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on Efficiency and Productivity |
| By: | António Afonso; José Alves; Najat Bazah; A. J. SánchezFuentes |
| Abstract: | We evaluate the efficiency of public expenditure in the 27 European countries in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda. Using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), we map performance over the period 1995-2023, incorporating Musgravian functional spending – redistribution, allocation, public services, and private activities – as input variables, and constructing synthetic indices for the five pillars of the 2030 Agenda people, planet, prosperity, peace, and partnership – as outputs. Results indicate that input efficiency scores range from 0.77 to 0.95, while output scores range from 0.88 to 0.93, suggesting a potential 5%-23.5% increase in inputs or a 7%-11.7% improvement in outputs. Denmark, Ireland, and Finland are efficient throughout the entire period, with strategic reductions in public spending correlating with high SDG performance. Sweden also has high efficiency and leads in multiple pillars by 2023. Conversely, the peace pillar remains the least achieved, while the people pillar shows the greatest progress. |
| Keywords: | public spending; Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA); government spending efficiency. |
| JEL: | C61 H11 H72 O57 Q56 |
| Date: | 2025–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ise:remwps:wp03882025 |
| By: | Mocetti, Sauro; Pesenti, Ottavia; Roma, Giacomo |
| Abstract: | The measurement of productivity in the public sector is challenging, in part because of the difficulties associated with defining and quantifying outputs. Even when outputs are observable, their proper evaluation remains complex. This paper proposes a parsimonious yet generalizable model, using judicial courts as a case study, that assumes a linear production function in which each case has the same weight. The model shows that the number of resolved cases is systematically shaped by both the volume and the composition of newly filed cases. Consequently, standard productivity indicators that fail to account for the characteristics of incoming workloads may be severely biased. |
| Keywords: | performance; public sector; productivity; civil justice; inflows; outflows |
| JEL: | K40 |
| Date: | 2025–07–23 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:128897 |
| By: | Victor (Xucheng); CHEN |
| Abstract: | This study investigates the relationship between innovation activities and firm-level productivity among early-stage high-tech startups in China. Using a proprietary dataset encompassing patent records, R&D expenditures, capital valuation, and firm performance from 2020 to 2024, we examine whether and how innovation, measured by patents and R&D input, translates into economic output. Contrary to established literature, we find that patent output does not significantly contribute to either income or profit among the sampled firms. Further investigation reveals that patents may primarily serve a signaling function to external investors and policymakers, rather than reflecting true innovative productivity. In contrast, R&D expenditure shows a consistent and positive association with firm performance. Through mechanism analysis, we explore three channels (organizational environment, employee quality, and policy-driven incentives) to explain the impact of R&D, identifying capital inflow and valuation as key drivers of R&D investment. Finally, heterogeneity analysis indicates that the effects of R&D are more pronounced in sub-industries such as smart terminals and digital creativity, and for firms based in Shenzhen. Our findings challenge the prevailing assumption that patent output is a universal indicator of innovation success and underscore the context-dependent nature of innovation-performance linkages in emerging markets. |
| Date: | 2025–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2507.18227 |
| By: | Sanjaya Kumar Malik (Institute for Studies in Industrial Development, New Delhi) |
| Abstract: | The electronics industry is the largest and fastest-growing industry in the world. Because of their complementary and enabler properties, electronics are increasingly diffusing into communication, computing, healthcare, defence, transportation, energy, and countless other applications around the world. Electronics are the driving force behind emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud computing, internet of things, advanced robotics, 3D printing, 5G, and so on. The electronics industry is the most-prioritized industry of the government of India as it lies in the heart of the Make in India and Digital India programme of the country. The domestic electronics industry has nevertheless been crippled with declining share of value addition in output and negative productivity growth over the last three decades. Employing the unbalanced panel data on electronics manufacturing firms from ProwessIQ database for the period spanning from 2000-01 to 2021-22, the paper analyses the technological efforts by the electronics manufacturing firms to delineate the dismal productivity growth in Indian electronics industry. The paper underscores an abysmal technological effort made by the firms in the electronics industry, that explains the dismal productivity growth in the Indian electronics industry during the last two decades. Further, the selective policy measures are not seen to have accelerated the technological efforts by firms in the electronics industry, instead there was a declined allocation of resources towards the technological activities to revive the productivity growth of the electronics industry. |
