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on Efficiency and Productivity |
| By: | yeboah, samuel |
| Abstract: | This study reviews the relationship between carbon emissions and cost efficiency in manufacturing firms within the broader context of sustainable industrial transformation and increasing environmental pressures. The review synthesises contemporary theoretical and empirical literature published between 2020 and 2026, with particular emphasis on Scopus-indexed and Q1-ranked journal articles. The study examines the interaction between carbon emissions, operational efficiency, digital transformation, energy efficiency, and green innovation within manufacturing systems. The findings suggest that improvements in energy efficiency, technological innovation, and digital transformation can significantly reduce carbon emissions while simultaneously enhancing cost efficiency, productivity, and overall firm performance. Nevertheless, the empirical evidence remains mixed and highly context-dependent. Whereas several studies report substantial efficiency gains associated with low-carbon manufacturing practices and digital integration, others identify weak, conditional, or heterogeneous effects influenced by institutional quality, industrial structure, technological readiness, regulatory environments, and firm-specific capabilities. The review further reveals a strong geographical concentration within the literature, particularly the dominance of China-based manufacturing studies, with comparatively limited empirical evidence from African economies and other emerging industrial contexts. Moreover, most existing studies employ indirect indicators such as total factor productivity, ESG performance, or innovation output rather than direct measures of cost efficiency derived from frontier-based techniques such as Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA). The originality of this study lies in its integrated synthesis of carbon emissions and cost efficiency within a unified manufacturing framework, an area that remains fragmented in the existing literature. The study advances an innovative perspective by conceptualising environmental sustainability, digital transformation, and operational cost efficiency as interconnected dimensions of industrial competitiveness rather than isolated constructs. Its contribution to knowledge derives from identifying major theoretical inconsistencies, methodological limitations, and contextual gaps that constrain current understanding, particularly the limited evidence from emerging economies and the inadequate application of direct cost efficiency measurement approaches in manufacturing research. |
| Keywords: | Manufacturing Firms; Digital Transformation; Energy Efficiency; Sustainable Manufacturing; Green Innovation; Industrial Productivity |
| JEL: | C67 D12 L60 O33 Q40 Q56 |
| Date: | 2026–04–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:129216 |
| By: | Ari Ercole |
| Abstract: | Whether investment in digital health technology is associated with differences in hospital productivity is a question of substantial policy relevance, yet interpretation is constrained by challenges in causal identification and prior evidence is mixed. Technical efficiency in NHS acute hospital trusts in England is estimated using Bayesian stochastic frontier analysis. A four-input Cobb--Douglas production function incorporating clinical full-time equivalents, administrative full-time equivalents, non-labour expenditure, and physical capital derived from audited NHS accounts is fitted to 111 acute non-specialist trusts in 2024/25. Digital maturity, measured by the NHS Digital Maturity Assessment, is included in a trust-specific inefficiency equation alongside population deprivation, teaching status, and financial position controls. The composite digital maturity score is estimated to be negatively associated with technical inefficiency (\(\hat{\gamma} = -0.612\), 95\% credible interval \([-1.289, +0.005]\), \(P(\gamma |
| Date: | 2026–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2606.01137 |
| By: | Tatsuya Abe (Graduate School of Economics, Hitotsubashi University, 2-1 Naka, Kunitachi, Tokyo, Japan.); Arlan Brucal (The World Bank Group, 1818 H Street, NW, Washington, DC, USA.); Yuta Toyama (School of Political Science and Economics, Waseda University, 1-6-1 Nishi-Waseda, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan.) |
