Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Metamorphosis Of The Interrelationship Between Competitiveness, Productivity, And Growth Within Economic Realm, Rashid Ali Baloch

CBER Conference

This study investigates that the relationship between competitiveness, productivity and growth is not stable or predictable, it acknowledges that the associations and influence among these factors such as technological, industrial advancement, and policy changes. By studying the changing linearity, researchers aim to comprehend the metamorphosis of the interrelations among competitiveness, productivity, and growth within the economic realm. This study examines the role of technological advancements, innovation, human capital development, and institutional reforms in shaping the country's growth trajectory.

Why The Public Discourse On Education Is Wrong, Jesus Felipe

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

ONCE upon a time, the Philippines was praised for its relatively well-educated labor force. Not anymore. The situation seems to have reversed: policymakers and commentators single out education as one of the primary causes for the country’s poor performance (lack of competitiveness) and the unemployability of many of its workers.

To put the discussion in the correct context, I will start by arguing that the relevant measure of progress for a developing nation like the Philippines is productivity. Without productivity increases, there cannot be increases in income. Productivity in the Philippines is low in general. Is education the key to …

The Impact Of Intangible Capital On The Productivity Of Small Firms, Črt Kostevc, Tjaša Redek

Economic and Business Review

Despite the mounting evidence in support of the role of intangible capital on firm performance, some research gaps remain. This paper focuses on the link between intangible capital and firm performance with a particular focus on the effect firm size has on the relationship by studying the population of Slovene enterprises between 2007 and 2020. We find that while intangible assets are positively associated with productivity, the link is by no means linear. Furthermore, micro firms appear to benefit most from investing in intangible assets, while the effect is less robust for small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) and large firms. …

Ewom Platforms As Productivity Catalyzers In The Travel Industry: A Two-Stage Double Bootstrap Data Envelopment Analysis, Tomas Saralegui

Journal of Sustainability and Resilience

In a fast-paced digitalization context, travel agencies face a challenge to increase productivity. Electronic word of mouth (eWOM) could allow better learning processes, improve communication with customers, and serve as a remarkable diffusion channel. However, this channel is not yet fully embraced by the sector. This research, delimited to Spanish travel agencies in the period 2012-2019, applies a two-stage double bootstrap data envelopment analysis to assess whether eWOM and how firms manage eWOM, contributes to achieving higher levels of efficiency. Results show that firms with higher valence and volume of online reviews tend to be closer to the efficiency frontier. …

Essays In Development Macroeconomics, Miguel Orozco Vazquez

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation consists of three chapters that cover topics on development macroeconomics.

Chapter 1 - Misallocation of Resources and Total Factor Productivity: Evidence from Mexico. This paper aims to measure the gross output loss due to misallocation of resources in the manufacturing and service sectors in Mexico during 2008-2018 and identify the inputs of production related to it. To do so, I use Mexican Economic Censuses and an extension of Hsieh and Klenow (2009). I also include resource misallocation computations using data processed with a Bayesian model for editing and imputing data to correct for measurement error (MEC data), which …

Do Shifts In Labor Shares In Productivity Growth Affect Poverty And Inequality? A Comparative Study Of Sub-Saharan Africa And Asia, Precious W. Allor

Masters Theses

This paper examines whether productivity growth induced by intersectoral labor movement affects inequality and poverty. To address this question a nonparametric shift-share decomposition technique is employed to decompose productivity growth into the structural change component; the component of productivity growth that is induced by the intersectoral labor movement, and the technological change component; the component of productivity growth that is induced by capital or improvements in productive efficiency. The paper then examines the long-run impact of structural change-induced productivity growth on poverty and inequality for a sample of 28 countries, and with a focus on Sub-saharan Africa and Asia. The …

Enhancing The Productivity, Competitiveness And Independence Of Productive Cooperatives In Egypt / تحسين الانتاجية والتنافسية والاستقلالية للتعاونيات الإنتاجية بمصر, Yomna Mohamed Gamil Esmat

Papers, Posters, and Presentations

This paper sheds light on the conceptual framework of productive cooperatives, identifies the distinctive characteristics of this type of enterprises and examines the economic and social relative importance of the sector. Based on the importance of the cooperatives sector at the international level, and because of the many local efforts in Egypt that are aimed at promoting cooperatives at large, this paper identifies areas which need to be attended to by suitable legesilative and policy support and also examines selected international experiences, in order to draw lessons learned that can positively reflect on the situation in Egypt.

