The impact of embodied and disembodied technical progress on productivity gaps—An applied general equilibrium analysis for Germany and Spain

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of disembodied and of capital embodied technical progress on the closing of international productivity gaps. Within the framework of a partial equilibrium model the direct effect of technical progress on the change of productivity gaps can be calculated directly. However, since the two types of technical progress affect unit costs of industries differently, and hence the system of relative prices, an applied general equilibrium model is required in order to measure the indirect effect of technical progress on the change in productivity gaps. We employ variable cost functions with quasi-fixed effective capital, depending on the rate of embodied technical change, in order to generate a system of prices. Based on similarly structured applied general equilibrium models for Spain and Germany, we quantify the effects of sectoral embodied or disembodied technical change on reduction in national inflation as well as the effect on closing productivity gaps.     

Temporary contracts and labour productivity in Spain: a sectoral analysis

This paper analyses the impact on sectoral labour productivity growth caused by the increase in the use of temporary employment contracts in Spain over the period 1987–2000. With this aim, we estimate a production function model in which effective labour is represented by the shares of permanent, temporary and self-employed workers. Results suggest that productivity growth has been slowed down by the use of temporary contracts for regular jobs and that this has not been affected by compositional changes in activity over the period. However, this effect has only been detected in the manufacturing and energy sector, in contrast to low-technology low-human capital sectors like construction and hospitality.     

Structural change and economic behaviour: The case of UK exports

In this paper Stephen Hall, Giovanni Urga, and John Whitley apply a new econometric technique to date unknown breaks in UK export behaviour. They show how the evidence points to a structural shift in 1979. Although there is some support for a supply-side interpretation in that there have been changes in the behaviour of prices, there has also been a shift in the underlying demand for UK exports. They also find that variables which proxy changes in the quality of UK exports, or other supply-side influences, do not properly account for the observed structural break in UK export performance.     

Output and productivity growth in the education sector: comparisons for the US and UK

This paper considers the measurement of performance in public service provision in an international context by examining outcome-based measures for the education sector. It first sets out the measurement issues in general terms. The paper then applies these methods to comparing the UK experience with that in the US over the period 1979–2002. The results show higher labour productivity growth in the UK education sector than in the US over this time period, so that the UK eliminated the productivity gap with the US by the end of the Century.

经济结构调整和解放生产力

推进产业结构优化升级,形成以高新技术产业为先导、基础产业和制造业为支撑、服务业全面发展的产业格局。———摘自十六大报告     

The impact of vocational education on productivity

This study looks at the impact that vocational education has had on output via the production function in the United States over the period 1947–1970. The results suggest that each one percent increase in the number of students enrolled in vocational education programs eventually leads to a 0.31% increase in output.     

The economic impact of superfund’s litigation on the value of the firm: An empirical analysis

The authors use a standard event-study methodology to evaluate the capital market reaction to superfund lawsuits brought against firms between 1980 and 1990. The results of the time series study indicate that the firms, on the average, suffered a statistically significant loss of 1.30 percent ($30.17 million) of their market value over the two-day event interval. The magnitude of the penalty varies among the industries examined, with the greatest impact falling on the pollution management industry. The lawsuit appears to have significant information effect, with the losses providing some indication that the lawsuits could impose costly constraints on the firms.     

The economic impact of lockdowns: A theoretical assessment

The sudden appearance of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic triggered extreme and open-ended “lockdowns” to manage the disease. Should these drastic interventions be the blueprint for future epidemics? We construct an analytical framework, based on the theory of random matching, which makes explicit how epidemics spread through economic activity. Imposing lockdowns by assumption not only prevents contagion and reduces healthcare costs, but also disrupts income-generation processes. We characterize how lockdowns impact the contagion process and social welfare. Numerical analysis suggests that protracted, open-ended lockdowns are generally suboptimal, bringing into question the policy responses seen in many countries.     

High-capacity vehicles: an investigation of their potential environmental,economic and practical impact if introduced to UK roads

In the UK, the length of a goods carrying vehicle is limited to a maximum of 16.5 m for a standard articulated vehicle and 18.75 m for a draw-bar combination. This research has investigated the environmental, economic and practical impacts of expanding the volumetric carry capacity by increasing maximum length of vehicles to 25.25 m, while maintaining the maximum gross weight at the current UK limit of 44 tonne. The scope is limited to the consideration of 25.25 m vehicle variants that are currently in use in the Netherlands. The investigation was based on a variety of techniques that included bench research and case study modelling. It concludes that, although the picture is complex and there are a number of operational issues to be addressed, the introduction of high-capacity vehicles (HCVs) to the UK would yield valuable environmental and financial benefits at vehicle and operator level, provided that vehicle utilisation levels do not deteriorate as compared with current fleet. At the national level, financial benefits would be partially offset by infrastructure costs and there is some risk of environmental benefits being partially eroded by modal shift – but on both measures a net benefit is highly likely to remain. In addition, provided that appropriate risk control measures are adopted, use of HCVs is highly unlikely to have an adverse impact on road safety.     

