Assessing the output and productivity growth of Malaysia’s manufacturing sector

Given the importance of the manufacturing sector in the second-tier newly industrializing economy of Malaysia, this paper uses the stochastic frontier approach to assess the growth potential of this sector. This is performed by first estimating the production function by using panel data comprising 28 manufacturing industries over the period of 1981–1996. Unlike previous studies that used the growth accounting approach, here output growth is not just decomposed into input growth and total factor productivity growth but total factor productivity growth is further decomposed into technological progress and technical efficiency, thereby providing more direction for policy making.     

基于SFA的我国中东部经济发展效率差异性的实证分析

以10个省1999—2008年的面板数据为基础,运用基于超越对数的随机前沿生产函数模型,分析了中东部经济发展的技术效率、技术进步和全要素生产率,研究发现:中部的技术效率和技术进步要低于东部,中部对资本和劳动力投入的依存度较大,但中部的效率变化值很大,导致全要素生产率大于东部,中东部经济发展差异存在着减小的趋势。     

Technological progress and technical efficiency in Chinese industrial growth: A frontier production function approach

We estimate a frontier production function for Chinese industry for the period 1953–1985. Contrary to prior studies based on OLS estimates, we find that Chinese industry has been characterized by a rate of growth of technological progress between 1.8 and 3.6 percent per year. We also find that the capital-saving nature of technological progress has adversely affected Chinese productivity growth because of increases in the capital-labor ratio. The utilization of industrial resources has been quite suboptimal for much of the sample period, with industrial production well off the production frontier. These deviations from efficient resource use reflect well-known political and economic developments that disrupted economic activity. Finally, both technical efficiency and total factor productivity increased appreciably in the period 1978–1985, suggesting that the reforms have had some positive impact on industrial performance.     

Total factor productivity, the east Asian miracle, and the world production frontier

Total Factor Productivity, the East Asian Miracle, and the World Production Frontier. — The post WWII growth of the East Asian Tiger states has stimulated the discussion about its determinants. Young and Krugman hold that high capital accumulation rather than gains in efficiency or technological progress has spurred growth. Nelson and Pack, however, have recently criticized the methods of measuring technological progress. Applying the nonparametric approach to frontier production function determination and the Malmquist index of total factor productivity change, the authors take up this criticism. They calculate productivity indicators for a sample of 18 American, Asian, and European countries. For the Tiger states, their results confirm that capital accumulation was the main source of growth in 1960-1973, whereas they find evidence for an increasing importance of efficiency improvements for the growth in 1973-1990.     

Productivity Growth in Different Plant‐size Groups in the Malaysian Manufacturing Sector*

In the present study, we develop a stochastic frontier production model that allows for different groups of firms to have different patterns of technical efficiency over time. We apply our model to the Malaysian manufacturing sector to decompose total factor productivity growth into technical efficiency change and technical progress for different plant size groups (e.g. large and small) in seven industries during 2000–2004. Our empirical results indicate that technical efficiency has worsened across all industries and plant‐size groups. In contrast, we find evidence of substantial technical progress in all industries. In fact, technical progress has been larger than technical efficiency deterioration in most industries and plant‐size groups, leading to total factor productivity growth. Our analysis identifies the industries and plant‐size groups that lag the most in terms of productivity, and thus have the greatest scope for policies that facilitate productivity growth.     

Technological catch-up or resource rents?

This paper studies contribution of capital deepening, technological progress and efficiency improvement to economic growth while focusing on cross-country data, and thus finds itself at the crossroads of growth and development accounting. We take a production frontier approach to growth accounting and choose DEA as the frontier estimation method. To explore the effects that windfall gains from natural resource use have on growth, output data are corrected for pure natural resource rents—part of GDP figures not earned by either labor or capital. Taking into account countries’ natural resources, we find that in the two decades from 1970 to 1990 the average contribution of technological catch-up to per worker output growth was, if anything, negative on the worldwide scale and this trend continued till the mid 1990ies. Analysis of efficiency estimates also shows a possible change over the period of 1970–1990 in the effect of natural resources on country’s performance     

