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on Efficiency and Productivity |
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Issue of 2012‒03‒14
five papers chosen by |
| By: | Bontemps, Christophe (GREMAQ,INRA); Nauges, Céline (LERNA-INRA); Réquillart, Vincent (TSE,GREMAQ,INRA,IDEI); Simioni, Michel (GREMAQ,INRA) |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this article is to assess whether food safety regulations imposed by the European Union in the 2000s may have induced a slow-down in the productivity of firms in the food processing sector. The impact of regulations on costs and productivity has seldom been studied. This article contributes to the literature by measuring productivity change using a panel of French food processing firms for the years 1996 to 2006. To do so, we develop an original iterative testing procedure based on the comparison of the distribution of efficiency scores of a set of firms. Our results confirm that productivity decreased in two major food processing sectors (poultry and cheese) at the time when safety regulation was reinforced. |
| Date: | 2012–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tse:wpaper:25479&r=eff |
| By: | Abhijit Das (Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI)); Rashmi Banga; Dinesh Kumar |
| Abstract: | The Indian economy has shown considerable resilience to the global economic crisis by maintaining one of the highest growth rates in the world. The services sector accounted for around 88% of the growth rate in real gross domestic product in 2008–09. To demystify the relatively resilient growth of the services sector in India, this study examines both the demand-side and the supply-side factors that have contributed to its growth To assess the role of external demand, income elasticity of export demand for the aggregated services and some of the disaggregated services of India were estimated. It was found that the main driver of growth in India’s services sector is growth in the domestic demand for services and not growth in the export of services. The contribution of the growth of the export of services to the growth of the overall services sector was only 22%. In order to examine the role of supply-side factors, total factor productivity growth was estimated in the services sectors that have contributed substantially to overall growth, which are the software and banking services. Using Data Envelopment Analysis at the firm level, it was found that both these sectors experienced productivity growth above 10% after 2000. High domestic demand and high productivity growth largely explain the resilience of India’s services growth. |
| Keywords: | Global Economic Crisis, services sector, India, Productivity growth, Data Envelopment Analysis |
| JEL: | F14 L86 O47 |
| Date: | 2011–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eab:tradew:23225&r=eff |
| By: | Swati Dhingra; John Morrow |
| Abstract: | A fundamental question in monopolistic competition theory is whether the market allocates resources efficiently. This paper generalizes the Spence-Dixit-Stiglitz framework to heterogeneous firms, addressing when the market provides optimal quantities, variety and productivity. Under constant elasticity demand, each firm prices above its average cost, yet we show market allocations are efficient. When demand elasticities vary, market allocations are not efficient and reflect the distortions of imperfect competition. After determining the nature of market distortions, we investigate how integration may serve as a remedy to imperfect competition. Both market distortions and the impact of integration depend on two demand side elasticities, and we suggest richer demand structures to pin down these elasticities. We also show that integration eliminates distortions, provided the post-integration market is sufficiently large. |
| Keywords: | Selection, monopolistic competition, efficiency, productivity, social welfare, demand elasticity |
| JEL: | F1 L1 D6 |
| Date: | 2012–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp1130&r=eff |
| By: | Gianmarco I. P. Ottaviano |
| Abstract: | This paper studies how firm heterogeneity in terms of productivity affects the balance between agglomeration and dispersion forces in the presence of pecuniary externalities through a selection model of monopolistic competition with variable mark-ups. It shows that firm heterogeneity matters. However, whether it shifts the balance from agglomeration to dispersion or the other way round depends on its specific features along the two defining dimensions of diversity: 'richness' and 'evenness'. Accordingly, the role of firm heterogeneity in selection models of agglomeration cannot be fully understood without paying due attention to various moments of the underlying firm productivity distribution. |
| Keywords: | agglomeration, trade, heterogeneity, selection, economic geography |
| JEL: | F12 R11 R12 |
| Date: | 2012–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp1129&r=eff |
| By: | Juma, Calestous (Harvard University) |
| Abstract: | Science and innovation have always been the key forces behind agricultural growth in particular and economic transformation in general. More specifically, the ability to add value to agricultural production via the application of scientific knowledge to entrepreneurial activities stands out as one of the most important lessons of economic history. The Green Revolution played a critical role in helping to overcome chronic food shortages in Latin America and Asia. The Green Revolution was a result of both the creation of new institutional arrangements aimed at using existing technology to improve agricultural productivity, as well as new scientific breakthroughs leading to superior agricultural inputs, particularly improved strains of wheat and rice. In the wake of the recent global economic crisis and continually high food prices, the international community is reviewing its outlook on human welfare and prosperity. Much of the current concern on how to foster development and prosperity in developing countries reflects the consequences of recent neglect of sustainable agriculture and infrastructure as drivers of development. But all is not lost. Instead, those developing countries that have not yet fully embraced agricultural technology now have the chance to benefit from preexisting scientific advances in agriculture, particularly in biotechnology. Areas of the developing world lagging in the utilization and accumulation of technology have the ability not only to catch up to industrial leaders in biotechnology, but also to attain their own level of research growth. |
| Date: | 2012–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecl:harjfk:rwp12-008&r=eff |