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on Efficiency and Productivity |
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Issue of 2015‒12‒08
23 papers chosen by |
| By: | Hideyuki Mizobuchi (Faculty of Economics, Ryukoku University) |
| Abstract: | Malmquist and Hicks−Moorsteen productivity indexes are the two most widely used indexes for measuring productivity growth. The former, which has been proposed initially, has a nice feature of decomposing productivity growth into two important sources: efficiency change and technical change components. The technical change component is considered measuring the distances between the isoquants along a single direction. When technical change is not Hicks-neutral and is biased towards certain factor inputs or outputs, the distance between the isoquants is dependent on the direction selected. In this case, if we adopt a single direction for measuring the distances, we can only locally capture technical change, which is a global phenomenon by nature. To rectify this problem, we propose a more global index of technical change that measures the distance between the isoquants by utilizing two directions. Along with the existing measure of efficiency change, this allows us to define a corresponding productivity index. This index turns out to be the geometric mean of the Malmquist and the Hicks-Moorsteen productivity indexes under constant returns to scale technology. While there has been a long discussion on which index is more preferable between the two productivity indexes, we give a justification to using the geometric mean of these two indexes. |
| Keywords: | Productivity, Biased technical change, Malmquist productivity index, Hicks– Moorsteen productivity index |
| JEL: | C14 D24 O47 O51 |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qld:uqcepa:107&r=eff |
| By: | Sujata Basu (Centre for International Trade and Development,Jawaharlal Nehru University) |
| Abstract: | This paper empirically examines human capital's contribution to economy-wide technological progress and also on technical efficiency gain depending on its distance to frontier in a panel of 75 countries over the period 1970 - 2010. This study illustrates that only advanced economies rely on technological change while dependence on technical efficiency gain is high for middle and poor income countries. Using stochastic frontier analysis and system generalized method of moments (GMM), it is shown that skilled human capital is important for technical efficiency gain for rich income countries whereas middle and poor income countries rely on semi-skilled human capital for technical efficiency gain. This study also analyzes the impact of skilled-unskilled human capital on total factor productivity growth for both aggregate and multiple outputs. For aggregate output, the production function has been estimated with fixed effect panel regression. It shows that elasticity of capital is higher for rich income countries than middle or poor income countries whereas ranking of coefficient associated with labor is reverse. After that, the total factor productivity would be estimated by Solow residual. In the second stage, using system GMM, it is shown that skilled human capital is important for total factor productivity growth for rich and middle income countries and unskilled human capital is growth enhancing for poor income countries. For multiple outputs, the production function has been estimated by data envelopment analysis. In the second stage by using system GMM, same findings would be revealed as in the aggregate output for total factor productivity growth. |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ind:citdwp:15-06&r=eff |
| By: | Cristina Fernández (Banco de España); Aitor Lacuesta (Banco de España); José Manuel Montero (Banco de España); Alberto Urtasun (Banco de España) |
| Abstract: | We broaden the conceptual framework of estimating markups at the sectoral level developed by Roeger (1995), and extended by Crépon et al. (2005) with labour market imperfections, to account for firm-level heterogeneity derived from differences in productivity. We estimate this model with a comprehensive panel of Spanish non-financial corporations for the period 2001-2007 to find that perfect competition is widely rejected in the data. More interestingly, within each sector, firms with higher productivity present higher markups. Further, we use this empirical setting to estimate changes in firm-level markups over the course of the crisis (2008/2012). Our results indicate that for around 50% of sectors average markups increased, following a decrease in the number of firms, while for around 35% of industries the relevance of within-sector markup heterogeneity decreased at the same time that the variance of within-sector TFP increased. This last result suggests that the simple changes in the number and composition of competing firms cannot explain within-sector markups and we require additional factors to account for recent developments. For instance, we provide evidence that both an increase in consumer product substitutability and in fixed entry costs during the crisis might be a good explanation. |
| Keywords: | markups, production function, market power, heterogeneity |
| JEL: | C23 C26 D24 E31 L11 L16 |
| Date: | 2015–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bde:wpaper:1536&r=eff |
| By: | Adam P. Balcerzak (Nicolaus Copernicus University, Poland); Michal Bernard Pietrzak (Nicolaus Copernicus University, Poland) |