| Abstract: | How does directed technological change toward energy efficiency shape the effects and design of carbon pricing? We estimate a structural production function that separates energy-augmenting productivity from Hicks-neutral productivity using Indonesian manufacturing microdata. Exploiting energy-price variation from fossil-fuel subsidy reforms, we find that higher energy prices induce energy-augmenting productivity growth. Counterfactual simulations show that heterogeneity in energy-augmenting productivity, rather than Hicks-neutral productivity, drives the welfare advantage of carbon pricing over uniform regulation. When carbon pricing induces energy-augmenting innovation, aggregate emissions fall further, although a rebound effect partially offsets this additional abatement. Effective carbon-pricing design should account for productivity heterogeneity, induced innovation, and rebound effects. |
| Keywords: | Energy-augmenting productivity, production function, rebound effect, induced innovation, structural estimation, carbon pricing, production microdata |
| JEL: | D24 O33 Q41 Q54 |
| Date: | 2026–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:was:dpaper:2603 |
| By: | Orosco Gavilán, Juan Carlos; Orea Sánchez, Luis; Veiga, Helena; Wiper, Michael Peter |
| Abstract: | This study analyses the technical efficiency of 72 Spanish universities (48 public and 24 private) over the 2011--2018 period using a stochastic frontier and metafrontier approach, distinguishing between public and private institutions. In a first stage, the estimation of group-specific frontiers reveals substantial differences in their production technologies: while public universities operate under a more balanced and stable structure, private universities rely more heavily on enrolment expansion and exhibit a more flexible technology. The inclusion of temporal dynamics shows that technological change is biased in the public sector, reflecting adjustments in the input mix, whereas in the private sector it is largely neutral but non-linear, associated with changes in the level of performance. In a second stage, the metafrontier estimation identifies a common technology shaped by human resources, institutional structure, and the scale of demand, while confirming the existence of trade-offs between teaching and research activities. The inefficiency equation indicates that scientific impact and regional R\&D intensity reduce the technology gap, whereas greater academic diversification and higher regional university density tend to widen it. The decomposition of efficiency reveals a clear segmentation of the system: public universities exhibit higher efficiency levels and lower dispersion, while private universities display greater heterogeneity. Quantitatively, public universities exhibit an average meta-technical efficiency of 0.836 and a technology gap ratio of 0.950, whereas private universities reach only 0.547 and 0.815, respectively. Overall, the results show that the differences between both groups are not limited to efficiency levels, but also reflect distinct production technologies, dynamic adjustment processes, and institutional environments. These findings have important implications for the design of higher education policies. |
| Keywords: | Higher Education; Efficiency; Stochastic Frontier Analysis; Stochastic Metafrontier; Multi-Output |
| Date: | 2026–06–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cte:wsrepe:50251 |
| By: | yeboah, samuel |
| Abstract: | Digital transformation has become a critical strategic driver of cost efficiency and competitiveness in manufacturing firms. This literature review synthesises contemporary theoretical and empirical evidence on the relationship between digital transformation and cost efficiency in manufacturing contexts. Drawing on resource-based view, dynamic capabilities theory, and transaction cost economics, the study explains how digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data analytics, automation, and integrated digital platforms enhance operational efficiency and reduce production costs. The review identifies multiple transmission mechanisms, including improvements in production efficiency, supply chain coordination, labour productivity, innovation efficiency, and resource utilisation. Empirical evidence from diverse contexts consistently shows that digital transformation reduces operating costs, enhances total factor productivity, improves energy efficiency, and strengthens firm performance. However, the review also highlights significant variations in outcomes depending on organisational readiness, technological capability, and institutional environments. While most studies report positive efficiency effects, evidence remains fragmented across different efficiency dimensions and geographically concentrated in developed and Chinese manufacturing sectors, limiting broader generalisability. The study further identifies key implementation challenges, including infrastructural constraints, capability gaps, and organisational resistance, particularly in emerging economies. By integrating existing literature, this review develops a conceptual framework linking digital transformation to cost efficiency through multiple mediating mechanisms. The study concludes with policy implications and future research directions aimed at strengthening digital capability development and enhancing manufacturing competitiveness globally. |