中国粮食生产的技术效率与全要素生产率增长：1978-2008

本文利用1978—2008年间我国30个省市区的面板数据,对改革开放以来我国粮食生产进行了随机前沿分析。以此为基础,对我国粮食生产技术效率进行了影响因素分析,并对粮食生产全要素生产率增长进行分解和趋势分析。结果表明,农业基础设施建设和制度因素是影响我国粮食生产技术效率的关键因素;我国粮食产量增长主要是由投入要素的增长拉动,31年间全要素生产率的平均增长率为1．17％,TFP对我国粮食产量的贡献很小,其原因在于技术进步与技术效率变化呈现相反趋势。2004年以来,技术效率提高的速度持续下降,技术进步逐渐成为TFP增长的主要动力。     

基于时变随机前沿生产函数的上海工业增长因素分析

本文应用时变随机前沿生产函数和行业面板数据．测算出1995-2004年上海工业32个行业的动态劳动、资本产出弹性，技术进步率和技术效率变化率；在此基础上进一步得到各因素对工业产值增长的贡献度。主要结论是：（1）上海工业增长主要依赖资本投入的高速增长和加速的技术进步率；（2）资本增长比技术进步对上海工业产值的增长有更大的贡献度，而要实现工业可持续增长，必须依靠更快的技术进步；（3）上海工业总体的技术效率变化率向下变化，说明市场自由竞争的加剧导致了不同行业或企业的技术效率差距在拉大．这有利于行业资源优化配置和上海工业可持续发展。     

Trade liberalization and productivity growth in Australian manufacturing industries

Although there has been a revival of interest in the trade-growth nexus, the impact of trade liberalization on productivity gains remains empirical, given the ambiguity in the literature on this issue. This paper examines the case for Australia using annual data of eight two-digit manufacturing industries from 1968–69 to 1994–95. Unlike earlier studies, total factor productivity growth is first decomposed into technological progress and gains in technical efficiency, and the effect of trade liberalization is then investigated separately on TFP growth, as well as on each of the components of TFP growth. The empirical finding that trade liberalization has a positive and significant effect on technological progress, but no significant effect on gains in technical efficiency, adds yet another dimension to the evaluation of trade liberalization policies.     

Efficiency and productivity analyses of Indonesian manufacturing industries

This study estimates the technical efficiencies and total factor productivity (TFP) growths in food, textile, chemical and metal products industries from 1993 to 2000 in Indonesia by using the stochastic frontier model. Furthermore, the determinants of inefficiency are also analyzed and TFP growth is decomposed into technological progress, a scale component, and efficiency growth. The results reveal that the food, textile, chemical and metal products sectors are on average 50.79%, 47.89%, 68.65% and 68.91% technically efficient, respectively. It is noted that ownership contributed to technical inefficiencies in the food sector; location and size contributed to technical inefficiencies in the textile sector, whereas size, ownership and age contributed to inefficiencies in the chemical and metal products sectors. We note that productivity in food, textile, and metal products sectors decreased at the rate of 2.73%, 0.26%, and 1.65%, respectively, but increased at a rate of 0.5% in the chemical sector. The decomposition of TFP growth indicates that the growths are driven positively by technical efficiency changes and negatively by technological progress in all four sectors.     

中国装备制造业全要素生产率增长的分解:1998-2009——基于省际面板数据的研究

本文采用超越对数的随机前沿生产函数和1998-2009年的省际面板数据,测算了中国各地区装备制造业的全要素生产率(TFP)增长率,并从技术进步、技术效率变化、规模效率变化、配置效率变化四个方面对中国装备制造业全要素生产率变化的特点进行了分析。经验结果表明,样本期间内,全国以及东、中、西部地区装备制造业的TFP都有所增长,其增速皆呈现出先增后减再增的趋势;TFP增长对全国装备制造业产出增长的贡献率相对较低,仅为0.117。对TFP增长的分解发现,技术进步已成为中国装备制造业TFP增长的主要源泉,配置效率和规模效率恶化则严重阻碍了中国装备制造业TFP水平的提高。分地区来看,中部地区的TFP增长率最高,东部次之,西部最低,这主要是由于西部地区装备制造业要素配置效率的下降最为严重,东部地区规模效率的下降最为严重。     

