|
on Efficiency and Productivity |
|
Issue of 2023‒07‒17
nineteen papers chosen by |
| By: | Yang, Ruixin; Wang, Sun Ling; Liu, Qian; Xin, Mengfei |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy, Productivity Analysis, Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea22:335450&r=eff |
| By: | Joshi, Shruti; Nath, Siddhartha; Ranjan, Abhishek |
| Abstract: | The conventional estimate of technological progress and aggregate productivity growth, the total factor productivity, or TFP, can be upwardly biased if environmental externalities generated during the production processes are not accounted for. In this paper, we revisit TFP growth rates across 146 countries in the world between 1990 and 2019 after accounting for their CO2 emissions. The Global Malmquist-Luenberger Productivity Index suggests that although India’s conventional TFP growth stands out to be one of the highest globally, especially since 2000, India’s average annual Green TFP growth is lowest, at almost zero per cent since 2000. Our estimates suggest that mostly the OECD countries may have maintained substantial progress in terms of green TFP, whereas the emerging economies in East and Southeast Asia may also be significantly lagging. While the policy tools in India are converging towards the advanced economies, our estimates suggest that India’s relative position has improved in terms of Green TFP growth in recent years. |
| Keywords: | Green Total Factor Productivity; Directional Distance Function; Global Malmquist–Luenberger Index |
| JEL: | C43 D24 Q54 |
| Date: | 2023–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:117717&r=eff |
| By: | James Harrigan; Ariell Reshef; Farid Toubal |
| Abstract: | We study the impact of techies—engineers and other technically trained workers—on firm-level productivity. We first report new facts on the role of techies in the firm by leveraging French administrative data and unique surveys. Techies are STEM-skill intensive and are associated with innovation, as well as with technology adoption, management, and diffusion within firms. Using structural econometric methods, we estimate the causal effect of techies on firm-level Hicks-neutral productivity in both manufacturing and non-manufacturing industries. We find that techies raise firm-level productivity, and this effect goes beyond the employment of R&D workers, extending to ICT and other techies. In non-manufacturing firms, the impact of techies on productivity operates mostly through ICT and other techies, not R&D workers. Engineers have a greater effect on productivity than technicians. |
| Keywords: | productivity, R&D, ICT, techies, STEM skills |
| JEL: | D20 D24 F10 F16 F60 F66 J20 J23 J24 O52 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10468&r=eff |
| By: | Mauro Caselli (School of International Studies & Department of Economics and Management, University of Trento); Arpita Chatterjee (UNSW School of Economics); Shengyu Li (UNSW School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | This paper proposes a novel method to estimate productivity and quality at the firm-product level, together with transformation function and demand parameters. The method relies on firm optimization conditions to obtain a one-to-one mapping between observed data and unobserved productivity and quality. It has the advantage of allowing for heterogeneous unobserved intermediate input prices and scalability to handle a large number of products, without imputing firm-product input shares or relying on productivity evolution. We apply this method to a set of Mexican manufacturing industries. We find that multi-product firms’ better performing products have both higher productivity and higher quality, with the former emerging as a stronger predictor of within-firm performance. However, firms face a trade-off between quality and productivity, which we refer to as the cost of quality. The cost of quality is higher for more differentiated products and declines with product age. In a counterfactual exercise, we show that a reduction in the cost of quality can lead to substantial firm-level productivity gains and that, on average, about 26.5 percent of these gains are due to the within-firm reallocation of production. Importantly, a larger product scope allows more room for intra-firm resource reallocation, leading to higher productivity gains. This reveals a new mechanism for enhancing the performance of multi-product firms. |
| Keywords: | multi-product firms, production function, productivity, output quality, intra- firm reallocation |
| JEL: | D24 L11 L15 O47 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:swe:wpaper:2023-10&r=eff |
| By: | Hing, Vutha (Asian Development Bank Institute); Thangavelu, Shandre M. (Asian Development Bank Institute); Kong, Ratha (Asian Development Bank Institute) |
| Abstract: | We examine the innovation and competitiveness of firms, especially with regard to the channels of technology transfer and the nature of innovation activities that influence firm performance in Cambodia's economy. Despite the growing importance of innovation, there has been no empirical analysis of the factors affecting technological and innovative development and the impact that these factors have on firms’ productivity in Cambodia. We use the World Bank Enterprise Survey for Cambodian enterprises for our empirical implementation. The results of the research indicate that overseas linkages that include both upstream and downstream activities could affect productivity growth at both firm and industry levels. We also find that technology and innovation have a positive impact on the productivity of firms in Cambodia. |
| Keywords: | technology; innovation; productivity; human capital; export and import |
| JEL: | D24 |
| Date: | 2023–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbiwp:1353&r=eff |
| By: | James Harrigan; Ariell Reshef; Farid Toubal |