| Keywords: | Manufacturing firms; Industry 4.0; Operational efficiency; Supply chain efficiency; Total factor productivity |
| JEL: | D24 L60 M15 O33 Q55 |
| Date: | 2026–04–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:129217 |
| By: | Li, Junkan; Nganje, William; Steinbach, Sandro |
| Abstract: | This report examines long-term trends in farm income, agricultural production, productivity, and research and development (R&D) investment in North Dakota. Although nominal farm receipts have increased substantially, growth in real net receipts has been more modest because rising production costs have absorbed a substantial share of revenue gains, particularly in livestock production. North Dakota also achieved strong long-run total factor productivity (TFP) growth after 1960, consistent with the delayed effects of earlier public agricultural R&D growth. However, productivity growth has slowed in recent decades, and aggregate TFP has stagnated after 2000, likely reflecting slower R&D growth in earlier decades, especially during the 1990s. Despite this slowdown, estimated returns to North Dakota agricultural R&D remain positive and economically meaningful. The preferred specification produces an internal rate of return (IRR) of 28.42 percent and a modified internal rate of return (MIRR) of 10.37 percent. Counterfactual simulations suggest that if real R&D investment had continued to grow at the 2000–2015 rate during 2015–2025, additional agricultural production through 2075 would have been worth $7.47 billion in 2015 dollars. These findings suggest that sustained public agricultural R&D investment can support North Dakota’s long-run productivity growth and production capacity. |
| Keywords: | Productivity Analysis, Public Economics, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Research Research Methods/Statistical Methods |
| Date: | 2026–06–15 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:arpcre:404147 |
| By: | Askenazy, Philippe (Centre Maurice Halbwachs (ENS-PSL, EHESS, INRAE, CNRS), Insee and IZA); Di Nallo, Ugo (Insee); Ramajo, Ismaël (Dares) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the causal impact of post-Covid telework on firm productivity in France, where hybrid work has become the dominant form of telework. Using matched survey and administrative data on over 6, 500 firms employing three million workers, we test whether telework in 2022 relates to productivity growth from 2019 to 2022 excluding agriculture, finance and insurance, and real estate. OLS estimates show a modest positive link: a 10-percentage-point rise in telework share correlates with a 0.7-1.0 percentage-point productivity gain. To address endogeneity, we use an instrumental variable based on pre-pandemic office surface per employee in rented separate office spaces, which likely facilitated telework adoption and cost reductions. The instrument is strong, and 2SLS results indicate a sizeable LATE: a 10-point increase in telework raises productivity by about 2.7 points. Firms with separate offices also reduce obsolete space and slightly increase office equipment, suggesting additional productivity channels beyond real-estate adjustments. |
| Keywords: | telework, productivity, office |
| JEL: | L23 J52 J81 |
| Date: | 2026–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18655 |
| By: | Nasha Bolingo, Jean-Philippe; Kiala T'Sinda, Man David |
| Abstract: | This article investigates the quality of public expenditure in the Democratic Republic of Congo over the 2020–2025 period, combining three analytical approaches: a composite outcome indicator, a stochastic frontier efficiency model, and a subnational equity analysis. A Budget Quality Index (BQI) was constructed from sectoral indicators aggregated through Principal Component Analysis; technical efficiency scores were estimated using the Generalized True Random Effects stochastic frontier model on a panel of 14 Sub-Saharan African countries over the same period; and the economic structure of provincial transfers was examined across all 26 provinces. Results indicate that the DRC's BQI rose from 33.0 to 43.6 out of 100 between 2020 and 2025, a genuine improvement that nonetheless leaves the country well below the panel average of 55/100. Total technical efficiency stands at 0.625 against a panel mean of 0.744 — and, crucially, the bulk of observed inefficiency proves to be persistent rather than transient. At the subnational level, 8 of the 26 provinces allocate over 80% of their transfers to compensation, a structural rigidity that severely constrains both operational and investment capacity. The article's main contribution lies in the joint application, to the DRC case, of a multidimensional BQI, a GTRE decomposition distinguishing persistent from transient inefficiency, and an infranational transfer equity analysis by economic category — a combination that remains largely undocumented in the existing literature on Congo. |