Developing economic measures of hospital productivity

This study presents a methodology for measuring hospital output and estimating hospital productivity. A productivity index is developed for a sample of hospitals in New York City for which information was far more detailed than in systematic national sources, and sources of differences among hospitals in productivity are investigated. Internal consistencies in the productivity relationships are examined, and the findings are compared with cost relationships derived from the same data base. The analysis suggests that much better measures for a number of service areas and improved methods for dealing with variations in quality of care will be needed before reasonably accurate hospital-wide measures of output and productivity can be attained.     

Labor market rigidities and economic efficiency: Evidence from Spain

In the 1990s, Spain approved two labor reforms aimed at reducing the unemployment level and its volatility. Overall, these reforms involved two measures designed to induce firms to meet their labor needs via adjustment of permanent positions: restricting the use of temporary workers and reducing the amount of severance payments. This paper empirically assesses the impact of these reforms on the allocative efficiency of the labor input employing Petrin and Sivadasan's (2011) value of the marginal product-marginal cost gap methodology. We find a statistically significant increase in within-firm permanent labor gaps following the reforms. These results suggest that restrictions on the use of temporary workers (increasing the probability of hiring fragile workers for permanent positions), when coupled with uncertainty about enforcement of reduced severance payments, could more than offset the reduction in severance payments; hence, the net effect of the reforms could be to increase adjustment costs for permanent positions.     

The economic impact of the information sector in Singapore

The information sector, delineated as encompassing activities associated with the production and dissemination of information goods and services, is recognised as a dynamic growth sector in developed as well as newly-industrialising countries. Using an input-output methodology, this paper attempts to measure the magnitude and assess the economic impact of the information sector in Singapore. The results are found to be favourable although a number of caveats may be raised regarding its apparent import dependency and foreign exchange earning capability, which has turned from positive to negative over the ten-year period 1973–83. Other issues are also raised concerning the institutional framework, both domestic and international, necessary to support the sector both efficiently and flexibly. Policy implications are drawn from the results of the input-output analysis to consolidate and reinforce current policies to promote information technology in Singapore.     

The Small Business Development Center programme in the USA: a statistical analysis of its impact on economic development

Results of the first national impact study ofthe Small Business Development Center programme indicate that the sales and employment increases of its clients were significantly greater than what they would have been had no assistance been received. The proportion of satisfied clients was significantly greater than the proportion that would be expected by chance.     

Using economic impact analysis for arts management: an empirical application to a music institute in the USA

Economic impact analysis can be used strategically by arts managers to provide information pertaining to making and justifying effective managerial and marketing decisions. The three aspects of economic impact analysis—direct, indirect and induced—reveal information such as arts participants' expenditure patterns, rationale for expenditure, relationships between participant demographics and expenditure, and amount of expenditure outside arts institutions. Arts managers can use the information and data to match product offerings of the institution with those of its participants; increase the participants' participation in, satisfaction with and loyalty to the institution; increase the stature and validity of the arts institution within the community; price the products of the arts institute; and increase community and financial support for arts institutions. This synergistic use of economic impact analysis information with marketing information is illustrated using a music institute in the USA. Copyright © 2003 Henry Stewart Publications     

The consequences of private equity acquisitions for employees: new evidence on the impact on wages,employment and productivity

There is growing controversy on the HR consequences of private equity acquisitions, especially when the existing management team is replaced. Much of the debate thus far has centred on the use of limited panels of case studies and industry surveys. This article, in contrast, uses both in‐depth interviews with relevant stakeholders and objective company data to compare firms subject to private equity acquisitions against a control group of non‐acquired firms. Our interviews provide insights into key issues that are investigated in the subsequent empirical analysis. Our core findings are that firms subject to a specific type of private equity acquisition – institutional buyouts – are associated with job losses, lower wages and lower productivity. This evidence is consistent with the notion that this type of private equity acquisition has negative employment consequences without any corresponding improvement in productivity.