Productivity growth from an international trade perspective

This paper presents a framework to assess the relative importance of three key sources of productivity growth that international trade research focuses on: (1) inter‐industry specialization; (2) intra‐industry reallocation of resources across heterogeneous firms; and (3) technological progress. We illustrate how to apply the framework by deciphering the productivity dynamics of the Swiss manufacturing industry. We find that intra‐industry reallocations are the most important source of growth in aggregate total factor productivity, spurred by the productivity growth of large, incumbent firms and the entry of new firms. Inter‐industry specialization and general technological progress, nevertheless, remain important supplementary sources of productivity growth.     

Firm-Level TFP Growth in the Chinese Automobile Industry

China has been the world’s largest automobile producer since 2009,but it still lags behind other countries in terms of productivity. Based on theNational Bureau of Statistics of China (NBSC) firm-level data and the improvedapproach proposed by Ackerberg et al. (2015), this paper investigates thecontribution of total factor productivity (TFP) growth to the Chinese automobileindustry and evaluates the impact of firm entry and exit on TFP growth. Theempirical results show that the TFP of the Chinese automobile industry grows at10.7% per year. Joint venture and foreign-owned firms have a significantly higherTFP growth rate than others. Large-scale firms have a higher TFP growth rate thando small-scale firms, but the latter have caught up after 2004. Moreover, the entryof new firms and exit of old firms significantly improve the aggregate TFP growthrate.     

要素市场扭曲、资源错置与生产率

要素市场政策扭曲会降低全要素生产率。本文在一个随机动态一般均衡模型框架下,定量考察我国偏向国有企业政策的效率损失。理论模型引入了垄断竞争的中间产品生产企业与内生化的进入退出选择,用不同的全要素生产率增长随机过程,刻画了要素市场面临政策扭曲的国有与私有企业。为了全面反映产业特征,本文用制造业企业微观数据,来校准企业全要素生产率随机增长。通过校准,定量模型表明,源于政策扭曲的资源错置,导致了非常高昂的效率损失。     

Exports,technical progress and productivity growth in a transition economy: a non-parametric approach for China

Theories suggesting either static or dynamic productivity gains derived from exports often assume the prior existence of a competitive market. In the presence of market imperfection and distortion, however, the competition and resource reallocation effects of exports on productive efficiency may be greatly reduced; and there may actually be disincentives for innovation. This paper analyses the impact of exports on aggregate productivity growth in a transition economy using a panel of Chinese manufacturing industries over the period 1990–1997. TFP growth is estimated by employing a non-parametric approach and is decomposed into technical progress and efficiency change. No evidence has been found suggesting significant productivity gains at the industry level resulting from exports. Findings of the current study suggest that, for exports to generate significant positive effect on TFP growth, a well-developed domestic market and a neutral, outward-oriented policy are necessary.     

Slow recoveries

Economies respond differently to aggregate shocks that reduce output. While some countries rapidly recover their pre-crisis trend, others stagnate. Recent studies provide empirical support for a link between aggregate growth and plant dynamics through its effect on productivity: the entry and exit of firms and the reallocation of resources from less to more efficient firms explain a relevant part of transitional productivity dynamics. In this paper, we use a stochastic general equilibrium model with heterogeneous firms to study the effect on aggregate short-run growth of policies that distort the process of birth, growth, and death of firms, as well as the reallocation of resources across economic units. Our findings show that indeed policies that alter plant dynamics can explain slow recoveries. We also find that output losses associated to delayed recoveries are large.     

我国农药制造业生产率增长的实证分析——基于DEA的Malmquist指数法

为探寻提高我国农药制造业生产效率的途径,运用DEA的Malmquist指数方法,从整体趋势和各省区角度定量考察了我国农药制造业增长过程中全要素生产率的增长状况,结果表明:从全国的平均时间序列数据来看,我国农药制造业全要素生产率是在波动中增长,全要素生产率的增长主要是技术进步的贡献,而制约技术效率改善的主要原因是规模效率的下降.所研究的全国二十八个地区,生产率基本上都得到了不同程度的增长,只有云南地区有所下降.就全国而言,农药增长的主要推动力量来自于农药生产率的提高.从动态演变来看,农药全要素生产率增长在农药增长中的作用日渐增强.     

中国服务业分行业生产率变迁及异质性考察

本文采用全国两次经济普查后的修订数据,引入"技术不会遗忘"假定,运用序列DEA-Malmquist生产率指数法测算了1990—2010年中国服务业细分行业的全要素生产率(TFP)、技术进步、纯技术效率与规模效率增长率。结果表明,中国服务业总体及细分行业的TFP均处于上升通道,在上世纪90年代,服务业TFP增长的主导因素是技术效率改进,进入21世纪后,则主要是技术进步提高,且技术效率改进已开始由以纯技术效率为主转向以规模效率为主,但服务业发展的粗放型特征仍然明显。同时,中国服务业TFP增长表现出了较大的行业异质性;与工业(制造业)行业对比,服务业TFP增长是滞后的。2010年与1991年相比,TFP及技术效率增长的行业间异质程度有所下降,而技术进步却有进一步拉大的迹象。可能的内在机制是现代信息技术对不同服务业企业资源配置的异质影响,以及中国服务业体制改革的渐进式道路。     