| Keywords: | public expenditure quality; Budget Quality Index; SFA/GTRE; persistent efficiency; transient efficiency; subnational transfers; DRC; Sub-Saharan Africa qualité des dépenses publiques ; Budget Quality Index ; SFA/GTRE ; efficience persistante ; efficience variante ; transferts infranationaux ; RDC ; Afrique subsaharienne |
| JEL: | C23 D24 H50 H72 H77 O55 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:129522 |
| By: | Bond, Steve; Norris Keiller, Agnes; de Paula, Áureo; Van Reenen, John |
| Abstract: | Norris Keiller, de Paula, and Van Reenen (2024) (NPR) propose estimating production functions using firms' subjective expectations of future output and inputs, data which are becoming increasingly available in surveys. This note compares their proposed estimator to traditional dynamic panel data (e.g., Blundell and Bond 2000) and proxy variable methods (e.g., Olley and Pakes 1996). While NPR allows for nonlinear productivity processes, we discuss commonalities with the former when those processes are linear. We note that NPR may be more robust to oligopolistic competition than the latter since it does not employ input demand relations to proxy for productivity. |
| JEL: | C23 C51 D21 D24 D43 D84 |
| Date: | 2026–05–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:138667 |
| By: | Alvarez, Lourdes; Bullón, Angel |
| Abstract: | Innovation is a fundamental driver of productivity, playing a pivotal role in fostering market dynamism. This study examines firm-level data from Peru, analyzing innovation activities in small and large enterprises across the manufacturing and services sectors. Employing a rigorous methodological framework—including Fligner–Policello tests, matching techniques, and unconditional quantile treatment effects—the analysis reveals that innovation significantly increases sales growth in large manufacturing firms and service-sector SMEs, while no immediate effects on productivity are detected. Regarding firm longevity, significant impacts are observed exclusively among large manufacturers. These findings indicate that, in contrast to sales, productivity gains from innovation may require a longer horizon to emerge. |
| Keywords: | Business innovation, Sales growth, Labor productivity, Firm longevity, SMEs, Manufacturing and Services. |
| JEL: | L1 O31 |
| Date: | 2025–11–19 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:129105 |
| By: | Maczulskij, Terhi |
| Abstract: | Abstract This study examines the impact of the EU Emission Trading System on firms’ productivity and innovation behavior in the Finnish energy-intensive sector. Using unique administrative data on emissions and firm characteristics from 2000 onwards, the effect of the ETS is analyzed using staggered difference-in-difference design. The results show that while firms do not increase productivity or innovation inputs, those regulated are significantly more likely to introduce both process and product innovations. Additional findings suggest that the ETS effectively reduced energy intensity. Together the findings suggest that carbon pricing may stimulate technological adaptation and environmental improvements without generating measurable losses in productivity. |
| Keywords: | EU ETS, Innovation, Productivity |
| JEL: | D24 O31 O33 Q52 Q58 |
| Date: | 2026–06–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rif:wpaper:139 |
| By: | Michalis Nikiforos; Vlassis Missos; Christos Pierros; Nikolaos Rodousakis |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the structural transformation of the Greek economy over the past fifteen years, focusing on the increasing dominance of the Accommodation and Food Service Activities (AFSA) sector in the aftermath of austerity and structural reforms. Despite promises of productivity gains through labor market and product market reforms, the Greek economy has experienced a sharp decline in labor productivity and a significant reallocation of employment towards low-productivity sectors, especially AFSA, reminiscent of a Lewis-type dual sector economy. Using a simple Panel-VAR model we find that declining aggregate demand and real wages were key drivers of this productivity collapse. Our findings support theories of technological change that emphasize output growth and the cost of labor as fundamental determinants of productivity growth. |