An empirical analysis of Sri Lanka's Manufacturing Productivity slow-down

This paper analyses empirically the changes in Sri Lanka's manufacturing productivity during a period of regime shift from import substituting industrialisation to export-oriented industrialisation. We have used a varying coefficients stochastic production frontier model on a balanced panel data set to shed light on the effects of trade liberalisation on Total Factor Productivity which incorporates both changes in Technical Efficiency and Technical Progress. The results of the empirical validation of the stochastic production frontier model reveal that there were two distinct phases of output and productivity growth under each of the two trade liberalisation episodes that occurred during 1978–88 and 1988–97, respectively. The analysis carried out in this paper decomposing Total Factor Productivity into Technical Progress and Technical Efficiency also reveals that during early years of each episode, perspiration or factor inputs was the driving force of increased output growth giving way to ‘inspiration’ or technical progress as each phase matured. The stochastic production frontier empirics reported in this paper together with negative feedback effects emanating from the political turmoil and the prolonged ethnic conflict virtually brought the growth of foreign direct investment to a grinding halt in late 1980s, when the election of new right-wing government appears to have given a shot in the arm to overcome the paralysis of technical progress that seem to have contributed to the productivity slow-down in Sri Lanka's manufacturing sector in the eve of the new millennium.     

技术进步对工业经济增长的贡献研究——基于重庆工业的面板数据

基于2003-2010年重庆市工业38个细分行业的面板数据,运用简化的Cobb-Douglas生产函数与Solow余值法测算出重庆市工业年均复合生产技术进步为9.53%,年均复合广义技术进步为15.76%,其广义技术进步年均复合贡献相对份额为55.50%,但是其资本要素产出弹性较低以及技术进步贡献有下降趋势。由此判定重庆市工业经济正在向由技术进步带动生产效率、要素使用效率提高的集约型增长方式转变。     

中国西部地区经济增长源泉——基于人力资本与能源消费的双重约束

文章以中国经济发展相对落后的西部地区为研究对象,运用DEA方法将考虑人力资本与能源消费的经济增长分解为人力资本、复合物质资本、效率改善和技术进步四部分,探寻其经济增长的源泉,并对西部大开发前后进行了比较研究。发现以人力资本、物质资本和能源消费为代表的要素投入和以技术进步、效率提高为代表的全要素生产率对经济增长的推动作用几乎相等;但在西部大开发以后,以技术进步、效率提高为代表的全要素生产率对经济增长的推动作用呈现逐年上升的良好趋势。采用绝对收敛方程考察了中国西部地区经济增长与四类因素的收敛效应,发现中国西部地区出现了显著地经济收敛,而这种结果是技术效率、技术进步和物质资本积累的共同结果。采用Tobit模型深入分析了能源投入和人力资本对经济增长约束的传导机制,结果表明,中国西部地区经济增长可持续发展的重要源泉和动力在于转变经济增长方式。     

资源环境约束下的城市经济效率测度与差异研究——基于中部与长江经济带14市的比较

将资源和环境因素同时纳入效率研究框架中,运用SBM模型以及Malmquist指数方法测度了2006—2013年14个城市的经济效率、全要素生产率（TFP）,并将全要素生产率变动分解为技术效率和技术进步,实现了TFP增长的动态分解。研究结果表明,大多数城市存在效率改进空间;当考虑资源环境约束时,城市绿色TFP较低,技术进步是推动绿色TFP增长的主要源泉,而技术效率的作用并不明显。在生产效率的核算中,如果忽略资源环境因素的刚性约束,有可能导致经济增长效率被高估,由此得出的政策建议会带有一定的误导性。     