WTO accession,foreign bank entry,and the productivity of Chinese manufacturing firms

After China’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in December 2001, foreign banks are allowed to enter the Chinese banking market in phases. Using firm-level data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China which cover all state-owned and non state-owned manufacturing firms with sales over 5 million RMB, we examine the relationship between foreign bank entry and the industry-level productivity growth of China’s manufacturing sector. Our empirical results suggest that (a) on average, opening up a region for foreign bank entry has no impact on aggregate productivity growth, (b) however, industries more dependent on external finance grow faster after a region is opened up for foreign bank entry, and (c) these results are due to changes in technical efficiency rather than reallocation. Overall, this paper provides new evidence on the relationship between banking market structure and manufacturing productivity in a fast growing developing country.     

Entry and exit as a source of aggregate productivity growth in two alternative technological regimes

This paper proposes a neo-Schumpeterian model in order to discuss how the mechanisms of entry and exit contribute to industry productivity growth in alternative technological regimes. Our central hypothesis is that new firms generate gains in aggregate productivity by increasing both the productivity level and competition intensity. By assuming that firms learn about the relevant technology through a variety of sources, and by allowing a continuous flow of entry and exit into the market, our study shows that firm exit and output contraction take mostly place among less productive firms, while output expansion and entry are concentrated among the more efficient ones. The greater is the competitive pressure generated by new entrants, the higher is the expected productivity level of established firms. Overall, our analysis suggests that micro analysis is the proper complement to aggregate industry studies, as it provides a considerable insight into the causes of productivity growth.     

Productivity growth in British manufacturing: spatial variation in the role of scale economies,technological growth and industrial structure

This paper investigates the role of scale economies, technological growth and industrial structure in creating spatial variation in manufacturing labour and Total Factor (TFP) productivity in Britain. Separate estimates of a translog specification are presented for British manufacturing firms located in defined areas of the country over the period 1994–1998. The results show that TFP change due to scale economies and technological growth has been of much less important in influencing the output growth of manufacturing firms than input growth or industrial structure. Regarding the components of TFP, technological growth has been the dominant force at play. The analysis of average labour productivity identifies shifts to other factors of production and industrial structure as being the main determinants of change, scale economies appear to have had a marginal role. The results identify spatial patterns indicating that more favourable locational effects arise for firms in areas adjacent to large urban centres, rather than for those located within cities, on the extreme periphery of the urban hinterland, or in rural areas and smaller towns.     

Intrasectoral structural change and aggregate productivity development: robust stochastic nonparametric frontier function estimates

This paper investigates the sources of total factor productivity growth in the German manufacturing sector during 1981–1998. Decompositions of aggregate productivity growth are used to identify the effects of structural change and entry–exit on aggregate productivity growth. We find a substantial rise in productivity growth after the German reunification. The bulk of this rise can be attributed to structural change and entry–exit. Two methodological refinements are implemented. The first refinement is the application of robust stochastic nonparametric approaches to frontier function analysis, and the second is the calculation of bootstrap confidence intervals for the components of the productivity decompositions.     

Services liberalization and productivity of manufacturing firms

Employing a unique database of Ukrainian firms in 2001–07, we use the external push for liberalization in the services sector as a source of exogenous variation to identify the effect of services liberalization on total factor productivity (TFP) of manufacturing firms. The results indicate that a standard deviation increase in services liberalization within a firm is associated with a 9.2 percent increase in TFP. The effect is stronger for firms with high productivity, bringing about a reallocation of resources within an industry. Industry‐level results show that the effect of reallocation on industry productivity is almost as strong as the within‐firm effect. The dynamic interaction of services liberalization and TFP through the investment channel reinforces the effect. The effect is robust to different estimation methods and to different sub‐samples of the data. In particular, it is more pronounced for domestic and small firms.     

FDI和产业集聚对TFP增长影响的实证检验——基于上海制造业行业的数据

运用非参数的Malmquist生产率指数方法,测算了1998—2007年上海20个制造业行业的全要素生产率指数及其技术效率和技术进步的变化指数;用基于面板数据的计量回归模型对上海市制造业行业全要素生产率的影响因素进行了实证检验。得出以下结论:上海制造业行业全要素生产率的增长主要是由技术进步带来的,技术效率变化指数表现出负增长;外商直接投资对上海制造业企业没有明显的外溢效应,产业集聚对上海制造业行业的全要素生产率增长有显著的促进作用,出口贸易具有显著的阻碍作用,国有产权比重具有显著的反向作用。     

Internal financial constraints and firm productivity in China: Do liquidity and export behavior make a difference?

Financial factors have been found highly important in influencing firms’ real activities and in promoting aggregate growth. Yet, the linkage between finance and firm-level productivity has been overlooked in the literature. We fill this gap using a panel of 130,840 Chinese manufacturing firms over the period 2001–2007 to estimate a TFP model augmented with cash flow. We find that, especially for illiquid foreign and private firms, productivity is strongly constrained by the availability of internal finance. Furthermore, contrary to private firms, foreign non-exporters display higher dependence of productivity on cash flow than exporters.     