| Keywords: | Greece; austerity, structural reforms, structural transformation, technical change |
| JEL: | E6 H3 J38 J5 O1 O3 Z30 |
| Date: | 2025–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hel:greese:212 |
| By: | Kwan Soo Shin; In Seok Kang |
| Abstract: | Why does massive AI investment fail to generate commensurate productivity gains? We argue the paradox is theoretically generated: prevailing production function frameworks encounter a structural boundary by treating AI as a separable factor of production without modeling the cognitive mediation through which AI generates productive value. This directs investment toward deployment when productivity requires prior development of what we term convergence capacity (C). We propose the Intellectually Converged Human (ICH) framework, a fifth-stage framework for production function theory: H-hat = H[1 + phi(A, C)], where effective productive capacity equals human capital (H) scaled by an augmentation factor [1 + phi], with phi jointly determined by AI utilization intensity (A) and convergence capacity (C), a four-dimensional cognitive construct encompassing embodied understanding, metacognition, temporal integration, and integrative thinking. The production function Y = F(K, H-hat) provides a human-centered mechanism for Solow's TFP residual: A_Solow = [1 + phi(A, C)]^(1-alpha). The framework predicts three augmentation regimes with distinct policy implications. Descriptive cross-national analysis of 20 OECD economies shows the AIxC interaction is associated with 86% of TFP variance versus 31% for AI alone, a pattern-consistent finding in the small-n theoretical tradition. South Korea exemplifies national-scale under-augmentation: high H, substantial A, low C produce phi = 0. We distinguish convergence capacity from adjacent constructs, absorptive capacity, dynamic capability, and human capital, and demonstrate that C constitutes the specific cognitive mediator that prior frameworks have left implicit. We derive C-first policy prescriptions and offer three empirically testable propositions with a falsifiable 10-year forecast. |
| Date: | 2026–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2606.19794 |
| By: | Bechir Ben Lahouel (Ecole de Commerce et de Management à Paris (France, Paris) - EMLV); Lotfi Taleb (Université de Tunis); Emmanuelle Dubocage (EM - EMLyon Business School) |
| Abstract: | With a focus on a less frequently used inefficiency performance measure in the strategic corporate social responsibility rhetoric, this study aims to investigate the relationship between five facets of stakeholder management and firm competitiveness. A sample of 28 global airlines from 2008 to 2022 is used to investigate this connection. Based on the premise that airlines operate within a dynamic three-stage network framework, an innovative slacks-based data envelopment analysis technique is used to evaluate airline inefficiencies. We use an advanced panel quantile regression method with fixed effects to test the hypothesized relationships. According to the empirical results, different stakeholder characteristics affect competitiveness in different ways, and these effects change depending on the quantile. Our results highlight the need of investing in customer satisfaction, loyalty, and staff trust and dedication, as well as the need to uphold high standards in community relations. However, the negative effects of human rights and environmental issues on competitiveness highlight the difficulties airlines have in balancing their social obligations with continuing to operate profitably. Our earlier findings are supported by the robustness assessment, which uses the moments quantile regressions approach. |
| Keywords: | airlines, firms competitiveness, Corporate social responsibility (CSR), data envelopment analysis, performance and efficiency measurement, competitive advantage, stakeholder theory, Strategic corporate social responsibility |
| Date: | 2026–05–21 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05638962 |
| By: | Maczulskij, Terhi |