| Keywords: | Technological change, total factor productivity, electronics industry, India |
| Date: | 2024–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sid:wpaper:277a |
| By: | Joris Tielens (National Bank of Belgium, Research Department) |
| Abstract: | We study the interconnection between the productivity and pricing effects of financial shocks. Combining administrative records on firm-level output prices and quantities with quasi-experimental variation in credit supply, we show that a tightening of credit conditions has a persistent, yet delayed, negative effect on firms’ long-run physical productivity growth (TFPQ) but also induces firms to change their pricing policies. Commonly used revenue-based productivity measures (TFPR)—which conflate price and productivity—offer biased predictions regarding the consequences of financial shocks for firms’ productivity growth, underestimating the long-run elasticity of physical productivity to credit supply by half. We also show that the pricing adjustments themselves have productivity implications. Firms use low pricing as a source of internal financing, allowing them to avoid cutting expenditures on productivity-enhancing activities, thereby softening the impact of financial shocks. We incorporate these forces into a quantitative model of firm dynamics to quantify the importance of productivity and pricing dynamics (and their interplay) in driving the scarring effects of financial crises on aggregate productivity and welfare. |
| Keywords: | productivity, pricing, financial constraints, innovation |
| JEL: | D22 D24 E31 E44 G01 |
| Date: | 2025–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbb:reswpp:202507-479 |
| By: | Fabio Bertolotti; Kyle R. Myers; Wei Yang Tham |
| Abstract: | We develop a method to estimate producers’ productivity beliefs in settings where output quantities and input prices are unobservable, and we use it to evaluate allocative efficiency in the market for science. Our model of researchers’ labor supply shows that their willingness to pay for their two key inputs, funding and time, reveals their underlying productivity beliefs. We estimate the model’s parameters using data from a nationally representative survey of research-active professors from all major fields of science. We find that the distribution of research productivity is highly skewed. Using these estimates, we assess the market’s allocative efficiency by comparing actual input allocations to optimal allocations given various objectives. Overall, the market for science is moderately efficient at maximizing output and researchers’ utility: actual input levels are positively correlated with the optimal levels implied by the model. However, the wedge between researchers’ actual and optimal input levels is often significant and difficult to predict. Our estimates imply that total budgets would need to increase by roughly 40% under actual allocations in order to achieve the same growth in scientific output that we predict under alternative allocations of the current budget. Scaling to the population level, this equates to billions of dollars in funding — there are substantial gains from developing new ways of identifying and supporting productive scientists. |
| JEL: | D24 M5 O3 O30 O31 O32 O38 O40 |
| Date: | 2025–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34000 |
| By: | Benini, Giacomo (Dept. of Business and Management Science, Norwegian School of Economics); Enstad, Erik (Dept. of Business and Management Science, Norwegian School of Economics); Mersha, Amare Alemaye (Dept. of Economics, University of Milan); Rossini, Luca (Dept. of Economics, University of Milan) |
| Abstract: | This study provides the first global, plant-level assessment of both technical and environmental efficiency in steel production using a novel micro-dataset covering 147 steel mills across 50 countries from 2019 to 2023. Applying a Stochastic Directional Distance Function, we estimate each plant’s distance to the production frontier and compute the shadow price of CO2e emissions. Our results reveal a robust negative correlation between inefficiency and marginal abatement cost: technically efficient electric arc furnace (EAF) mini-mills — particularly prevalent in North America — display low inefficiency scores (∼0.2) and face high marginal abatement costs (up to 13.4 USD/ton). Conversely, integrated plants in developing countries often operate inefficiently (scores up to ∼0.8) but can abate emissions at very low cost (∼0.4 USD/ton), with Europe positioned between these two extremes. Estimated shadow prices are consistently lower than prevailing carbon market rates, highlighting a systemic under-valuation of emissions in the absence of regulatory pressure. This underpricing, in turn, reflects the highly uneven technological and economic conditions across steel plants worldwide, reinforcing the need for climate policies that account for both efficiency levels and plant configurations, and that tailor interventions to the specific costs and capacities of decarbonization. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Efficiency; Shadow Price of Emissions; Steel Industry; Stochastic Directional Distance Function; Technical Efficiency |
