|
on Efficiency and Productivity |
|
Issue of 2020‒09‒28
twenty-one papers chosen by |
| By: | Fernando Aragon; Diego Restuccia; Juan Pablo Rud |
| Abstract: | In this paper we show that the study of the farm size-productivity relationship hinges on the choice of productivity measure. Our main insight is that using yields, a partial measure of productivity, may not be informative for the size-productivity relationship because, in addition to total factor productivity, yields pick up input markets distortions and deviations from constant returns to scale. We examine the empirical relevance of this insight using detailed microdata from Uganda. We find an inverse relationship between yields and farm size. We show the relationship turns positive when accounting for market distortions and returns to scale; or when using a farm-specific component of total factor productivity. |
| Keywords: | Farm size, productivity, yields, land markets, distortions, agriculture, policy. |
| JEL: | O12 O13 Q12 Q15 |
| Date: | 2020–09–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tor:tecipa:tecipa-675&r=all |
| By: | Kim, Jaehyun; An, Donghwan |
| Keywords: | Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, Risk and Uncertainty |
| Date: | 2020–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea20:304434&r=all |
| By: | Guccio, C.; Lisi, D.; Martorana, M.F.; Pignataro, G. |
| Abstract: | The increasing pressure to cost containment in the public sector and, specifically, in health care provision raises concern on the potential adverse effects on the hospital quality that would imply the existence of an efficiency-effectiveness trade-off. This hypothesis calls for taking into account explicitly the relationship between efficiency and quality when analyzing hospitals’ performance. This paper adopts a non-parametric approach to study the whole performance in the provision of hospital services in Italy. We employ a generalized directional distance function that allows incorporating both desirable outputs and undesirable outcomes (i.e. risk-adjusted mortality rates) in the estimation of efficiency, thus enabling for studying hospital performance thoroughly, and assess the impact of integrating quality in the efficiency assessment. We find that including quality does matter. In addition, considering that patients in the Italian National Health System do not directly pay for treatments and, thus, hospitals presumably compete on quality in a catchment area, we also study whether taking into account quality matters in studying spatial dependence in hospital performance. |
| Keywords: | hospital efficiency; directional distance function; undesirable outputs; trade-off effectiveness-efficiency; spatial dependence |
| JEL: | I12 I18 H75 D22 |
| Date: | 2020–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:yor:hectdg:20/17&r=all |
| By: | DeLay, Nathan D.; Thompson, Nathanael M.; Mintert, James R. |
| Keywords: | Productivity Analysis, Production Economics, Research Methods/Statistical Methods |
| Date: | 2020–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea20:304280&r=all |
| By: | Davin Chor; Kalina Manova; Zhihong Yu |
| Abstract: | Global value chains have fundamentally transformed international trade and development in recent decades. We use matched firm-level customs and manufacturing survey data, together with Input-Output tables for China, to examine how Chinese firms position themselves in global production lines and how this evolves with productivity and performance over the firm lifecycle. We document a sharp rise in the upstreamness of imports, stable positioning of exports, and rapid expansion in production stages conducted in China over the 1992-2014 period, both in the aggregate and within firms over time. Firms span more stages as they grow more productive, bigger and more experienced. This is accompanied by a rise in input purchases, value added in production, and fixed cost levels and shares. It is also associated with higher profits though not with changing profit margins. We rationalize these patterns with a stylized model of the firm lifecycle with complementarity between the scale of production and the scope of stages performed. |
| JEL: | F10 F14 F23 |
| Date: | 2020–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:27795&r=all |
| By: | Gaggero, Alessio (University of Nottingham); Tommasi, Denni (Monash University) |
| Abstract: | The link between time-of-day and productivity on cognitive tasks is crucial to understand workplace efficiency and welfare. We study the performance of University students taking at most one exam per day in the final two weeks of the semester. Exams are scheduled at different time-of-day in a quasirandom fashion. We find that peak performance occurs around lunchtime (1.30pm), as compared to morning (9am) or late afternoon (4.30pm). This inverse-U shape relationship between time-of-day and performance (i) is not driven by stress or fatigue, (ii) is consistent with the idea that cognitive functioning is an important determinant of productivity and (iii) implies that efficiency gains of up to 0.14 standard deviations can be achieved through simple re-arrangements of the time of exams. While researchers have shown that biological factors influence changes in productivity between day and night shifts, we establish that such relationship is also important within a standard day-light shift. A simple back of the envelope calculation applied to an external context that is likely to benefit from our results, elective surgeries, suggests that a different sorting of the cognitive tasks performed by surgeons may lead to an increase in the number of patients saved. |