| Abstract: | Abstract TThe EU ETS is the main climate policy instrument in the European Union. By putting a price on carbon emissions, it aims to reduce GHG emissions while encouraging firms to adopt cleaner technologies. This policy brief summarizes the results from the recent paper examining the effects of the EU ETS on productivity, innovation activity, and environmental performance among Finnish energy-intensive firms. The analysis is based on various firm-level datasets covering the period 2000–2020. The data include financial statements, emissions, energy use, innovation activity, and R&D expenditure. Causal effects are identified by exploiting the staggered difference-in-difference method. The results show that the EU ETS did not reduce firms’ productivity or R&D expenditure. At the same time, regulated firms became significantly more likely to introduce both process and product innovations. In addition, energy intensity declined by approximately ten percent following regulation. These findings suggest that carbon pricing can stimulate technological adaptation and innovation without generating measurable costs on firm competitiveness. The innovation effects appear to arise primarily through technology adoption and process improvements rather than increased R&D inputs. Overall, the results support the use of climate policies as an effective tool for promoting the green transition while maintaining economic performance. |
| Keywords: | EU ETS, Innovation, Productivity |
| JEL: | D24 O31 O33 Q52 Q58 |
| Date: | 2026–06–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rif:briefs:181 |
| By: | Han Gao; Michael P. Keane; Kaja Kierulf; Alan Woodland |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates a learning-by-doing human-capital production function in which hours affect both current productivity and future human capital. We show that the standard Ben-Porath specification is weakly identified: its objective function is nearly flat along a ridge in parameter space, undermining conventional inference. We develop a flexible sieve alternative that is well-identified, and estimate a concave hours technology using PSID data. Embedding this technology in a life-cycle model, we find very small prime-age labor-supply responses to temporary wage shocks. Despite these low elasticities, optimal labor-income taxes are flat because they distort both current labor supply and future human-capital accumulation. |
| JEL: | C13 C14 H21 J22 J24 |
| Date: | 2026–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:35238 |
| By: | Aung, Zin Wai; Minten, Bart |
| Abstract: | We analyzed rice productivity and profitability data for the 2025 monsoon season from the Myanmar Agriculture Performance Survey (MAPS), conducted at the beginning of 2026. The survey covered plots managed by 2, 734 rice producers across all states and regions of the country. As no MAPS survey was conducted during the 2024 monsoon season, we compare performance changes with those observed in 2023. Our findings reveal the following: 1. National rice productivity, measured on farmers’ largest plots, declined by an average of 8 percent during the 2025 monsoon compared to 2023. This lower productivity was primarily driven by reduced incentives for production as shown by reduced labor inputs, with more farmers adopting broadcasting methods, as well as an increased incidence of natural shocks, notably floods and heavy rains. 2. The Delta agro-ecological zone, the country’s principal rice-producing area, experienced a 7 percent decline in rice productivity in 2025 compared to 2023, while the Coastal agro-ecological zone recorded the largest decline among all zones, with yields falling by 22 percent. This sharp reduction was partly driven by poor performance in Rakhine State, which was largely cut off from commercial input and output markets in 2025, considerably reducing the use of modern inputs in rice production. 3. Thirty-six percent of paddy farmers reported being affected by climatic or other production shocks during the 2025 monsoon season. Floods, reported by 10 percent of farmers, and heavy rains, reported by 15 percent, had significant adverse effects on yields. Among affected farmers, paddy yields declined by 34 percent and 15 percent, respectively. 4. Significant changes in rice cultivation input costs were observed between the 2023 and 2025 monsoon seasons. Prices of urea, the most important chemical fertilizer used by rice farmers, increased by 23 percent, while mechanization costs, measured through plowing costs, increased by 55 percent. Wages recorded the sharpest increases, likely reflecting escalating rural labor scarcity. Wages increased by 88 percent for men and 83 percent for women. Overall input expenditures per acre of rice cultivated increased by 63 percent. 5. Farmgate paddy prices declined by 6 percent, reflecting changes in international rice prices between the 2023 and 2025 monsoon seasons. 6. Given rising input costs and declining paddy prices, paddy farming profits declined substantially and reached their lowest level in the last six years. Nominal profits per acre fell by 40 percent between 2023 and 2025. 