| Abstract: | The key challenge for medium- and long-term policy in European Union countries is to use the potential of knowledge-based economy (KBE), which is a condition for maintaining high total factor productivity in Europe. For this reason, the relationship between quality of institutional system and total factor productivity in the EU countries has been examined. The quality of institutional system is defined here from the perspective of incentives that influence the use of the potential of KBE. In order to determine the level of effectiveness of the institutional system in the analyzed countries the method for linear ordering of objects was applied based on data from Fraser Institute. The main hypothesis of the article was formed as follow: the quality of institutional system in the context of KBE has significant influence on the level of total factor productivity in the EU. In order to verify the hypothesis, the parameters of the Cobb-Douglas production function were estimated, which allowed to evaluate TFP for EU countries. The calculation made in the article was based on Eurostat data. Then, the identification of the relationship between the quality of institutional system and the level of TFP was made with the application of panel model. The research made for the years 2000-2010 allowed to verify the hypothesis. |
| Keywords: | Knowledge-based economy, TFP, quality of intuitions, European Union, panel model |
| JEL: | D24 E02 |
| Date: | 2015–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pes:wpaper:2015:no165&r=eff |
| By: | Torre Cepeda Leonardo E.; Colunga Ramos Luis Fernando |
| Abstract: | We review some patterns of Total Factor Productivity (TFP) growth in the Mexican economy during the period 1991-2011 using the KLEMS data set published by INEGI in 2013. The data shows a strong positive correlation between TFP and output growth. As a result, tests were performed in order to determine a possible causality between these two variables, with the results not rejecting the hypothesis of causality running in both directions. Another pattern that also emerges from the data set is that TFP growth in Mexico tends to be fairly concentrated and highly irregular, as just a reduced share of the subsectors in any given time period tends to account for most of the TFP growth, and also because the distribution of their performance is far from being the same across time. These patterns are similar to those found in other data sets of the Mexican economy, as well as in data from the United States and the United Kingdom at different levels of aggregation. |
| Keywords: | Growth accounting;economic growth;TFP growth. |
| JEL: | N16 O10 O40 O43 |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdm:wpaper:2015-24&r=eff |
| By: | Ilya A. Dolmatov (National Research University Higher School of Economics); Vladimir V. Dvorkin (National Research University Higher School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | The activities of the water companies in Russia are regulated in order to overcome market failures caused by regional monopolization, information asymmetries and the need to find a balance between the interests of consumers and company objectives for its normal functioning and development. In the Russian Federation, the regulator uses the outdated and inefficient cost method, which deprives the company an incentive to reduce their own costs. However, Russian regulator is in active discussion about the transition to modern long-term management regulation practices in order to increase companies’ efficiency, which in the framework of the regulation defines the future of the company's profits. Russian regulator should take more active steps to encourage regulated companies to increase efficiency and productivity. Solution is to move to using benchmarking, which allows to identify sources of companies’ inefficiency to assess the validity of the established tariffs. This study presents the first attempt to implement benchmarking methods used by the world's leading regulators to determine the cost efficiency of companies and improve their potential. The authors tested a parametric (COLS) and non-parametric (DEA) methods to assess the performance of companies with different technical and economic characteristics more accurately. The study makes a number of recommendations for the specification of the model, assessing its sensitivity to the changes in samples. The authors concluded that the model based on COLS is of high quality and resistance to changing of sample while assessing the technical efficiency. However, a similar statement for DEA models is unfair, since the inclusion in the analysis of either too large or too small companies does not lead to plausible results. On the other hand, DEA allowed to assess not only the technical efficiency of companies but also the allocative one. In general, the authors have shown that the potential for increasing the efficiency of Russian water supply companies is large enough, and the regulator is necessary to accelerate the transition to incentive regulation in order to increase efficiency in the sector. |
| Keywords: | Benchmarking; Efficiency; Incentive regulation, Water Utilities, DEA, COLS |
| JEL: | L95 D42 C60 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:42man2015&r=eff |
| By: | Stefan Seifert |