| JEL: | Q50 |
| Date: | 2025–08–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:nhhfms:2025_023 |
| By: | Romensen, Gert-Jan; Soetevent, Adriaan (University of Groningen) |
| Abstract: | An often-voiced concern with relative performance feedback is that it may not improve workplace productivity if workers become demotivated and see no way to improve. Targeting feedback at specific productivity measures over which workers have direct control may in such cases prevent demotivation and focus attention. Does targeting improve worker productivity? We partner with a large bus company and experimentally vary the nature and number of peer-comparison messages which 409 bus drivers receive in their monthly feedback report. Messages are targeted at concrete driving behaviors and aimed at improving comfort and fuel efficiency. Using over 800, 000 trip-level observations, we find that these targeted peercomparison messages do not improve aggregate (fuel economy) or disaggregate measures (such as acceleration) of driving behavior. Further analyses also reveal no temporal orheterogeneous effects of the targeted messages. |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gro:rugfeb:2025006-eef |
| By: | Hiroyuki OIWA |
| Abstract: | This paper quantitatively examines the economic impact of the relative lack of digital investment in Japan as a factor contributing to the productivity gap between Japan and the U.S., which has expanded since the 1990s. Using panel data from 100 industries spanning from 1994 to 2020, the estimated production function confirmed that the marginal effect of software assets on value-added significantly exceeds that of tangible assets. Furthermore, if software assets and intangible assets, which are complementary, were to increase to U.S. levels, approximately half of the productivity gap (38 percentage points) between Japan and the U.S. could be closed. These analytical results suggest the need to shift the focus of policy support from investment in tangible assets to investment in software and intangible assets. Next, this paper estimates the investment function for the determinants of digital investment by eliminating selection bias in control variables using the Post-Double-Selection Lasso method. The analysis reveals that factors such as the quality of workers, software prices, and wages of general workers have statistically significant positive effects on the expansion of digital investment. Improving the levels of each factor by 76% could result in an approximate four-fold increase in the amount of digital investment, raising software assets to the U.S. level. This indicates that supporting the development and recruitment of high-quality workers who can internalize software development, providing support for scaling-up efforts to reduce software prices, and raising wages for workers overall are effective policy measures for enhancing Japan's productivity through digital investment. |
| Date: | 2025–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:rdpsjp:25016 |
| By: | Miguel Ortiz (Departamento de Economía de la Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú); Juan Palomino (Departamento de Economía de la Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú) |
| Abstract: | This study examines how technologyextension and transfer services (TETS) drive firm-level innovation andproductivity. Since research and development (R&D) investments are subjectto market failure, engaging with external agents enables firms to innovate atlower risk and cost. Using data from Peru’s National Innovation Survey (ENI), we apply the Crépon, Duguet, and Mairesse (CDM) model alongside propensityscore matching (PSM) to enhance the reliability of our results. Additionally, we employ the generalized propensity score (GPS) method to analyze thesensitivity of innovation and sales outcomes to varying investment levels. Thefindings confirm that investment in training and external R&D significantlyenhances innovation, thereby boosting labor productivity. However, thisrelationship is nonlinear, suggesting the presence of investment thresholdsrequired to maximize impact. Palabras claves: Technology Transfer, Innovation, Productivity, R&D, CDM model JEL Classification-JE: L25, O32, O38 |
| Keywords: | Technology Transfer, Innovation, Productivity, R&D, CDM model |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pcp:pucwps:wp00543 |
| By: | Xu Cheng (University of Pennsylvania); Frank Schorfheide (University of Pennsylvania); Peng Shao (Auburn University) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the estimation of multi-dimensional heterogeneous parameters in a nonlinear panel data model with endogeneity. These heterogeneous parameters are modeled with group patterns. Through estimating multiple memberships for each unit, the proposed method is robust to limited information from a subset of clusters: either due to sparse interactions of characteristics or weak identification of some combinations of heterogeneous parameters. We estimate the memberships along with the group specific and common parameters in a nonlinear GMM framework and derive their large sample properties. Finally, we apply this approach to the estimation of heterogeneous firm-level production functions parameters which are converted into markup estimates. |