7. Commercially obtained inputs are significantly associated with higher rice yields. A doubling of commercial input expenditures is associated with a 34 percent increase in yields, while a doubling of chemical fertilizer use is associated with a 9 percent increase in yields, ceteris paribus. The use of organic fertilizer is also positively and significantly associated with higher yields, with users obtaining yields that are 4 percent higher on average. The outlook for paddy production in 2026 appears highly uncertain due to several factors: 1. The Iran war: High fuel prices, as well as constrained fuel availability resulting from the Iran war, are likely to complicate transportation, irrigation, and agricultural mechanization, thereby affecting preparation for the next monsoon season. Fertilizer prices have also risen sharply and are expected to remain elevated for the foreseeable future (Arita et al. 2026), with likely negative consequences for use rates and profitability for paddy production during the 2026 monsoon (USDA 2026). 2. Weather conditions: Adverse weather conditions, as observed during the 2025 monsoon, can significantly affect yields. Most climate models predict El Niño conditions during the second half of 2026. These conditions are typically associated with drier-than-average rainfall, which could lead to lower rice yields. 3. Evolution of insecurity: Insecurity is associated with reduced access to agricultural inputs and higher input costs where inputs remain available, thereby reducing profitability for farmers in these areas. 4. Labor scarcity: Labor availability is expected to remain constrained during the next monsoon season due to significant out-migration (linked to the Military Service Law). These findings point to three key implications for Myanmar’s rice sector: 1. Ensuring access to agricultural inputs: Myanmar’s rice sector is highly commercialized, and access to commercial inputs is crucial for its performance. Risks associated with the Iran war, particularly regarding fuel and chemical fertilizer availability and prices, pose serious challenges for the functioning of the sector. While some commercial inputs could potentially be partially substituted with local production factors, such as agricultural labor replacing mechanized operations or organic fertilizers substituting for chemical fertilizers, a lack of access to these commercial inputs would nevertheless have major implications for rice production and national food security. Where feasible, encouraging such substitution may help mitigate some of these impacts. 2. Expanding access to climate-resilient seeds and other climate-smart agricultural technologies: As farmers are increasingly relying on self-preserved paddy seeds, there is an urgent need for them to have access to and to promote improved, high-yielding, and stress-tolerant rice varieties. Our findings show that farmers affected by floods and droughts experience substantially lower yields than unaffected farmers. Given the expected increase in weather-related shocks associated with climate change, as well as anticipated El Niño conditions, wider adoption of adapted seed varieties as well as other climate-smart agricultural technologies will be critical. 3. Ensuring profitability in rice farming: Rice farming profitability was severely stressed in 2025. This raises concerns about production incentives for the upcoming monsoon season, particularly as input costs continue to rise while rice prices – at least internationally – remain stagnant. Adjustment of the dual exchange rate system that currently depresses output prices would be beneficial. Ensuring adequate rice availability in the country may also require expanded access to credit schemes, or targeted input voucher programs for poorer smallholders, to sustain production and national food security. |
| Keywords: | rice; agricultural productivity; profitability; monsoon climate; wet season; farm inputs; Myanmar; Asia; South-eastern Asia |
| Date: | 2026–05–27 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprwp:183098 |
| By: | LY, Yahya |
| Abstract: | This study offers an updated and contextualized estimation of Mauritania’s potential GDP for the period 2014-2024, using four complementary approaches : linear trend, band-pass filter, and production function. The findings indicate a steady increase in potential output, with annual growth rates ranging from 3.2% to 3.7%, which is comparatively lower than the averages observed in Sub Saharan Africa (4% - 6%) or other low-income countries (5% - 7%). This moderate potential growth reflects several structural limitations, including a strong dependence on the extractive sector, gaps in human capital, infrastructure deficits, and institutional fragilities. These findings carry significant implications for economic policy : the need to incorporate output gap analysis into monetary policy, prioritize investment in human capital and productive infrastructure, and accelerate economic diversification. Future research could enrich these results by integrating institutional variables, conducting a sectoral breakdown of potential output, and analyzing the effects of energy transition and regional integration on Mauritania’s long-term growth prospects. |