A Cross-Cultural Examination Of The Effect Of Employer Support On Employee Productivity, Shawn Tuman, Haley Lipton

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The purpose of this creative, collaborative, capstone project is to conduct a cross-cultural examination of the effect of employer support on employee productivity by compiling, examining, and synthesizing conclusions from existing research. In a world of growing globalization and technological innovation, the speed of productivity is often the cornerstone that differentiates successful businesses from unsuccessful businesses, providing a competitive advantage to the quick while the others fall behind. Often this increased level of efficiency comes at a cost beyond the price of the product and the salary of employees, a deeper, psychological cost. By reviewing research focused in the United …

Why Not Mexico? Policy Recommendations For A Globally-Oriented Economic Strategy, Víctor Manuel Hernández-Rodríguez

CMC Senior Theses

Mexico, one of the world’s largest economies and an increasingly relevant actor in international affairs, is at a crucial point in defining its future policy course. Given the uncertainty surrounding the global economy, as well as the political situation in Mexico, it is important to have a clear vision for policy going forward. This thesis offers a foundation for a national economic strategy with a long-term vision, upon which future administrations can build as appropriate to maximize on the country’s economic potential. The task is undertaken through a three-part approach. First, a thorough and analytical overview of the country’s economic …

Does Privatization Improve Productivity? Empirical Evidence From Ethiopia, Tadesse Wodajo, Dawit Senbet

International Journal of African Development

Theoretically, it is posited that privatization enables the private sector to play a dominant role in the economy by enhancing competition, productivity and efficiency. When evaluated using these criteria, privatization of the manufacturing industries has failed in Ethiopia. Our empirical results show that, at best, privatization did not result in improving productivity, and at worst, it led to a decline in productivity. We argue that the main reason for this outcome is the unique economic and business environment prevailing in Ethiopia, which does not allow the standard economic assumptions of market competition to hold. Ethiopia’s ‘private sector’ can be described …

What Drives Economic Growth? A Look Into Structural Transformation And Export Diversification, Dany Bahar

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

As part of the Brookings Scholar Lecture Series, Brookings Mountain West invites you to a lecture titled "What drives economic growth? A look into structural transformation and export diversification" by Brookings Fellow in Global Economy and Development, Dany Bahar.

About 60 percent of cross-country income differences can be explained by productivity differences. In the long-run, productivity is what best explains economic growth and welfare. This lecture seeks to understand the drivers of economic and productivity growth for countries, and in particular, the role of structural transformation and diversification. The lecture will draw on work by other scholars as well as …

Financing And Productivity: Evidence From Indian Manufacturing Industry, Tingyi Wu

Master's Theses

India grows rapidly in recent years, not to mention its high-technology industry. What are secrets behind this fast-growing situation? This paper intends to find the answer using a firm-level panel data in India and examine the loan-productivity relationship via both contemporaneous and lagged models. I find positive and statistically significant results that loans play an important role in firms’ performances.

Are Large Informal Firms More Productive Than The Small Informal Firms? Evidence From Firm-Level Surveys In Africa, Mohammad Amin, Asif Islam

Mohammad Amin

Using data for over 500 informal or unregistered firms in seven countries in Africa, this study explores how labor productivity varies between small and large informal firms. We find robust evidence that small informal firms have higher labor productivity than large informal firms. Thus, even though poor performance of informal firms is typically attributed to their small size vis-à-vis registered or formal sector firms, incremental increases in the size of informal firms does not necessarily imply a narrowing of the formal-informal firm productivity gap.

