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on Efficiency and Productivity |
| By: | Marco Amendola; Francesco Ruggeri |
| Abstract: | This paper empirically examines the relationship between functional income distribution and labor productivity. In particular, it tests the hypothesis that a higher wage share promotes productivity growth by pushing firms to invest and innovate in order to preserve profit margins. Using panel data for OECD countries, the results provide strong support for this mechanism: increases in the wage share are associated with significantly higher labor productivity growth. The magnitude of the effect suggests that the contraction of wage shares in many advanced economies may explain an important part of their recent productivity slowdown. The analysis further shows that this positive link operates primarily through capital deepening, consistent with the view that wage pressures incentivize investment in laborsaving technologies. By contrast, no robust relationship is found between the wage share and Total Factor Productivity. |
| Keywords: | Labor productivity; Wage share; Productivity slowdown; Capital deepening; Induced technical change Jel Classification: C23 E25 D33 O30 |
| Date: | 2025–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:usi:wpaper:935 |
| By: | Hang Kim; Martin Rotemberg; T. Kirk White |
| Abstract: | Measurement of dispersion of productivity levels and productivity growth rates across businesses is a key input for answering a variety of important economic questions, such as understanding the allocation of economic inputs across businesses and over time. While item nonresponse is a readily quantifiable issue, we show there is also misreporting by respondents in the Annual Survey of Manufactures (ASM). Aware of these measurement issues, the Census Bureau edits and imputes survey responses before tabulation and dissemination. However, edit and imputation methods that are suitable for publishing aggregate totals may not be suitable for estimating other measures from the microdata. We show that the methods used dramatically affect estimates of productivity dispersion, allocative efficiency, and aggregate productivity growth. Using a Bayesian approach for editing and imputation, we model the joint distributions of all variables needed to estimate these measures, and we quantify the degree of uncertainty in the estimates due to imputations for faulty or missing data. |
| Date: | 2025–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cen:wpaper:25-67 |
| By: | Masayuki MORIKAWA |
| Abstract: | Using micro-level data on Japanese firms, this study analyzes the relationship between productivity and wages, with a focus on comparing aggregate-level and firm-level figures. The main findings are as follows. First, at the macro level, productivity growth and real wage growth are diverging, but, at the firm level, there is a strong positive relationship between productivity growth and wage growth, indicating that productivity and wages have not decoupled. Second, a divergence exists between simple average and aggregate (i.e., weighted average) wage trends, with aggregate real wages exhibiting a greater downward trend. Third, dynamic Olley-Pakes decomposition reveals that the covariance term contributes negatively to changes in real wages. In other words, the relationship between higher value-added share and higher wages at the firm level is weakening. In contrast, the covariance term has a large positive effect on productivity growth. These results suggest that while productivity growth is essential for raising real wages, policies that promote productivity through resource reallocation may conflict with those aimed at increasing labor’s share of value-added. |
| Date: | 2025–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:25106 |
| By: | G. Jacob Blackwood; Cindy Cunningham; Matthew Dey; Lucia Foster; Cheryl Grim; John Haltiwanger; Rachel Nesbit; Sabrina Wulff Pabilonia; Jay Stewart; Cody Tuttle; Zoltan Wolf |
| Abstract: | We present new empirical evidence suggesting that we can better understand productivity dispersion across businesses by accounting for differences in how tasks, skills, and occupations are organized. This aligns with growing attention to the task content of production. We link establishment-level data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey with productivity data from the Census Bureau’s manufacturing surveys. Our analysis reveals strong relationships between establishment productivity and task, skill, and occupation inputs. These relationships are highly nonlinear and vary by industry. When we account for these patterns, we can explain a substantial share of productivity dispersion across establishments. |
| Keywords: | productivity dispersion, tasks, skills, occupations |
| JEL: | D24 J24 |
| Date: | 2025–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cen:wpaper:25-63 |