| Abstract: | We study the impact of techies—engineers and other technically trained workers—on firm-level productivity. We first report new facts on the role of techies in the firm by using French administrative data and unique surveys. Techies are STEM-skill intensive and are associated with innovation, as well as with technology adoption, management, and diffusion within firms. Using structural econometric methods, we estimate the causal effect of techies on firm-level Hicks-neutral productivity in both manufacturing and non-manufacturing industries. We find that techies raise firm-level productivity, and this effect goes beyond the employment of R&D workers, extending to ICT and other techies. In non-manufacturing firms, the impact of techies on productivity operates mostly through ICT and other techies, not R&D workers. Engineers have a greater effect on productivity than technicians. |
| JEL: | D2 D24 O3 O33 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:31341&r=eff |
| By: | Barcellos Lins, João Augusto; Dias Paes Ferreira, Marcelo; De Figueiredo Silva, Felipe; Basilio Tavares Ramos, Erica; Daniel, Lindomar P. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea22:335510&r=eff |
| By: | Owusu, Eric S.; Arouna, Aminou; Narrod, Clare A. |
| Keywords: | Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, Research Methods/Statistical Methods |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea22:335967&r=eff |
| By: | Zapata, Samuel D.; Anderson, David P.; Abello, Pancho; Palma, Marco A. |
| Keywords: | Marketing, Productivity Analysis, Production Economics |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea22:335914&r=eff |
| By: | Petković, Saša; Rastoka, Jelica; Radicic, Dragana |
| Abstract: | The relationship between firms’ exports and increases in productivity is generally regarded as positive. While the causal effects of process innovation are straightforward and positive, the effect of product innovation on productivity is ambiguous. However, there is a lack of empirical evidence on a joint effect that innovation and exports have on firms’ productivity. In our attempt to fill this gap, we explore individual and joint effects of innovation and exports on productivity by employing cross-sectional firm-level data. We use the sixth wave of the Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey (BEEPS VI: 2018–2020) conducted by the EBRD and the World Bank. Using a stratified random sampling, the data was collected from interviews with representatives of randomly chosen firms from 32 countries. The overall results suggest that exporting firms are more productive than non-exporters, while the impact of innovation is more heterogeneous. Whereas EU and high-income countries reap the productivity benefits, this effect is absent in other regions and countries with medium and low-income levels. Finally, our results indicate the absence of a joint effect of innovation and exports on productivity, across different geographical regions and countries of different income levels. |
| Keywords: | exports; innovation; labor productivity; learning-by-exporting (LBE) |
| JEL: | R14 J01 |
| Date: | 2023–04–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:119329&r=eff |
| By: | Zhuo, Ni; Ji, Chen; Li, Baozhi; Zhu, Qibiao; Jin, Songqing |
| Keywords: | Productivity Analysis, Resource/Energy Economics and Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea22:335635&r=eff |
| By: | Longang, Saubaber Gamo; D., Soh Wenda Boris.; Bergaly, Kamdem Cyrile |
| Abstract: | In a bid to promote the adoption of certification schemes in the cocoa subsector, this study used data collected from 100 cocoa farmers applied on the two-stage double bootstrap data envelopment analysis (DEA) procedure to estimate the bias-corrected technical efficiency scores of cocoa producers with respect to the level of adoption of the Rainforest Alliance/UTZ cocoa certification scheme in the Centre region of Cameroon. The result indicates that yields per hectare remain low for cocoa farmers but is highest for partial adopters, followed by complete adopters and non-adopters; inefficiency remains rampant amongst cocoa farmers but declines as one moves from non-adoption to partial and then complete adoption. However, partial adoption appears to be more favourable for technical efficiency relative to complete adoption in the short run. Moreover, inefficiency is highest for nonadopters as their respective ages and the year of their experience increase. Likewise, non-adopters and partial adopters with secondary or higher level of schooling tend to be less efficient than complete adopters with similar level of schooling. This study therefore shows that the level of adoption of certification schemes matter for farmers’ technical efficiency. Hence certification bodies and agricultural extension programs should promote the adoption of certification schemes and encourage farmers to adopt the certification norms progressively and move from nonadoption to partial adoption in the short run and then to complete adoption in the long run. |
| Date: | 2023–06–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:africa:2r7qa&r=eff |
| By: | Carlson, Hanna; Reardon, Thomas A.; Theriault, Veronique; Faye, Fatou; Beogo, Xavier |
| Keywords: | Production Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, International Development |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea22:335951&r=eff |
| By: | Anwar Adem; Richard Kneller; Cher Li |
| Abstract: | This study examines the influence of information constraints on firms’ efficiency in using digital technologies, focusing on business websites. Through two natural field experiments in the UK, we provide firms with benchmarked performance information on their websites. The experimental designs enable us to assess the salience of the information provided and heterogeneity linked to prior experience and catch-up potential. Our results indicate that performance gaps are not primarily driven by information constraints, as the treatment demonstrates a limited overall impact on motivating firms to improve, with a short-lived effect during the Covid-19 lockdowns. We further support these conclusions using data on website-building software and the number of page views. |