农业全要素生产率时间演变及区域差异研究——基于江苏省的实证分析

基于江苏省13个地级市的农业投入产出面板数据,运用DEA-Malmquist方法,对江苏农业全要素生产率进行了实证分析。结果表明,2001-2014年间江苏省农业技术进步增长幅度较大,而技术效率变动呈现递减态势,农业TFP增长主要是靠技术进步推动的,且江苏农业TFP增长率及其构成存在显著的地区差异,苏南农业TFP增速明显高于苏中和苏北地区。     

基于DEA Malmquist指数法的生产性服务业增长效率研究——以河北省为例

为了反映生产性服务业增长效率,本文根据前沿生产函数模型,使用面板数据,采用DEA Malmquist指数法分析2004—2009年间河北省生产性服务业增长效率特征,将全要素生产率(TFP)增长分解为技术进步率和效率的改进两部分,并深入探讨内部主要行业增长效率特征。研究表明,河北省对技术的吸收利用能力较低,而技术的引进成为TFP增长的主要来源;从内部行业来看,传统行业中交通运输业发展较快,具有明显增长优势,而作为知识密集型的金融业发展滞后。通过研究找出河北省生产性服务业增长效率的影响因素,为各行业发展指明方向,为有关部门提供政策依据。     

Information Technology, Organizational Transformation and Productivity Growth: An Examination of the Brynjolfsson–Hitt Proposition

This study investigates what happened to productivity growth during the Information Technology (IT) revolution in an IT-driven economy, Korea. To this end, we have decomposed the source of productivity growth into technological change, technical efficiency and scale economies using a stochastic frontier function and examined how the composition of productivity growth has changed with different phases of IT developments. We have used panel data that is comprised of 4022 firms from 1996 to 2000. We have found that Korean firms have been quick to embrace organizational restructuring to adapt to a new business environment brought about by IT, which seems to be the major source of the success of Korean firms. We have also found that: (i) there is no substantial difference in productivity gains between IT-producing firms and IT-using firms; (ii) productivity growth is more robust to business cycles in an IT-driven economy than in the traditional economy; and (iii) efficiency improvement attributed to organizational transformation plays a greater role in productivity growth as IT applications become more widespread.     

Tracing the regional dual value chains: Measurement on the production position and evidence from China

When there is insufficient internal and external impetus for developing countries’ economy, building a domestic and international dual circulation is conducive to promoting the regional industrial growth. On the basis of regional embedded international input-output tables, this paper extends the measurement framework of production position and proposes the concept of the dual value chain, which measure production position that unifies the national and global value chains from forward and backward industrial linkages. We decompose the national and global value chains into three categories and investigate the production position characteristics of China with a multi-dimensional perspective. Consistent evidence shows that a feasible path of technological progress in optimizing the production in value chains in which technological progress plays a crucial role on the pure national value chain across the high-tech manufacturing sector, the eastern and central regions. Their posterior probabilities are 0.96, 0.21and 0.86, respectively. Moreover, the impact on the dual production is nonnegligible that the posterior probability of technological progress on the eastern and central regions is 0.40 and 0.92. In addition, the impact of the Chinese economic stimulus program and technological progress on the economic crisis has a certain moderating effect. Our proposed evaluation framework sheds new light that national value chain production can boost economic growth，and further promote the coordinated of regional industries for developing countries.     

Factor Determinants of Total Factor Productivity Growth in Malaysian Manufacturing Industries: a decomposition analysis

To decompose total factor productivity growth into technical progress, technical efficiency change, allocative efficiency change, and scale efficiency change, a stochastic frontier approach was applied to Malaysian manufacturing data covering the period 2000 to 2004. The results show that total factor productivity was driven mainly by technical progress but was hurt by deteriorating technical efficiency. Scale efficiency and allocative efficiency also exerted significant influences on total factor productivity. The skill and quality of workers were the most important determinants of technical efficiency, whereas foreign ownership, imports, and employee quality underpinned technical progress. The impact of firm size on scale economies differed across industries.