| Keywords: | time-of-day, cognitive tasks, productivity, efficiency gains, circadian rhythm |
| JEL: | I20 I24 J22 J24 |
| Date: | 2020–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp13657&r=all |
| By: | Ugur, Mehmet (University of Greenwich); Vivarelli, Marco (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore) |
| Abstract: | We review the theoretical underpinnings and the empirical findings of the literature that investigates the effects of innovation on firm survival and firm productivity, which constitute the two main channels through which innovation drives growth. We aim to contribute to the ongoing debate along three paths. First, we discuss the extent to which the theoretical perspectives that inform the empirical models allow for heterogeneity in the effects of R&D/innovation on firm survival and productivity. Secondly, we draw attention to recent modeling and estimation effort that reveals novel sources of heterogeneity, non-linearity and volatility in the gains from R&D/innovation, particularly in terms of its effects on firm survival and productivity. Our third contribution is to link our findings with those from prior reviews to demonstrate how the state of the art is evolving and with what implications for future research. |
| Keywords: | innovation, R&D, survival, productivity |
| JEL: | O30 O33 |
| Date: | 2020–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp13654&r=all |
| By: | Punjatewakupt, Piyawong; Stefanou, Spiro E. |
| Keywords: | Productivity Analysis, Agricultural and Food Policy, Production Economics |
| Date: | 2020–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea20:304202&r=all |
| By: | Shear, Hannah E.; Pendell, Dustin L.; Nehring, Richard F. |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Agricultural Finance, Production Economics |
| Date: | 2020–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea20:304227&r=all |
| By: | Tran, Lan T.; Skevas, Teo; McCann, Laura |
| Keywords: | Resource/Energy Economics and Policy, Productivity Analysis |
| Date: | 2020–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea20:304654&r=all |
| By: | Mensah, Edouard R.; Kostandini, Genti |
| Keywords: | International Development, Risk and Uncertainty, Production Economics |
| Date: | 2020–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea20:304477&r=all |
| By: | Jean-Pierre Florens (TSE - Toulouse School of Economics - UT1 - Université Toulouse 1 Capitole - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement); Léopold Simar (TSE - Toulouse School of Economics - UT1 - Université Toulouse 1 Capitole - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement); Ingrid van Keilegom (UCL - Université Catholique de Louvain) |
| Keywords: | Laguerre polynomials,frontier estimation,flexible parametric family,cumulant function,Characteristic function |
| Date: | 2020–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-02929524&r=all |
| By: | Dewitte, Ruben; Dumont, Michel; Rayp, Glenn; Willemé, Peter |
| Abstract: | A correct parametric approximation of the productivity distribution is essential to calculate Gains From Trade (GFT) in heterogeneous firms models. This paper argues that heterogeneity in productivity is best captured by Finite Mixture Models (FMMs). FMMs build on the existence of unobserved subpopulations in the data. As such, they are generally consistent with models of firm dynamics differing between groups of firms and allow for a very flexible distribution fit. We find FMMs to increase this fit by more than 70% compared to currently considered distributions. A GFT exercise with Portuguese data reveals that only FMMs approximate the ‘true gains’ reasonably well. |
| Keywords: | Finite Mixture Model, firm size distribution, productivity distribution, Gains From Trade |
| JEL: | F11 F12 L11 |
| Date: | 2020–07–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:102711&r=all |
| By: | Ibrahim A. Adekunle (Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Nigeria); Ayomide O. Ogunade (Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Nigeria); Toluwanimi G. Kalejaiye (Ijagun, Ogun State, Nigeria); Adewale M. Balogun (Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Nigeria) |