| By: | Kikuchi, Tatsuru |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates how executive demographics—particularly age and gender—influence artificial intelligence (AI) investment decisions and subsequent firm productivity using comprehensive data from over 500 Japanese enterprises spanning 2018-2023. Our central research question addresses the role of executive characteristics in technology adoption, finding that CEO age and technical background significantly predict AI investment propensity. Employing these demographic characteristics as instrumental variables to address endogeneity concerns, we identify a statistically significant 2.4\% increase in total factor productivity attributable to AI investment adoption. Our novel mechanism decomposition framework reveals that productivity gains operate through three distinct channels: cost reduction (40\% of total effect), revenue enhancement (35\%), and innovation acceleration (25\%). The results demonstrate that younger executives (below 50 years) are 23\% more likely to adopt AI technologies, while firm size significantly moderates this relationship. Aggregate projections suggest potential GDP impacts of ¥1.15 trillion from widespread AI adoption across the Japanese economy. These findings provide crucial empirical guidance for understanding the human factors driving digital transformation and inform both corporate governance and public policy regarding AI investment incentives. |
| Keywords: | Artificial Intelligence, Executive Demographics, Technology Adoption, Productivity, Digital Transformation |
| JEL: | D24 L25 M12 O33 O47 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:126734 |
| By: | Jamiu Ibrahim Aminu (Faculty of Arts &Social Sciences, Gombe State University); Mohammed Shamwil (Department of Economics & Development Studies, Federal University of Kashere, Gombe); Ibrahim Abdullahi (Baze University, Abuja) |
| Abstract: | This study investigates the relationship between energy efficiency and economic growth in Nigeria using time series data from 1980 to 2023 and the Stochastic Frontier Analysis framework. Results reveal that Nigeria?s energy demand is both price-elastic and income-elastic, indicating that changes in energy prices and income significantly influence consumption. Labour and capital act as substitutes for energy, while technological innovation boosts productivity but increases energy demand. The estimated average technical efficiency is relatively high at 95%, though marked by volatility and structural disparities across sectors. These findings highlight the critical role of policy consistency, reliable energy supply, and targeted investment in modern technologies to enhance efficiency and align Nigeria?s growth with sustainable development goals. |
| Keywords: | Energy Efficiency, Economic Growth, Stochastic frontier analysis, Nigeria |
| JEL: | Q40 Q56 C32 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:iefpro:15016577 |
| By: | Dominic Smith; G. Jacob Blackwood; Michael D. Giandrea; Cheryl Grim; Jay Stewart; Zoltan Wolf |
| Abstract: | Productivity dispersion within an industry is an important characteristic of the business environment, potentially reflecting factors such as market structure, production technologies, and reallocation frictions. The retail trade sector saw significant changes between 1987 and 2017, and dispersion statistics can help characterize how it evolved over this period. In this paper, we shed light on this transformation by developing public-use Dispersion Statistics on Productivity (DiSP) data for the retail sector for 1987 through 2017. We find that from 1987 through 2017, dispersion increased between retail stores at the bottom and middle of the productivity distribution. However, when we weight stores by employment dispersion, the middle of the distribution is lower initially and decreases over time. These patterns are consistent with a retail landscape featuring more and more activity taking place in chain stores with similar productivity. Firm-based dispersion measures exhibit a similar pattern. Further investigation reveals that there is substantial heterogeneity in dispersion levels across industries. |
| Keywords: | retail, reallocation, business cycles, productivity dispersion |
| JEL: | D24 E24 L81 |
| Date: | 2025–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cen:wpaper:25-64 |
| By: | Tanveer Ahsan (Rennes SB - Rennes School of Business); Ammar Ali Gull (DVHE - De Vinci Higher Education); Sabri Boubaker (EM Normandie - École de Management de Normandie = EM Normandie Business School); Riadh Manita (NEOMA - Neoma Business School) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the effects of COVID‑19 and business strategy on the performance of Chinese-listed firms. Using a sample of 2, 606 Chinese non financial listed firms over 2010-2022, we provide evidence that the COVID‑19 (business strategy) pandemic has a significant negative (positive) impact on firm performance and business strategy positively moderates the negative relationship of COVID‑19 on firm performance. We further show that firms with a proactive business strategy had better resilience during the COVID‑19 pandemic than firms with a defensive business strategy. We also find that these relationships are more pronounced for state-owned and large firms. Our results are robust to a battery of robustness tests and contribute to the growing debate on the role of business strategy during crises, offering insights to regulators and policymakers. |