| Keywords: | Clustering, GMM, K-means, Panel Data, Production Function Estimation |
| JEL: | C13 C23 D22 D24 E23 |
| Date: | 2025–06–19 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pen:papers:25-014 |
| By: | Tatsuru Kikuchi |
| Abstract: | While recent research demonstrates that AI route-optimization systems improve taxi driver productivity by 14\%, this study reveals that such findings capture only a fraction of AI's potential in transportation. We examine comprehensive weather-aware AI systems that integrate deep learning meteorological prediction with machine learning positioning optimization, comparing their performance against traditional operations and route-only AI approaches. Using simulation data from 10, 000 taxi operations across varied weather conditions, we find that weather-aware AI systems increase driver revenue by 107.3\%, compared to 14\% improvements from route-optimization alone. Weather prediction contributes the largest individual productivity gain, with strong correlations between meteorological conditions and demand ($r=0.575$). Economic analysis reveals annual earnings increases of 13.8 million yen per driver, with rapid payback periods and superior return on investment. These findings suggest that current AI literature significantly underestimates AI's transformative potential by focusing narrowly on routing algorithms, while weather intelligence represents an untapped \$8.9 billion market opportunity. Our results indicate that future AI implementations should adopt comprehensive approaches that address multiple operational challenges simultaneously rather than optimizing isolated functions. |
| Date: | 2025–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2507.17099 |
| By: | Delson Malumbe Asukulu (Université Pédagogique Nationale, Université officielle de Bukavu); Ruddy Kabambi Tshitadi (Université Pédagogique Nationale); Gilbert Bisimwa Ngulire (ISDR - Institut supérieur de développement rural - Institut supérieur de développement rural) |
| Abstract: | This study presents a comparative analysis of the performance of private, community, and public operators in the water sector in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Despite the abundance of water resources, less than half of the Congolese population has access to potable water. Government reforms have introduced various management models for water services, making it essential to monitor the performance of these operators. Given that the issue of performance is multidimensional, we have focused our analysis on fundamental criteria such as effectiveness and efficiency through financial indicators like production costs, unit prices, and profit margins. These criteria have guided this examination of three operators: the private commercial company Congo Maji SARL, the community association ASUREP MALO, and the public company REGIDESO SA. Considering data collected between 2018 and 2023, we found that the REGIDESO SA has lower average production costs but incurs losses, while Congo Maji SARL shows positive profit margins. In contrast, ASUREP MALO records high costs and fluctuating margins. The study concludes that an integrated approach is essential to ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of water services in the Democratic Republic of Congo. |
| Abstract: | La présente étude propose une analyse comparative des performances des opérateurs privés, communautaires et publics dans le secteur de l'eau en République Démocratique du Congo. Malgré l'abondance de ressources en eau, moins de la moitié de la population congolaise a accès à l'eau potable. Les réformes gouvernementales ont introduit divers modes de gestion des services d'eau, rendant essentiel le suivi des performances de ces opérateurs. Étant donné que la question de la performance est multidimensionnelle, nous avons concentré notre analyse sur des critères fondamentaux tels que l'efficacité et l'efficience au moyen des indicateurs financiers tels que les coûts de production, les prix unitaires et les marges bénéficiaires. Ces critères ont orienté cette réflexion sur trois opérateurs : la société commerciale privée Congo Maji SARL, l'association communautaire ASUREP MALO, et la société publique REGIDESO SA. En prenant en compte les données collectées entre 2018 et 2023, nous avons constaté que la REGIDESO SA affiche des coûts moyens de production plus faibles, mais subit des pertes, tandis que Congo Maji SARL présente des marges bénéficiaires positives. En revanche, ASUREP MALO enregistre des coûts élevés et des marges fluctuantes. L'étude conclut qu'une approche intégrée est essentielle pour garantir l'efficacité et l'efficience des services d'eau en République Démocratique du Congo. |
| Keywords: | Performance, Water Supply, Cost, Performance Service public de l'eau coût prix Performance Public Water Service Cost Price, Service public de l'eau, coût, Price |
| Date: | 2025–05–17 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05090814 |
| By: | Grytten, Ola Honningdal (Dept. of Economics, Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration) |