| Keywords: | Measuring Potential Output in a Resource-Dependent Developing Economy : The Case of Mauritania |
| JEL: | A10 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:129091 |
| By: | Khan, Muhammed Umar; Audi, Marc |
| Abstract: | This study examines the impact of financial reporting quality on firm performance, with external audit quality serving as a mediating factor in an emerging market context. Although prior literature acknowledges the importance of financial reporting transparency and audit integrity, limited attention has been given to their combined influence, particularly in developing economies characterized by relatively weak governance structures and regulatory enforcement mechanisms. Grounded in Agency Theory and Signaling Theory, the study proposes that high-quality financial reporting reduces information asymmetry and agency costs, thereby improving firm performance. Furthermore, external audit quality strengthens the credibility of financial disclosures and enhances their positive effect on organizational outcomes. The study adopts a mixed-methods approach by combining a comprehensive literature review with empirical financial analysis. Data were collected from 11 publicly listed companies operating across different sectors in Pakistan over the period 2015–2025. Firm performance was measured using Return on Assets and Return on Equity. Financial reporting quality was proxied through total accruals, calculated as the difference between net income and operating cash flow. Audit quality was assessed through audit firm size, distinguishing between Big Four and non-Big Four audit firms, as well as audit fees. Firm size, leverage, and total sales were incorporated as control variables. The findings reveal a complex relationship among financial reporting quality, audit quality, and firm performance. Firms characterized by lower accruals, reflecting higher earnings quality, generally demonstrated stronger financial performance, particularly when audited by reputable audit firms. However, the results also indicate contextual variation, as some high-accrual firms reported favorable performance outcomes, suggesting that industry characteristics, corporate governance practices, and macroeconomic conditions may influence the relationship. The mediating role of audit quality was especially evident where high audit standards enhanced transparency, credibility, and stakeholder confidence. |
| Keywords: | Financial Reporting Quality, Audit Quality, Firm Performance, Earnings Quality |
| JEL: | G32 M41 M42 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:129173 |
| By: | Kwan Soo Shin; In Seok Kang |
| Abstract: | AI augmentation breaks the accounting link between labor time and productive contribution, yet firms continue to evaluate talent through time-based overhead bundles. This paper develops a forecasting framework for the transition from time-based talent accounting to output-based talent ROI in the human-AI era. The framework centres on Theorem 3 (ROI Inversion at {\tau}*) as the empirical spine, with four mechanism theorems: overhead non-additivity, augmentation-saved-time pathways, innovation-premium amplification, and human-AI dyad attribution uncertainty. Korea's staged 52-hour workweek mandate provides an empirical early-warning case. In a DART panel of 365 listed firms (2, 281 firm-year observations), the SG&A-to-revenue ratio rose from 18.26 percent in 2018 to 20.06 percent in 2020, corrected mildly in 2021-2022, and peaked at 20.10 percent in 2024. Under the revenue-percentile cohort proxy, two-way fixed effects (+1.56 pp, p = 0.049), pooled event-study estimates (+4.21 pp at t = +3, p = 0.001), and Callaway-Sant'Anna doubly-robust staggered DiD estimates (+4.51 pp at t = +4) converge on a positive overhead-pressure signature. A 2015-2017 backward extension (224 firms, 601 observations) supplies pre-treatment data, providing evidence against pre-existing upward-trend confounds. We read the Korean evidence not as a direct {\tau}* estimate or a point causal magnitude, but as, to our knowledge, the first empirically documented signature of the pre-{\tau} overhead-pressure regime, where time-based accounting still dominates while AI augmentation and labor-time compression jointly raise overhead. Output-based firms are forecast to outperform time-based peers by 1.5-2.0 percentage points in firm-level TFP growth by 2032. The contribution is a forecasting model and managerial planning tool for the shift to AI-augmented talent ROI accounting. |
| Date: | 2026–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2606.19846 |