Export Decisions Of Services Firms Between Agglomeration Effects And Market-Entry Costs, Henk Lm Kox

Henk LM Kox

Regional Industrial Structure And Agglomeration Economies: An Analysis Of Productivity In Three Manufacturing Industries, Joshua Drucker, Edward Feser

Edward J Feser

We investigate whether a more concentrated regional industrial structure – the dominance of a few large firms in a given industry in a region – limits agglomeration economies and ultimately diminishes the economic performance of firms in that industry, especially small ones. In an application to three industries using establishment-level production functions and a combination of confidential and publicly available data sources, we find a consistently negative and substantial direct productivity effect associated with regional industrial structure concentration and only mixed and relatively weak evidence that agglomeration economies are a mediating factor in that effect.

Regional Industrial Structure And Agglomeration Economies: An Analysis Of Productivity In Three Manufacturing Industries., Joshua Drucker, Edward Feser

Joshua Drucker

Unemployment And The Uk Labour Market Before, During And After The Golden Age, Timothy J. Hatton, George R. Boyer

George R. Boyer

During the ‘golden age’ of the 1950s and 1960s unemployment in Britain averaged 2 per cent. This was far lower than ever before or since and a number of hypotheses have been put forward to account for this unique period in labour market history. But there has been little attempt to isolate precisely how the determinants of wage setting and unemployment differed before, during and after the golden age. We estimate a two-equation model over the whole period from 1872 to 1999 using a newly constructed set of long-run labour market data. We find that the structure of real wage …

Impacts Of Formal Financing On The Development Of The Sudanese Agricultural Sector, Issam A.W. Mohamed Professor

Professor Issam A.W. Mohamed

The agricultural sector of Sudan is faced by many problems. In the irrigated schemes, the government who officially owns most of them there are entrenched managerial problems that brewed for more than six decades. Moreover, the privatization policies of those schemes provoked many outcries and protests. Large schemes like Gezira have collapsed, this year 2011, only 10% of its over one million hectares were cultivated. The rainfed farming is not different with lack of machineries, shortages of available labor and high priced agricultural inputs, it is not expected to fare better than the irrigated schemes. However, even if those problems …

Economic Transition, Higher Education And Worker Productivity In China, Belton Fleisher, Yifan Yu, Haizheng Li, Seonghoon Kim

Research Collection School Of Economics

We investigate the role of education on worker productivity and firms' total factor productivity using a panel of firm-level data from China. We estimate the returns to education by calculating the marginal productivity of workers of different education levels based on estimates of the firm-level production function. We also estimate how the education level of workers and CEO contributes to firms' total factor productivity. Estimated marginal products are much higher than wages, and the gap is larger for highly educated workers. Our estimate shows that an additional year of schooling raises marginal product by 30.1%, and that CEO's education increases …

Engines Of Growth. Innovation And Productivity In Industry Groups, Mario Pianta, Francesco Bogliacino

Mario Pianta

The diversity of technological activities that contribute to growth in labour productivity is examined in this article for manufacturing and services industries in eight major EU countries. We test the relevance of two “engines of growth”, i.e., the strategies of technological competitiveness (based on innovation in products and markets) and cost competitiveness (relying on innovation in processes and machinery) and their impact on economic performance. We propose models for the determinants of changes in labour productivity and we carry out empirical tests for both the whole economy and for the four Revised Pavitt classes that group manufacturing and services industries …

How Does Size Matter? Investigating The Relationships Among Plant Size, Industrial Structure, And Manufacturing Productivity., Joshua Drucker

Joshua Drucker

Taiwanese Industry Competitiveness When Outward Fdi Is Defensive, Ling Sun, Lilyan E. Fulginiti, Yo-Chan Chen

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

The main purpose of this study is to examine the links between outward FDI and the competitiveness of Taiwanese industries. This is done by emphasizing the difference between ‘defensive’ versus ‘expansionary’ outward FDI. The empirical study is based on a panel data of 15 industries over the period 1991–2001. The results indicate that outward FDI of the defensive type, in particular that destined to China, while increasing industry efficiency has had a significant negative influence on competitiveness of the Taiwanese industry through its effects on innovative activity. While outward FDI has impacted the industry’s productivity growth it has not decreased …

Human Capital In The City: Exploring The Relationship Between Skill And Productivity In Us Metropolitan Areas, Ryan Wallace