| Abstract: | During the late decades of the 20th and early decades of the 21th century East Asia experienced significant economic growth. However, the Philippines diverged due to slower growth rates. By establishing new and revised historical series for historical development of GDP in purchasing power parities along with productivity series, the paper concludes that almost lack of total productivity growth caused the bad performance of the Philippines. The reason for the inferior development seem to be dysfunctional political and managerial systems, with significant corruption and lack of investments in infrastructure. The system made foreign direct investments stay low until the last approximately 15 years, when the Philippine economy started a convergence process. |
| Keywords: | Economic growth; Productivity; foreign direct investments; corruption; Asia; Philippines |
| JEL: | E01 E02 E60 N15 N45 |
| Date: | 2025–08–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:nhheco:2025_016 |
| By: | Boukaka, Sedi Anne; Benfica, Rui |
| Abstract: | This study investigates the living income gap among coffee smallholders in central Kenya. It uses detailed survey data collected from coffee farmers organized in cooperatives and from coffee farm workers in Nyeri and Murang’a counties. Our analysis finds that coffee smallholders earn an average of only 109 KSh per day, just 35 percent of the 312 KSh living income benchmark, with the gap being particularly severe in Murang’a and among those with smaller landholdings. Sensitivity analyses show that enhancing prices paid to farmers and improving yields can partially reduce the income shortfall. For instance, doubling both parameters, especially when coupled with a 50 percent increase in farmers’ non-coffee income, lowers the incidence of households below the benchmark from more than 90 percent to about 67 percent. Yet, even under these relatively optimal conditions, the persistence of a significant gap underscores deep structural constraints in the local economy. Policy recommendations therefore call for a multidimensional approach that improves production efficiency, improves and stabilizes prices, promotes income diversification, and strengthens institutional support. |
| Keywords: | coffee; diversification; smallholders; poverty; productivity; income distribution; living standards; Kenya; Africa; Eastern Africa; Sub-Saharan Africa |
| Date: | 2025–06–17 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:gsspwp:175180 |
| By: | Covar, Eliska |
| Abstract: | Purpose This study delves into the transformative effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on Greece's aviation industry, specifically focusing on its major players: Aegean Airlines S.A., Sky Express S.A., and Olympic Air S.A. The purpose is to dissect the unique challenges brought about by the pandemic, evaluating their financial implications and strategic adaptations. This research is paramount due to its relevance, offering nuanced insights into the industry's resilience amidst unparalleled adversity. Method Employing a rigorous approach, this study utilized financial ratios spanning 2018 to 2021, meticulously analyzing data sourced from annual reports and financial statements. Established financial metrics were applied to measure profitability. Findings Our analysis reveals significant setbacks faced by these companies during the pandemic. However, amidst challenges, strategic adaptations and resilience emerged as guiding principles. Notably, Aegean Airlines demonstrated exceptional resilience, evidenced by a Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) of 32.93% and an impressive Net Profit Margin (NPM) surge of 58.57% during the in-COVID period. Novelty This study's uniqueness lies in its precise analysis of the pandemic's impact, highlighting the strategic initiatives that empowered these companies not only to endure but to emerge stronger. These insights offer valuable perspectives for industry stakeholders and researchers, illuminating the nuances of strategic financial management amid unprecedented crises. |
| Keywords: | Aviation, Greece, COVID-19, Financial Ratios |
| JEL: | M41 |
| Date: | 2025–04–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:124371 |
| By: | Soheil Hataminia; Tania Khosravi |
| Abstract: | In this study, the impact of research and development (R&D) expenditures on the value added of the agricultural sector in Iran was investigated for the period 1971-2021. For data analysis, the researchers utilized the ARDL econometric model and EViews software. The results indicated that R&D expenditures, both in the short and long run, have a significant positive effect on the value added in the agricultural sector. The estimated elasticity coefficient for R&D expenditures in the short run was 0.45 and in the long run was 0.35, indicating that with a 1 percent increase in research and development expenditures, the value added in the agricultural sector would increase by 0.45 percent in the short run and by 0.35 percent in the long run. Moreover, variables such as capital stock, number of employees in the agricultural sector, and working days also had a significant and positive effect on the value added in the agricultural sector. |
| Date: | 2025–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2505.14746 |