Information technology and the Japanese economy

In this paper we compare sources of economic growth in Japan and the United States from 1975 through 2003, focusing on the role of information technology (IT). We have adjusted Japanese data to conform to US definitions in order to provide a rigorous comparison between the two economies. The adjusted data show that the share of the Japanese gross domestic product devoted to investment in computers, telecommunications equipment, and software rose sharply after 1995. The contribution of total factor productivity growth from the IT sector in Japan also increased, while the contributions of labor input and productivity growth from the non-IT sector lagged far behind the United States. Our projection of potential economic growth in Japan from for the next decade is substantially below that in the United States, mainly due to slower growth of labor input. Our projections of labor productivity growth in the two economies are much more similar. J. Japanese Int. Economies 19 (4) (2005) 460–481.     

Firm-level interactions between exporting and productivity: Industry-specific evidence

This paper investigates interactions between exporting and productivity at the firm level, using a panel of firms in the UK chemical industry. This is both highly technology intensive and the UK’s largest exporting sector. We find exporters are more productive than non-exporters, but are also on average smaller. This superior productivity performance among exporters appears to be caused by both self-selection and learning-by-exporting effects. In contrast to other studies, we find learning effects are significantly positive among new entrants, weaker for more experienced exporters and negative for established exporters. JEL no. F14, D21, L65     

Economic reforms,efficiency and productivity in Chinese banking

This paper analyzes the impact of banking reforms on efficiency and total factor productivity (TFP) change in Chinese banking industry. Using an input distance function, we find that joint-equity banks are more efficient than wholly state-owned banks (WSOBs). Furthermore, both WSOBs and joint-equity banks are found to be operating slightly below their optimal size, suggesting potential advantages in expansion of their businesses. Overall, TFP growth was 4.4% per annum for the sample period 1993–2002. Joint-equity banks experienced much higher growth in TFP (5.5% per annum) compared to the WSOBs (1.4% per annum).      

中国私营企业的生产率表现和投资效率

本文利用第一次全国经济普查数据系统地研究中国私营企业的生产率表现和投资效率问题。样本分析表明,东部地区材料和机械设备制造业的私营企业在劳动生产率和资本生产率上都明显领先于其他地区,然而这种优势主要集中表现在规模较大的企业上。生产函数的估计结果显示各地区大部分行业的资本弹性稳定地处于0.2—0.3之间。对生产率方差的分解表明,地区和行业内部近90%的生产率差异来自TFP的差异,劳均资本的差异只占贡献来源的13%左右。虽然行业间生产率差异的主要来源还是TFP,但地区间的生产率差异则主要来源于劳均资本的差异。资本边际产出在地区间和行业间的不均衡分布意味着部门间存在资本配置的非效率。我们通过模拟实验发现,省际间资本重置给私营制造业带来的潜在产出增长效果比行业间的资本重置更加明显,这意味着私营制造业资本的地区间流动障碍比行业间障碍更为严重。     

中国私营企业劳动生产率变化及影响因素剖析——基于1998年～2009年时间序列数据的实证研究

笔者利用1998年～2009年国有及国有控股工业企业和私营工业企业的时间序列数据,对国有企业和私营企业的劳动生产率进行了实证分析,发现1998年～2001年间,私营企业的劳动生产率一直高于国有企业,但从2002年开始,国有企业的劳动生产率反超私营企业。国有企业的垄断地位、私营企业技术研发的相对滞后、不健全的用人机制和不合理的行业分布等因素是导致这种变化的重要原因。     

On using relative prices to measure capital-specific technological progress

Recently, Greenwood, Hercowitz and Krusell (GHK) have identified the relative price of (new) capital with capital-specific technological progress. In a two-sector growth model, however, the relative price of capital equals the ratio of the productivity processes in the two sectors. Restrictions from this model are used with data on wages and prices to construct measures of productivity growth and test the GHK identification, which is easily rejected by the data. This raises questions about various measures of the contribution that capital-specific technological progress might make to the economy. This identification also induces a negative correlation between the resulting measures of capital-specific and economy-wide technological change, which potentially explains why papers employing this identification find that capital-specific technological change accelerated in the mid-1970s. We impose structure on the productivity measures based on their long-run behavior and find evidence of a slowdown in productivity in the 1970s that is common to both sectors and an acceleration in the mid-1990s that is exclusive to the capital sector.     

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Singapore’s economic growth

Singapore’s remarkable success in economic development has been strongly associated with the country’s vigorous efforts to embrace the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) revolution to promote economic growth. This study provides a comprehensive investigation of the contributions of ICT to Singapore’s economic growth during the 1990–2008 period. It documents three key findings. First, there is a strong positive association between the intensity of ICT use and value-added and labor productivity growth at the sector level. Second, ICT investment contributed approximately 1 percentage point to Singapore’s GDP during 1990–2008, and its role in driving economic growth has become increasingly important over time. Third, the contribution of the ICT manufacturing sector to Singapore’s growth was notable, but it was on the decline and faced difficult restructuring challenges. This paper also provides valuable policy lessons and strategic insights for governments in both developed and developing countries that aspire to embrace ICT to promote economic growth.