| Keywords: | field experiment, digital technologies, information constraints, performance management, efficiency |
| JEL: | O32 L25 C93 O33 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10457&r=eff |
| By: | Paul Gaggl; Aspen Gorry; Christian vom Lehn |
| Abstract: | This paper studies structural change in production networks for intermediate inputs (input-output network) and new capital (investment network). For each network, we document a declining fraction of production by goods sectors and a rising fraction of production by services sectors. We develop a multisector growth model that admits structural change in production networks along the balanced growth path to study these trends. Disaggregated final expenditure data reveal that inputs to investment production are substitutes, rather than strong complements as suggested by existing work. Hence, resources endogenously reallocate toward the fastest growing producers of investment. Growth accounting exercises demonstrate that investment-specific technical change has risen in importance for aggregate U.S. growth over time, with 20-25% of aggregate growth after 2000 stemming from reallocation induced by structural change. At the same time, productivity growth within the input-output network has stagnated, contributing to the recent slowdown in aggregate growth. |
| Keywords: | structural change, input-output network, investment network, economic growth, technical change, balanced growth |
| JEL: | E23 O14 O40 O41 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10460&r=eff |
| By: | Jirjahn, Uwe; Mohrenweiser, Jens |
| Abstract: | While studies on individual-based and collective payment schemes are largely unconnected, there appears to be a widely held belief that individual-based schemes have a stronger influence on firm performance than collective ones. This also applies to an index of best management practices developed by Bloom and Van Reenen (2007). The index assigns the highest weight to individual-based performance pay, a medium weight to group-based performance pay and a low weight to profit sharing. This weighting is obviously driven by the implicit assumption that collective payment schemes suffer from a free-rider problem so they have a less strong influence on productivity than individual-based schemes. We show that this assumption is questionable from both a theoretical and an empirical point of view. Using the German Management and Organizational Practices Survey, one of the datasets initiated by Bloom and Van Reenen, we show that individual-based performance pay does not outperform group-based performance pay or profit sharing. The finding also holds when accounting for possible interactions among the payment schemes and considering the moderating roles of firm size, employee representation, and innovativeness. Our results suggest that researchers should be careful with respect to the assumptions and subjective priors guiding their empirical analyses. |
| Keywords: | management practices, free-rider problem, individual performance pay, group performance pay, profit sharing |
| JEL: | J33 M52 M50 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:1298&r=eff |
| By: | Nehring, Richard F.; Bonin, Daniel; Bailey, Samuel M.; Leibold, Kelvin; Dimitri, Carolyn |
| Keywords: | Production Economics, Research Methods/Statistical Methods, Agricultural Finance |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea22:335490&r=eff |
| By: | Kodjovi M. Eklou |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the impact of Dollar exchange rate volatility on firm productivity in Emerging Markets economies (EMs). Using firm level data covering 16 EMs over the period 1998 -2019, the paper shows that dollar exchange rate volatility reduces firm productivity growth. Exploring channels, its finds that the results are driven by countries with low level of financial development, high dollar invoicing, high bilateral trade with the US, high collective bargaining coverage and open capital account. Exploring the role of policy, it finds that Foreign Exchange Interventions (FXI) dampen this impact on firm productivty. Further, exploiting firm level data, the paper shows that dollar exchange rate volatility operates also through the financial friction channel, reducing contemporaneous investments, especially at firms with low liquidity buffers and weak balance sheet (high leverage). The role of financial frictions is confirmed through the finding that younger firms, more likely to face financial constraints, are also found to be more vulnerable to dollar exchange rate volatility. In addition, we also find evidence of a large and persistent effect on firms with highly irreversible investment, lending support for the real option channel of uncertainty on the dollar exchange rate. These findings are robust to a battery of tests, including controlling for uncertainty, financial crises and using an instrumental variable strategy exploiting US monetary policy shocks as an exogenous source of variation in dollar exchange rate volatility. |
| Keywords: | Dollar exchange rate; volatility; Productivity growth; Investment; Firm heterogeneity and spillovers; dollar exchange rate volatility; exchange rate volatility; firm Level data; dollar invoicing; volatility shock com; Exchange rates; Productivity; Financial sector development; Total factor productivity; Employment protection; Global |
| Date: | 2023–05–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:2023/111&r=eff |
| By: | Francois de Soyres; Alexandre Gaillard; Henry L. Young |
| Abstract: | Since the publication of their 2021 "Blue Book", the UK's Office for National Statistics started to measure real GDP in the national accounts using double deflation. This methodological update follows the premise that "double deflation is internationally accepted as the best approach to producing volume estimates of industry Gross Value Added". |
| Date: | 2023–05–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedgfn:2023-05-22&r=eff |