| Abstract: | While productivity growth in electricity generation is associated with multiple positive effects from an economic and environmental perspective, measuring it is challenging. This paper proposes a framework to estimate and decompose productivity growth for a sector characterized by multiple technologies. Using a metafrontier Malmquist decomposition and frontier estimation based on stochastic non-smooth envelopment of data (StoNED) allows for productivity estimation with few microeconomic assumptions. Additionally, evaluation of productivity at representative hypothetical units permits distribution-free analysis for the whole distribution of power plant sizes. The proposed framework is used to analyze a unique and rich dataset of coal, lignite, gas, and biomass-fired generators operating in Germany from 2003 to 2010. The results indicate stagnating productivity for the sector as a whole, technical progress for biomass plants, and very high productivity for gas-fired plants. |
| Keywords: | Productivity estimation, Metafrontier Malmquist Decomposition, Stochastic Non-Smooth Envelopment of Data (StoNED), Electricity and Heat Generation in Germany, 2003 - 2010 |
| JEL: | D24 C14 O13 L94 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp1526&r=eff |
| By: | Caroline Stiel; Astrid Cullmann; Maria Nieswand |
| Abstract: | This paper, which is one of the first to estimate productivity in retail electricity for a European country after liberalisation, analyses the effect of ownership and governance structure by using a unique dataset of German electricity retailers from 2003 to 2012. An innovative service production function for the retail sector is derived with labour and external services as the main inputs. A structural model is used with a proxy function for productivity to overcome the endogeneity of input choice. Ownership is controlled for in the law of motion for productivity. The results of the dataset used to validate the model show that firm-level productivity did not increase after 2008 and that ownership had no effect on productivity. The results provide useful insights into the link between ownership and productivity in modern public enterprises after liberalisation. |
| Keywords: | Productivity, structural production function, electricity retail, ownership, governance |
| JEL: | D24 L11 C23 L94 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp1531&r=eff |
| By: | Ravichandran, Archana; Bhaduri, Saumitra |
| Abstract: | The advantages and disadvantages of diversification and its impact on productivity or performance of a firm have been debated upon by academics and business professionals all over, although views on the topic still differ widely. While popular views are that related diversification increases value and unrelated diversification decreases value, the results of research conducted on the effects of overall diversification (without distinguishing between related and unrelated diversification) on productivity are of conflicting nature. This paper focuses on this relationship in the context of the Indian manufacturing sector. Along with this, it also expounds on the existence of an optimal diversification point for the Indian context. Data used is obtained from CMIE Prowess for the period 2003 to 2014 and standard econometric analysis on panel data is carried out to find the stated relationship. Tobin’s q is used as a measure of performance of the firm. The results show that highly diversified firms perform poorly on account of vertical diversification while horizontal diversification has a positive effect on performance. |
| Keywords: | productivity, diversification, Tobin’s q, related, unrelated |
| JEL: | D22 L25 |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:68013&r=eff |
| By: | Yingnan Liu; Ke Wang |
| Abstract: | The process of energy conservation and emission reduction in China requires the specific and accurate evaluation of the energy efficiency of the industry sector because this sector accounts for 70 percent of China¡¯s total energy consumption. Previous studies have used a ¡°black box¡± data envelopment analysis (DEA) model to obtain the energy efficiency without considering the inner structure of the industry sector. However, differences in the properties of energy utilization (final consumption or intermediate conversion) in different industry departments may lead to bias in energy efficiency measures under such ¡°black box¡± evaluation structures. Using the network DEA model and efficiency decomposition technique, this study proposes an adjusted energy efficiency evaluation model that can characterize the inner structure and associated energy utilization properties of the industry sector so as to avoid evaluation bias. By separating the energy-producing department and energy-consuming department, this adjusted evaluation model was then applied to evaluate the energy efficiency of China¡¯s provincial industry sector. |
| Keywords: | Energy consumption, Energy conversion, Structure decomposition |
| JEL: | Q58 Q40 |
| Date: | 2015–01–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:biw:wpaper:83&r=eff |
| By: | Ansgar Belke; Ulrich Haskamp; Ralph Setzer |
| Abstract: | The financial crisis affected regions in Europe in a different magnitude. This is why we examine whether regions which incorporate banks with a higher intermediation quality grow faster in “normal” times and are more resilient in “bad” ones. For this purpose, we measure the intermediation quality of a bank by estimating its profit and cost efficiency while taking the changing banking environment after the financial crisis into account. Next, we aggregate the efficiencies of all banks within a NUTS 2 region to obtain a regional proxy for financial quality in twelve European countries. Our results show that relatively more profit efficient banks foster growth in their region. The link between financial quality and growth is valid in “normal” and in “bad” times. These results provide evidence to the importance of swiftly restoring bank pro_tability in euro area crisis countries through addressing high nonperforming loans ratios and decisive actions on bank recapitalization. |