| Keywords: | COVID- 19, Business strategy, Corporate resilience, Firm performance |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05289833 |
| By: | Alessio MITRA (European Commission); Konstantinos NIAKAROS (European Commission) |
| Abstract: | This paper evaluates the causal impact of the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme for Research and Innovation on financial firm-level outcomes using a Difference-in-Differences (DiD) approach. We use administrative data from CORDA and financial data from ORBIS spanning from 2010 to 2022, for a sample of approximately 40 thousand unique private companies that applied for Horizon 2020 funding. The findings suggest that firms receiving Horizon 2020 grants exhibit an average increase of 20% in employment and about 30% in total assets and revenues, compared to comparable companies in the control group, in the years after receiving their first grant. Positive effects persist even after 2.5 years, which is the average duration of a project in our sample. Companies in the “Information and communication” and “Professional, scientific and technical activities” NACE sectors are driving the results, while other sectors show insignificant effects. |
| Keywords: | Research and Innovation funding, impact assessment, econometric methods, spillover effects, mediation analysis, policy evaluation |
| JEL: | O32 O38 C18 |
| Date: | 2025–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eug:wpaper:ki-bd-23-010-en-n |
| By: | Alexander Henkel; Daniel Piazolo |
| Abstract: | This paper focuses on the economic and environmental implications of energy-efficient building practices in existing structures. It starting point is the significant impact of the construction sector on global greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption, emphasizing the urgent need to address climate change mitigation efforts. An important aspect thereby is the lifecycle assessment of buildings, dividing the process into distinct phases such as construction, usage, deconstruction and recycling to analyze environmental impacts, costs, and resource efficiency. By evaluating different aspects like building materials, construction techniques, and energy usage, mainly effected by heating and ventilation systems, the paper aims to provide insights into enhancing energy efficiency and reducing emissions in building practices. The paper incorporates technical and economic perspectives to explore the balance between environmental sustainability and financial considerations in building modernizations. Through empirical analyses using data from the Building Cost Information Center of the German Chamber of Architects (Baukosteninformationszentrum der Deutschen Architektenkammer - BKI), the paper aims to determine the economic value by incorporating both, a brief theoretical overview contrasted by an analysis of measures that have been carried out. The research addresses the challenges associated with retrofitting existing buildings, considering factors like varying structural conditions, historical preservation requirements, and financial incentives for property owners. In conclusion, this paper contributes to advancing knowledge in the field of sustainable construction practices by integrating technical analyses with economic evaluations and by identifying the interplay between energy efficiency, environmental impact, and financial viability. |
| Keywords: | Energy Efficiency; Existing Buildings; Modernization; sustainability |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2025–01–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arz:wpaper:eres2025_98 |
| By: | Adeline Alonso (Bordeaux Sciences Agro - Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Sciences Agronomiques de Bordeaux-Aquitaine, UMR SAVE - Santé et agroécologie du vignoble - UB - Université de Bordeaux - Institut des Sciences de la Vigne et du Vin (ISVV) - Bordeaux Sciences Agro - Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Sciences Agronomiques de Bordeaux-Aquitaine - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement); Sydney Girard (UR ETTIS - Environnement, territoires en transition, infrastructures, sociétés - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, Bordeaux Sciences Agro - Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Sciences Agronomiques de Bordeaux-Aquitaine); Hélène Bélaÿ-Samie (Bordeaux Sciences Agro - Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Sciences Agronomiques de Bordeaux-Aquitaine) |
| Keywords: | Comptabilité triple capital, Performance économique financière, Performance commerciale, Performance, Viticulture, Durabilité, CARE, IDEA |
| Date: | 2025–11–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05353407 |