| Abstract: | Africa most populous black nations remain underdeveloped, mainly due to shambolic industrial sector performance. Rising problems of insecurity, corrupt practices, consumerism structure have made gains from capital inflows minimal. Little empirical credence has been leaned to the capital inflow-industrial output growth relationship in Nigeria. This anomaly has resulted in shortsighted policy formulation and attendant consequences. This paper examined international capital flows and industrial performance in Nigeria. The paper employed the two-step Engle and Granger estimation procedure and the Granger Causality to estimate parameters of the indices of industrial output growth and capital inflows to Nigeria. Findings revealed that labour participation, gross fixed capital formation, foreign direct investment (FDI) and portfolio investment have a significant positive relationship with industrial performance in Nigeria. Findings also revealed unidirectional causality from labour participation, gross fixed capital formation, foreign direct investment (FDI) and portfolio investment to industrial performance in Nigeria. Based on the findings, the Nigerian government should create an enabling environment to attract more capital inflow that could augment domestic resources with the sole aim of growing the industrial sector. |
| Keywords: | Capital Inflow, Industrial Performance, Error Correction Modelling, Granger Causality, Nigeria |
| JEL: | C22 F21 P47 |
| Date: | 2020–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:abh:wpaper:20/021&r=all |
| By: | Bahalou Horeh, Marziyeh; Elbakidze, Levan |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Production Economics |
| Date: | 2020–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea20:304637&r=all |
| By: | Stevens, Jeremiah H.; Taheripour, Farzad |
| Keywords: | Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2020–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea20:304524&r=all |
| By: | David Gabauer (Institute of Applied Statistics, Johannes Kepler University, Altenbergerstraße 69, 4040 Linz, Austria); Rangan Gupta (Department of Economics, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, 0002, South Africa); Jacobus Nel (Department of Economics, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, 0002, South Africa) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we analyze time-varying predictability of labor productivity for growth in income (and consumption) inequality of the United Kingdom (UK) based on a high-frequency (quarterly) data set over 1975:Q1 to 2016:Q1. Results indicate that the growth rate of an index of labor productivity has a strong predictive power on growth rate of income (and consumption) inequality in the UK. Interestingly, the strength of the predictive power is found to be higher towards the end of the sample period in the wake of the global financial crisis. In addition, based on time-varying impulse response function analysis, we find that inequality and labor productivity growth rates are in general negatively associated over our sample period, barring a short-lived positive impact initially. |
| Keywords: | Labor Productivity, Inequality, Time-Varying Predictions |
| JEL: | C32 D31 E24 |
| Date: | 2020–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pre:wpaper:202084&r=all |
| By: | Asongu, Simplice |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this study is to investigate whether enhancing financial access influences productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa. The research focuses on 25 countries in the region with data for the period 1980-2014. The adopted empirical strategy is the Generalised Method of Moments. The credit channel of financial access is considered and proxied by private domestic credit while four main total factor productivity (TFP) dynamics are adopted for the study, namely: TFP, real TFP, welfare TFP and real welfare TFP. It is apparent from the findings that enhancing financial access positively affects welfare TFP whereas the effect is not significant on TFP, real TFP and welfare TFP. Policy implications are discussed. The study complements the extant literature by engaging hitherto unemployed dynamics of TFP in Sub-Saharan Africa. |
| Keywords: | Economic Output; Financial Development; Sub-Saharan Africa |
| JEL: | E23 F21 F30 O16 O55 |
| Date: | 2019–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:101535&r=all |
| By: | António Afonso; Maria João Guedes; Pankaj C. Patel |
| Abstract: | In the aftermath of the Global and Financial Crisis (GFC), between 2013 and 2015, the Portuguese government revoked four holidays for both public sector and private employees. We test whether the revocation had an effect on labour productivity in State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) in Portugal. Moreover, we also study whether such effects are different taking into account the SOEs managed by the Central Government or the Local and Regional Governments. Our results show that revocation of holidays did not impact labour productivity for either central or local and regional government managed SOEs. Though revocation of holidays espoused to improve productivity, the policy seems to have served a ceremonial purpose, but not an economic one. |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:econwp:_45&r=all |
| By: | Siedschlag, Iulia; Yan, Weijie |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esr:wpaper:wp672&r=all |
| By: | Maue, Casey C.; Burke, Marshall; Emerick, Kyle |
| Keywords: | International Development, Productivity Analysis, Production Economics |
| Date: | 2020–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea20:304287&r=all |