| Keywords: | bank efficiency, financial development, regional growth, Europe |
| JEL: | G21 O47 O52 |
| Date: | 2015–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rmn:wpaper:201507&r=eff |
| By: | Chuku, Chuku |
| Abstract: | In this study, we argue that conventional methods of measuring agricultural productivity which only uses information about marketed inputs and outputs does not give a true representation of how sustainable the activities of the sector are. Motivated by the Solow-type growth accounting framework, we use the Tornqvist index formula to construct input, output and TFP indices for Nigerian agriculture between 1980 and 2010. We account for environmental externalities by incorporating off-farm damage costs of soil erosion based on different assumptions about possible scenarios of the extent and trajectory of damage costs. The results show that when externalities are not accounted for, productivity in the Nigerian agricultural sector is overestimated. This conclusion is robust to the different assumptions about damage cost scenarios made. The implication is that reducing off-farm erosion damages through improved soil conservation practices will significantly improve productivity and sustainability in the Nigerian agriculture sector. |
| Keywords: | Tornqvist TFP, environmental externalities, soil erosion, USLE |
| JEL: | D24 O13 Q16 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:68165&r=eff |
| By: | Antoine Berthou; Emmanuel Dhyne; Matteo Bugamelli; Ana-Maria Cazacu; Calin-Vlad Demian; Peter Harasztosi; Tibor Lalinsky; Jaanika Meriküll; Filippo Oropallo; Ana Cristina Soares |
| Abstract: | This paper provides a new cross-country evaluation of competitiveness, focusing on the linkages between productivity and export performance among European economies. We use the information compiled in the Trade module of CompNet to establish new stylized facts regarding the joint distributions of the firm-level exports performance and productivity in a panel of 15 countries, 23 manufacturing sectors during the 2000’s. We confirm that exporters are more productive than non-exporters. However, this productivity premium is rising with the export experience of firms, with permanent exporters being much more productive than starters. At the intensive margin, we show that both the level and the growth of firm-level exports rise with firm productivity, and that the bulk of aggregate exports in each country are made by few highly productive firms. Finally, we show that during the crisis, the growth of exports by high productive firms sustained the current account adjustment of European “stressed” economies. This last result confirms that the shape of the productivity distribution within each country can have important consequences from the point of view of the dynamics of aggregate trade patterns. |
| JEL: | F10 F14 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ptu:wpaper:w201513&r=eff |
| By: | Leal-Ordoñez Julio C. |
| Abstract: | For a typical developing country, this paper shows that once inter-sectoral linkages are taken into account, closing the productivity gap in a number of services gives bigger gains in aggregate productivity than closing it in agriculture or in manufacturing. This is performed in the context of an input-output economy and general equilibrium. Also, the importance of sector-specific distortions that produce cross-sector misallocation is addressed. I compute the effect of the removal of these distortions on aggregate productivity using the input-output model and find that this could increase productivity up to 68%, depending on whether the rents from distortions stay in the economy or not. |
| Keywords: | sectors;economic development;input-output linkages;cross-sector misallocation. |
| JEL: | O1 O41 C67 |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdm:wpaper:2015-23&r=eff |
| By: | Aparicio, Juan (Center of Operations Research (CIO), Universidad Miguel Hernandez de Elche); Borras, Fernando (Department of Statistics, Mathematics and Computer Science, University Miguel Hernandez of Elche.); Pastor, Jesús T. (Center of Operations Research (CIO), Universidad Miguel Hernandez de Elche); Zofio, Jose Luis (Departamento de Análisis Económico (Teoría e Historia Económica). Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.) |
| Abstract: | The concept of loss distance functions is introduced and compared with other functional representations of the technology including the Hölder metric distance functions (Briec and Lesourd (1999)), the directional distance functions due to Chambers et al. (1996, 1998), and the Shephard’s input and output distance functions as particular cases of the directional distance functions. Specifically, it is shown that, under appropriate normalization conditions defined over the (intrinsic) input and output prices, the loss distance functions encompass a wide class of well-known and much less known distance functions. Additionally, a dual correspondence is developed between the loss distance functions and the profit function, and it is shown that all previous dual connections appeared in the literature are special cases of this general correspondence. Finally, we obtain several interesting results assuming differentiability. |
| Keywords: | Loss distance functions, directional distance functions, Hölder distance functions, duality, profit function. |
| JEL: | C61 D01 D21 L25 |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uam:wpaper:201506&r=eff |
| By: | Srithanpong Thanapol (Graduate School of Business and Commerce, Keio University) |
