|
on Efficiency and Productivity |
| By: | Paolo Pedotti |
| Abstract: | The paper is related to the identification of firm's features which serve as determinants for firm's total factor productivity through unsupervised learning techniques (principal component analysis, self organizing maps, clustering). This bottom-up approach can effectively manage the problem of the heterogeneity of the firms and provides new ways to look at firms' standard classifications. Using the large sample provided by the ORBIS database, the analyses covers the years before the outbreak of Covid-19 (2015-2019) and the immediate post-Covid period (year 2020). It has been shown that in both periods, the main determinants of productivity growth are related to profitability, credit/debts measures, cost and capital efficiency, and effort and outcome of the R&D activity conducted by the firms. Finally, a linear relationship between determinants and productivity growth has been found. |
| Date: | 2025–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2511.19627 |
| By: | Ulrich Doraszelski; Lixiong Li |
| Abstract: | We develop a generalized control function approach to production function estimation. Our approach accommodates settings in which productivity evolves jointly with other unobservable factors such as latent demand shocks and the invertibility assumption underpinning the traditional proxy variable approach fails. We provide conditions under which the output elasticity of the variable input -- and hence the markup -- is nonparametrically point-identified. A Neyman orthogonal moment condition ensures oracle efficiency of our GMM estimator. A Monte Carlo exercise shows a large bias for the traditional approach that decreases rapidly and nearly vanishes for our generalized control function approach. |
| Date: | 2025–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2511.21578 |
| By: | Dakpo, K Hervé; Latruffe, Laure; Desjeux, Yann |
| Keywords: | Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, Research Methods/Statistical Methods |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea24:344050 |
| By: | Geylani, Pinar Celikkol; Park, Timothy A.; Restrepo, Brandon J. |
| Keywords: | Productivity Analysis, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Production Economics |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea24:343704 |
| By: | Asravor, Jacob; Wiredu, Alexander Nimo; Zeller, Manfred |
| Keywords: | Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, Crop Production/Industries |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea24:344063 |
| By: | Ye, Lei; Xu, Meng; Lin, Bin; Wang, Xiaoxi |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries, Productivity Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea24:343865 |
| By: | Zapata, Samuel D.; Abello, Pancho; Anderson, David P.; Palma, Marco A. |
| Keywords: | Demand and Price Analysis, Productivity Analysis, Production Economics |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea24:344028 |
| By: | Giacomo Benini (Department of Business and Management Science, Norwegian School of Economics); Erik Enstad (Department of Business and Management Science, Norwegian School of Economics); Amare Alemaye Mersha (Department of Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods, University of Milan); Luca Rossini (Department of Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods, University of Milan; Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei) |
| Abstract: | This study provides the first global, plant-level analysis of technical and environmental efficiency in steel production using data from 143 mills across 50 countries (2019–2023). Using a Stochastic Directional Distance Function, we estimate plants’ distance to the frontier and compute shadow prices of CO2e emissions. Results show efficient electric arc furnace mini-mills, common in North America, face high abatement costs and low inefficiency. Conversely, integrated plants in developing countries are inefficient but can abate cheaply, with Europe in between. Shadow prices remain well below carbon market rates, underscoring the need for tailored climate policies. |
| Keywords: | Decarbonization, Environmental Efficiency, Shadow Price of Emissions, Steel Industry, Stochastic Directional Distance Function, Technical Efficiency |
| Date: | 2025–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2025.22 |
| By: | Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Kishore, Avinash; Kumar, Anjani |
| Keywords: | Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, Research Methods/Statistical Methods |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea24:343591 |
| By: | Flores, Ivan; Hutchins, Jared P.; Sherrick, Bruce J.; Mashange, Gerald |
| Keywords: | Land Economics/Use, Agricultural Finance, Production Economics |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea24:343880 |
| By: | Hansen, Kristian S. (National Research Centre for the Working Environment (NFA), Copenhagen, Denmark); Moreno-Ternero, Juan D. (Department of Economics, Universidad Pablo de Olavide); Østerdal, Lars Peter (Department of Economics, Copenhagen Business School) |
| Abstract: | This paper develops a unified framework for evaluating health outcomes that jointly incorporates equity and productivity. Extending beyond traditional QALYs, PALYs, and the more recent PQALYs, we introduce a class of evaluation functions that integrate fairness- and productivity-sensitive principles. By imposing normative principles, includ-ing independence from measurement scales and Pigou-Dalton transfer properties, we ob-tain tractable power-form representations. In balancing distributive justice and efficiency, the framework provides a coherent foundation for assessing health interventions in con-texts where both equity and productive capacity are at stake. |
| Keywords: | Health; Productivity; Equity; Distribution; QALYs; PALYs; PQALYs |
| JEL: | D63 I10 J24 |
| Date: | 2025–10–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:cbsnow:2025_009 |
| By: | Harashima, Taiji |
| Abstract: | Conscience plays an important role in reciprocal and altruistic behaviors because it restrains people from behaving totally selfishly, but why is conscience necessary? In this paper, I construct a model that describes the relationship between conscience and total factor productivity and show that a higher level of conscience in an economy increases its total factor productivity through an increase in the benefits of a society (or an economy) resulting from a smaller amount of various kinds of selfish behaviors and activities. Therefore, conscience is an important factor to achieve high economic efficiency. On the basis of this model, I discuss why total factor productivity in a country under the rule of a dictatorship could be half of that of a stably democratic country because a dictatorship will often prevail if the level of conscience of people in a society is very low. |