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

In economics, new growth theory suggests that knowledge creation and innovation are key drivers of growth. As a result, the ‘new economy’ is increasingly reliant upon the knowledge, skills, and abilities embodied in its workforce, also known as human capital, that facilitate the stimulation and generation of new ideas (Romer 1986, 1990 and Lucas 1988). This research contributes to the understanding of the relationship between stocks of human capital and economic output. I construct metrics to measure concentrations of basic worker skills using the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Information Network (O*NET) and employment estimates for 353 US metropolitan areas. …

Effects Of Investment On Macroeconomic Variables In The Sudanese Economy, Professor Issam A.W. Mohamed

Professor Issam A.W. Mohamed

Most developing and underdeveloped countries beside Sudan suffer from the low levels of income in addition to the low savings that are result from the lack of sophisticated savings channels. Hence, the investment depends on the individual's abilities on self savings, where the investment is considered as major motivating vehicle for economic activity due to its direct correlation with the capital accumulation process that increases the productivity capacity for the national economy and creating job opportunities and achieving economic development. Subsequently, the importance of the investment comes from effective role that can be practiced on the national product. The present …

The Impact Of The Second World War On U.S. Productivity Growth, Alexander J. Field

Economics

This paper considers the productivity impact on the US economy of the period of war mobilization and demobilization lasting from 1941 to 1948. Optimists have pointed to learning by doing in military production and spin-offs from military R & D as the basis for asserting a substantial positive effect of military conflict on potential output. Productivity data for the private non-farm economy are not consistent with this view, as they show slower total factor productivity (TFP) growth between 1941 and 1948 than before or after. The paper argues for adopting a less rosy perspective on the supply side effects of …

Demand And Innovation In Productivity Growth, Mario Pianta, Francesco Crespi

Mario Pianta

The labour productivity impact of demand and innovation is investigated in this paper combining insights from the Kaldorian and Schumpeterian traditions. After a review of studies in such traditions, a general model is proposed for explaining productivity growth in European manufacturing and service industries in the late 1990s, followed by two distinct specifications for the industries oriented toward product innovation, and for those where process innovation dominates. The empirical analysis is based on the match of the SIEPI-CIS2 database developed at the University of Urbino and Eurostat Input–Output Tables at the industry level, for 22 manufacturing sectors and 10 services …

Diversity In Innovation And Productivity In Europe, Mario Pianta, Francesco Crespi

Mario Pianta

The diversity in innovation patterns across manufacturing and service industries and in their outcomes in terms of hourly labor productivity are investigated in this article considering six European countries. The Schumpeterian insights into the variety of innovation are developed in this work by identifying different innovation–performance relationships for industries and countries, relying either on the dominant role of product innovation, or on the diffusion of process improvements. Moreover, the “push” effect of innovation is combined with the “pull” effect of demand, by considering the impact of the dynamics of consumption and investment at the sectoral level. The results point out …

Innovation And Productivity In European Industries, Mario Pianta, Andrea Vaona

Mario Pianta

The labour productivity impact of innovation is investigated in this paper combining neo-Schumpeterian insights on the variety of innovation with the importance of industrial structures and firm size; two models are proposed for explaining productivity and export success in European manufacturing industries and firm-size classes. The empirical estimates are based on data from the European innovation survey (CIS 2), covering Austria, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and the UK, broken down by 22 sectors and for large, medium, and small firms. The econometric results, obtained adopting cross-sectional estimation methodologies able to account for unobserved industrial characteristics, show that productivity in Europe …

Pollution Abatement Costs: Hurting Or Helping Productivity?, Jacqueline M. Volkman

University Avenue Undergraduate Journal of Economics

This paper analyzes the effect that regulatory inputs or expenditures for labor, materials, and capital have on productivity for three industries (blast furnaces and steel mills, alkalies and chlorine, and petroleum refining). Data is examined from 1973 to 1994 and the growth rate of total factor productivity (TFP) is considered. The pattern of pollution abatement expenditures for three media, water, air, and solid wastes, is also examined graphically. In addition, the measurement for TFP is adjusted to net out regulatory inputs for labor, materials, and capital. A comparison between the original and adjusted measurement of TFP is made for each …