| Abstract: | Using plant-level data from the 2007 Industrial Census of Thailand, this paper examines and adds new evidence on the relationship between export destinations and plant characteristics, including both productivity and profitability aspects. Our analysis proceeds in three steps. First, we give a detailed comparison of how plant heterogeneity is associated with export destinations by several tests. Second, we extend the analysis using OLS (Ordinary Least Squares) and probit estimations to provide further evidence. Third, multinomial logistic estimation is applied to analyze the choice of export destinations and plant heterogeneity. We uncover evidence supporting recent theories in exporting and firm heterogeneity. Among Thai exporters to various export destinations, for productivity and input intensity aspects, the results show that exporters to Asian countries (especially, ASEAN countries, Chinese-based countries and Japan) are the most productive groups of exporters and are relatively more material- and capital-intensive on average. For the profitability aspect, exporters to ASEAN and Chinese-based countries generally exhibit the highest total sales and sale profits. However, exporters to Japan have the highest rate of profit. We also find that plants with high productivity are more likely to choose to export to the US, the EU, and Japan and ASEAN countries, respectively. Plants with high input intensity are more likely to export to ASEAN countries. Distinguishing difference between plants exporting to top export destinations and destinations that are not, we clearly observe that there exists strong heterogeneity among plants exporting to different type of markets in Thai manufacturing. |
| Keywords: | Export Destinations, Plant Heterogeneity, Productivity, Profitability, Thailand Cognitive and Non-cognitive Abilities |
| JEL: | F10 F14 D21 |
| Date: | 2015–11–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:keo:dpaper:2015-011&r=eff |
| By: | Sabyasachi Saha (Research and Information System for Developing Countries, Delhi); Amit Shovon Ray (Centre for International Trade and Development,Jawaharlal Nehru University) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we present an economic analysis of science research and knowledge creation in Indian universities. We posit that faculty’s research effort is an outcome of her optimum time allocation decision, which in turn shapes knowledge creation in universities. Accordingly, the present paper has a two-fold objective: (1) to develop a theoretical model of research effort by academic scientists in India, and (2) to estimate the research production function that transforms research effort into knowledge outputs controlling for various other factors, using tools of applied econometrics. We establish, theoretically as well as empirically, that contrary to the fairly well accepted proposition of declining research effort/productivity over a scientist’s life cycle in the western world, Indian academic scientists, ceteris paribus, tend to devote a larger share of their time to research and produce larger volumes of research output over their lifetime. |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ind:citdwp:15-10&r=eff |
| By: | Gilhooly, Robert (Monetary Policy Committee Unit, Bank of England); Weale, Martin (Monetary Policy Committee Unit, Bank of England); Wieladek, Tomasz (Monetary Policy Committee Unit, Bank of England) |
| Abstract: | We propose a Bayesian approach to dynamic panel estimation in the presence of cross-sectional dependence and dynamic heterogeneity which is suitable for inference in short panels, unlike alternative estimators. Monte Carlo simulations indicate that our estimator produces less bias, and a lower root mean squared error, than existing estimators. The method is illustrated by estimating a panel VAR on sector level data for labour productivity and hours worked growth for Canada, Germany, France, Italy, the UK and the US from 1992 Q1 to 2011 Q3. We use historical decompositions to examine the determinants of recent output growth in each country. This exercise demonstrates that failure to take cross-sectional dependence into account leads to highly misleading results. |
| Keywords: | Bayesian dynamic panel estimator; dynamic heterogeneity; cross-sectional dependence; labour productivity. |
| JEL: | C11 C31 C33 |
| Date: | 2015–12–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpc:wpaper:0038&r=eff |
| By: | Clément Bosquet; Pierre-Philippe Combes (Université de Cergy-Pontoise, THEMA) |
| Abstract: | We study how departments' characteristics impact academics' quantity and quality of publications in economics. Individual time-varying characteristics and individual fixed-effects are controlled for. Departments' characteristics have an explanatory power at least equal to a fourth of that of individual characteristics and possibly as high as theirs. An academic's quantity and quality of publications in a field increase with the presence of other academics specialised in that field and with the share of the field's output in the department. By contrast, department's size, proximity to other large departments, homogeneity in terms of publication performance, presence of colleagues with connections abroad, and composition in terms of positions and age matter at least for some publication measures but only when individual fixed effects are not controlled for. This suggests a role for individual positive sorting where these characteristics only attract more able academics. A residual negative sorting between individuals' and departments' unobserved characteristics is simultaneously exhibited. |
