industry, I find that PPP internalizes the technological externality between construction and operation tasks of a project by inducing a higher level of capital quality. A unit increase in the capital quality raises the output of PPP firms by 17%. |
| Keywords: | Populism, Industry Productivity, Public-private Partnerships, Public-service Provision |
| JEL: | H54 H57 L11 D86 |
| Date: | 2024–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tur:wpapnw:088&r=eff |
| By: | Benz, Andreas; Demerjian, Peter R.; Hoang, Daniel; Ruckes, Martin E. |
| Abstract: | We examine how division managers' human capital affects internal capital allocation using a hand-collected data set of divisional managers at S&P 1, 500 firms. Based on a novel measure of division-manager ability, we show that more able division managers receive substantially larger capital allocations. This effect is robust to controlling for the possibility of assortative matching and more pronounced for firms with better governance. We also find that the allocation of extra capital to higher-ability managers creates firm value. These findings suggest efficient fund transfers to high-productivity managers and provide support for a largely unexplored bright side of internal capital markets. |
| Keywords: | Managerial Ability, Managerial Efficiency, Human Capital, Capital Budgeting, Investment, Internal Capital Markets |
| JEL: | G31 G32 G34 J24 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:kitwps:283896&r=eff |
| By: | Mert Demirer; Diego Jimenez-Hernandez; Dean Li; Sida Peng |
| Abstract: | By regulating how firms collect, store, and use data, privacy laws may change the role of data in production and alter firm demand for information technology inputs. We study how firms respond to privacy laws in the context of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) by using seven years of data from a large global cloud-computing provider. Our difference-in-difference estimates indicate that, in response to the GDPR, EU firms decreased data storage by 26% and data processing by 15% relative to comparable U.S. firms, becoming less “data-intensive.” To estimate the costs of the GDPR for firms, we propose and estimate a production function where data and computation serve as inputs to the production of “information.” We find that data and computation are strong complements in production and that firm responses are consistent with the GDPR representing a 20% increase in the cost of data on average. Variation in the firm-level effects of the GDPR and industry-level exposure to data, however, drives significant heterogeneity in our estimates of the impact of the GDPR on production costs. |
| Keywords: | Privacy; Production Function; Data; Cloud computing |
| JEL: | L51 L86 D22 L11 |
| Date: | 2024–01–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedhwp:97791&r=eff |
| By: | Koski, Heli; Pajarinen, Mika; Rouvinen, Petri |
| Abstract: | Abstract Investment is an expenditure from which future returns are expected. The portion of past investments that retains potential for future returns is referred to as capital. If capital can be touched, it is tangible; otherwise, it is intangible. Brands and patents are examples of intangible capital. For decades, Finland has been making more investments in intangible rather than tangible productive assets. However, due to the different accumulation and obsolescence of the two capital types, Finland’s productive capital stock is still predominantly tangible. Finland and Germany are similar in terms of intangible capital. In contrast, Sweden invests significantly more in intangible capital than Finland and also utilizes these investments more efficiently. Finland’s intangible capital (per hour worked) is only two-thirds of that in Sweden. The capital related to software, databases, and data in Sweden is four times greater than in Finland. |
| Keywords: | Intangible capital, Business investment, Labor productivity, National accounts |
| JEL: | D24 E22 O30 O47 |
| Date: | 2024–02–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rif:briefs:133&r=eff |
| By: | Michele Loberto (Bank of Italy); Alessandro Mistretta (Bank of Italy); Matteo Spuri (Bank of Italy) |
| Abstract: | Mitigating the negative impact of climate change implies a drastic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions: moving towards the net-zero target requires, among other things, a dramatic improvement in the energy efficiency of residential buildings, which account for 12.5 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions in Italy. This paper estimates the extent to which energy efficiency labels are capitalized into house prices. We find that the most energy-efficient houses sell at a 25 per cent premium over the least efficient ones. Our contribution is relevant for two reasons. First, we provide granular estimates of the impact of energy labels on house prices in Italy and show that the energy efficiency premium is significantly heterogeneous across provinces due to differences in climate conditions and regulatory frameworks. Second, energy labels play a key role and are used as a benchmark for several policies, and the heterogeneity in the energy efficiency premium may call for more targeted public policies that promote investment in energy efficiency. |
| Keywords: | housing, energy efficiency |
| JEL: | O1 Q5 R3 |
| Date: | 2023–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdi:opques:qef_818_23&r=eff |