Technological progress and scientific indicators: a panel data analysis

Total factor productivity (TFP) is generally interpreted to be a proxy for technological advancement. In this paper, we use stochastic frontier analysis to decompose the growth in TFP into three components: technological progress, scale effect and change in technical efficiency. Then, we conduct a comprehensive panel data analysis using the technological progress component of the TFP growth and several scientific and technological indicators using data from 160 countries over the period from 1960 to 2009. Our results generally show that the technological progress component of the TFP growth properly reflects certain dimensions of actual scientific and technological progress. However, we also find that this result is somewhat sensitive to different econometric specifications and assumptions.     

Productivity drivers of infrastructure companies: Network industries utilizing economies of scale in the digital era

What drives the productivity dynamics of infrastructure companies? Using a panel of firms in 14 countries, we study total factor productivity (TFP) enhancers of utility and network services companies. We find that moving TFP closer to the technological frontier drives productivity growth at higher speeds in Asian countries than in European countries. We also find that financial leverage exerts a positive effect on TFP growth for larger infrastructure firms and that more financially developed countries utilize economies of scale through better use of financial resources. Large utility and transportation companies display a higher rate of TFP growth, indicating that a competition policy to encourage M&As would be prudent for the utility/transportation sectors to maximize economies of scale. In contrast, we find diseconomies of scale for energy companies in some countries. Moreover, young network firms improve TFP growth faster than their peers in countries with fewer product market regulations. Therefore, policies should remove entry barriers while facilitating the departure of old and low-productivity firms from network markets. Finally, policymakers should offer well-targeted fiscal incentives for intangible investments to boost TFP because the accumulation of intangible assets such as digital technology promotes more scale economies through network effects.     

Quality heterogeneity and global economic growth

This paper develops a fully endogenous, variety-expansion growth model with firm-specific quality heterogeneity, limit pricing, and an endogenous distribution of markups. Firms with high-quality products engage in exporting, firms with intermediate-quality products serve the domestic market, and inefficient firms with low-quality products exit the market. Trade liberalization, measured by a reduction in trade costs or a decline in foreign market entry costs, generates a reallocation of resources from low-quality to high-quality products and exit of inefficient firms. However, it has ambiguous effects on the average global quality level, long-run growth, and welfare. An increase in the rate of population growth or in the intensity of trade-related knowledge spillovers accelerates economic growth. The laissez-faire equilibrium is inefficient, and this leaves room for welfare-improving government intervention.     

Trade and firm heterogeneity in a Schumpeterian model of growth

The present paper explores the effect of trade liberalization on the level of productivity as well as the rate of productivity growth in an R&D-based model with heterogeneous firms. We introduce new and plausible features that are absent in existing studies. First, technical progress takes the form of continual quality improvement of products over time. Second, firm entry and exit are endogenously determined due to creative destruction of products. In this framework, we demonstrate that a lower transport cost or export sunk cost unambiguously reallocates resources to R&D and top-quality product industries from low-quality good industries. This means that trade liberalization increases the rate of technical progress as well as the level of manufacturing productivity. These results are found to be robust in an extended model with population growth without scale effects.     

On the relationship between intermediate input imports and export quality in China

This paper studies the connection between intermediate input imports and firms’ export quality using firm‐level data from 2000 to 2007. Our regression results show that intermediate input imports promote manufacturing firms’ export quality through ‘variety effects’ and ‘innovation effects’, though the effects are significantly different among firms with different characteristics, and the magnitude of these effects differs across import sources and the quality of imported intermediate inputs themselves. Moreover, we find that a good institutional environment is conducive to the strengthening of the positive influence of intermediate input imports on export quality. Furthermore, the dynamic decomposition demonstrates that the reallocation effect is the key force through which imported inputs boost industrial aggregate quality growth. Taken together, these results suggest that product upgrading facilitated by quality embedded in imported intermediate inputs, a good institutional environment and market share reallocation help Chinese firms to improve the quality of their export products.     

企业演化:中国工业生产率增长的重要途径

本文从企业动态演化的视角,对"十五"前后我国工业全要素生产率变动来源进行考察。通过采用企业微观数据,结合BHC方法①和偏离份额方法,分析技术进步和资源重新配置在工业生产率变动中的作用,为转轨时期工业生产率的变迁提供了新的解释。本文发现,在考察期内,工业企业的生产率水平和增速都表现出很强的异质性:存活企业生产率水平最高,进入企业生产率增速最快,退出企业无论是水平还是速度都处于最后。对于工业生产率的增长,存活企业的技术进步贡献占近一半,而企业演化导致的资源重新配置贡献占另外一半,说明企业演化带来的资源重新配置是中国工业生产率增长的重要途径,揭示出以建立优胜劣汰竞争机制的制度改革及新上投资项目对现阶段经济增长质量的意义。从长远看,随着我国在转型过程中制度潜力的趋弱以及产业发展趋于成熟,增强存活企业的自主创新能力,加快技术进步步伐,则是实现我国工业可持续发展的重要保障。