| Keywords: | Research productivity, Local externalities, Skills sorting, Peer effects, Co-author networks, Economics of science. |
| JEL: | R23 J24 I23 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ema:worpap:2015-16&r=eff |
| By: | Ahmed,Sabin; Mengistae,Taye Alemu; Yoshino,Yutaka; Zeufack,Albert G. |
| Abstract: | Uganda?s economy underwent significant structural change in the 2000s whereby the share of non-tradable services in aggregate employment rose by about 7 percentage points at the expense of the production of tradable goods. The process also involved a 12-percentage-point shift in employment away from small and medium enterprises and larger firms in manufacturing and commercial agriculture mainly to microenterprises in retail trade. In addition, the sectoral reallocation of labor on these two dimensions coincided with significant growth in aggregate labor productivity. However, in and of itself, the same reallocation could only have held back, rather than aid, the observed productivity gains. This was because labor was more productive throughout the period in the tradable goods sector than in the non-tradable sector. Moreover, the effect on aggregate labor productivity of the reallocation of employment between the two sectors could only have been reinforced by the impacts on the same of the rise in the employment share of microenterprises. The effect was also strengthened by a parallel employment shift across the age distribution of enterprises that raised sharply the employment share of established firms at the expense of younger ones and startups. Not only was labor consistently less productive in microenterprises than in small and medium enterprises and larger enterprises across all industries throughout the period, it was also typically less productive in more established firms than in younger ones. |
| Keywords: | Labor Markets,E-Business,Economic Theory&Research,Microfinance,Labor Policies |
| Date: | 2015–12–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7504&r=eff |
| By: | Jana Stoever (Hamburg Institute of International Economics and Hamburg University); John P. Weche (Monopolies Commission and Leuphana University Luneburg, Germany) |
| Abstract: | We investigate the impact of environmental regulation on firm performance and investment behavior. Exploiting the case of a German water withdrawal regulation that is managed on the state level, we analyze firms’ reactions to an increase in the water tax using a regression-adjusted difference-in-differences approach. We analyze the individual firm’s response to a change in environmental regulation, distinguishing between add-on and integrated environmental investments. This allows us to include intra-firm innovations into our analysis, which are likely to be of importance for increasing resource-efficiency. Our results show that the regulation in question shows no sign of affecting firms’ overall competitiveness. The results imply that the predicted negative impact of the regulation on firms’ economic performance that was brought up before the introduction of the tax, does not seem to weigh heavily in this case. Nevertheless, when placed into a sustainable competitiveness context, the regulation considered does not qualify as an appropriate policy tool for fostering green growth. |
| Keywords: | Environmental regulation, DID, green growth, green investment, Porter hypothesis, sustainable competitiveness, water withdrawal regulation |
| JEL: | L60 O31 O32 Q58 Q55 |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lue:wpaper:351&r=eff |
| By: | Hanousek, Jan; Shamshur, Anastasiya; Tresl, Jiri |
| Abstract: | We study the effects of corruption on firm efficiency using a unique comprehensive dataset of private firms from 14 Central and Eastern European countries for the period from 2000 to 2013. We find that an environment characterized by a high level of corruption has an adverse effect on firm efficiency. This effect is amplified for firms with a lower propensity to behave corruptly, i.e. foreign-controlled firms and firms managed by female CEOs, while domestically-owned firms and firms with male CEOs are not penalized. At the same time, an environment characterized by considerable heterogeneity in perception of corruption is associated with an increase in firm efficiency. This effect is particularly strong for foreign firms from low-corruption countries, while no effect is observed for firms managed by female CEO. |
| Keywords: | CEO; corruption; efficiency; Europe; ownership structure; panel data; stochastic frontier |
| JEL: | C33 D24 G32 L60 L80 M21 |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:10951&r=eff |
| By: | Ferran Armada Ramírez (Universitat de Barcelona) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we review and use different methods to measure and compare efficiency scores in energy producing plants. In particular, we use non-parametric and parametric techniques. We focus our attention in electricity producing power plants on eighteen European countries, as well as in thirty energy systems as a whole. This paper also state some results such as that efficiency has widely improved in the period studied, but these positive results are not homogeneous among energy systems or firms. We present some evidence that the greatest part of energy improvement is the consequence of the technological shift and is not necessarily due to alternative factors, such as market integration, increasing competition, or other firm-level decisions. |
| Keywords: | Market integration, Efficiency, Data Envelopment Analysis, Energy Market, Europe, Industrial Organization. |
| JEL: | Q40 G14 Q41 Q48 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ewp:wpaper:331web&r=eff |