| Keywords: | The benefit of group membership Conscience; Democracy; Dictatorship; Economic efficiency |
| JEL: | D24 |
| Date: | 2025–11–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:126633 |
| By: | Francesco Vidoli (Dipartimento di Economia, Societa', Politica, Universita' degli Studi di Urbino Carlo Bo); Elisa Fusco (Dipartimento di Statistica, Informatica, Applicazioni "G. Parenti", Universita' degli Studi di Firenze) |
| Abstract: | Efficiency in public services is an equity issue: inefficiency diverts resources from vulnerable populations who depend on public provision, while inaccurate measurement risks confounding structural disadvantage with managerial failure. To reply these issues, this paper proposes a new stochastic frontier estimator that combines Generalized Additive Models for Location, Scale and Shape (GAMLSS) with a data-driven optimal quantile criterion. By modelling the full conditional distribution of production outputs/costs, the approach captures non-linearity, heteroskedasticity and asymmetric inefficiency that traditional parametric frontier models cannot accommodate. Monte Carlo experiments, spanning linear, non-linear and endogenous inefficiency designs, show that the GAMLSS optimal quantile estimator systematically outperforms standard SFA and Fan-type corrections. An application to municipal waste management in Italy confirms its empirical advantages, revealing substantial heterogeneity in cost levels and dispersion. Results demonstrate that distributional flexibility is essential for fair benchmarking and targeted policy design in heterogeneous public service sectors. |
| Keywords: | Stochastic Frontier Analysis; Quantile Regression; Generalized Additive Models for Location, Scale and Shape; Municipal Waste Management |
| JEL: | C14 C23 D24 Q53 |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fir:econom:wp2025_12 |
| By: | V. J. Bolos; R Benitez; V. Coll-Serrano |
| Abstract: | In the framework of data envelopment analysis, we review directional models \citep{Chambers1996, Chambers1998, Briec1997} and show that they are inadequate when inputs and outputs are improved simultaneously under constant returns to scale. Conversely, we introduce a new family of quadratically constrained models with generalized orientation and demonstrate that these models overcome this limitation. Furthermore, we extend the Farrell measure of technical efficiency using these new models. Additionally, we prove that the family of generalized oriented models satisfies some desired monotonicity properties. Finally, we show that the new models, although being quadratically constrained, can be solved through linear programs in a fundamental particular case. |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2512.02630 |
| By: | Giuseppe Simone |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the structural foundations of regional productivity divergence in Italy through the lens of economic complexity. Leveraging a newly constructed Economic Complexity Index (ECI) at the NUTS-3 level, we examine how the sophistication and diversity of local productive structures shape long-run productivity trajectories of Italian provinces over the period 2000–2021. Empirical approach combines panel data models with instrumental variable (IV-GMM) techniques, spatial econometrics, and simultaneous equation systems (3SLS) to capture the direct, spatial, and bidirectional relationships between complexity and productivity. The findings reveal that economic complexity is a robust and consistent predictor of regional labour productivity. This association is particularly strong in Northern provinces, where institutional density and in- novation ecosystems amplify the returns to complexity, and where spatial spillovers from neighbouring territories enhance local outcomes. In contrast, Southern regions experience lower returns and limited externalities, reflecting persistent development traps. Crucially, I provide the first integrated empirical evidence of a cumulative, self-reinforcing loop between complexity and productivity: more complex regions become more productive, and more productive regions are better equipped to diversify into complex activities. |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egu:wpaper:2536 |
| By: | Jaime Alonso-Carrera (Universidade de Vigo); María Jesús Freire-Serén (Universidade de Vigo); Xavier Raurich (Universitat de Barcelona) |
| Abstract: | We measure sectoral price markups, elasticities of substitution between capital and labor, and rates of factor-augmenting technical change in the United States from 1947 to 2010. Our approach utilizes the user cost of capital to decompose firms' operating surplus into capital payments and profits, enabling a direct computation of sectoral price markups. The results reveal that these markups are time-varying and exhibit a positive trend since 1980 in both manufacturing and services, mirroring the observed behavior of markups in the aggregate economy. Additionally, we estimate the elasticities of substitution and the rates of technical progress for each sector. We find that the estimated values of these technological parameters vary significantly depending on the assumption regarding the market structure of sectoral goods: perfect or imperfect competition. |
| Keywords: | Price markups, sectoral productivity, elasticity of substitution, factor-augmenting technical change |
| JEL: | O11 O41 O47 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ewp:wpaper:483web |
| By: | Basilio Tavares Ramos, Erica; Dias Paes Ferreira, Marcelo; De Carvalho Reis Neves, Mateus |
| Keywords: | Production Economics, Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea24:343654 |
| By: | Benini, Giacomo; Enstad, Erik; Mersha, Amare Alemaye; Rossini, Luca |
| Abstract: | This study provides the first global, plant-level analysis of technical and environmental efficiency in steel production using data from 143 mills across 50 countries (2019–2023). Using a Stochastic Directional Distance Function, we estimate plants’ distance to the frontier and compute shadow prices of CO2e emissions. Results show efficient electric arc furnace mini-mills, common in North America, face high abatement costs and low inefficiency. Conversely, integrated plants in developing countries are inefficient but can abate cheaply, with Europe in between. Shadow prices remain well below carbon market rates, underscoring the need for tailored climate policies. |
| Keywords: | Climate Change, Environmental Economics and Policy, Sustainability |
| Date: | 2025–11–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:feemwp:376263 |