Search results for " factor productivity"
showing 10 items of 46 documents
A microeconometric analysis of the springboard subsidiary: The case of Spanish firms
2015
Abstract This paper provides a microeconometric analysis of the distinctive characteristics of springboard subsidiaries that have a positive impact on the subsidiaries’ performance. Based on panel data estimations for subsidiaries of European multinational companies with a presence in Spain, the authors found that if the subsidiary is located in the springboard country, then the performance improvement (increase in profit margin) of the subsidiary is about 49 percentage points. When the Spanish subsidiary is considered a springboard subsidiary, its performance is 7.7 percentage points higher than the performance of other subsidiaries that are not springboard subsidiaries. If the subsidiary …
The economic impact of migration: productivity analysis for Spain and the UK
2012
Over the past 20 years labour has become increasingly mobile and whilst employment and earnings effects in host countries have been extensively analysed, the implications for firm and industry performance have received far less attention. This paper explores the direct economic consequences of immigration on host nations’ productivity performance at a sectoral level in two very different European countries, Spain and the UK. Whilst the UK has traditionally seen substantial immigration, for Spain the phenomenon is much more recent. Our findings from a growth accounting analysis show that migration has made a negative contribution to labour productivity growth in Spain and a negative but negl…
Labor productivity and firm-level TFP with technology-specific production functions
2020
Abstract We investigate the technological dimension of productivity, presenting an empirical methodology based on mixture models to disentangle the labor productivity differences associated with the firm's choice of technology (BTFP) and those related to the firm's ability to exploit the adopted technology (WTFP). The estimation endogenously determines the number of technologies (in the sector) and degree of technology sharing across firms (i.e., for each firm, the probability of using a given technology). By using comparable data for about 35,000 firms worldwide distributed across 22 (two-digit) sectors, we show BTFP to be at least as important as WTFP in explaining the labor productivity …
Productivity, Ownership and National Chains: Evidence from the British Retail Sector
2009
Abstract This paper investigates factors explaining firms' productivity differences in the British retail sector. In particular, using simultaneous quantile regressions, it aims to uncover performance gaps stemming from foreign ownership and multinationality, as well as national scale economies. The findings suggest that foreign ownership weakly explains differences in performance across retailers. Only when firms in the upper quantiles of the TFP distribution are compared, the role of foreign ownership gains statistical significance, although with exceptions. In addition, firms able to expand their infrastructure across Great Britain possess a productivity advantage over more local retaile…
Development and application of the Hicks-Moorsteen productivity index for the total factor productivity assessment of wastewater treatment plants
2015
Abstract The assessment of the productivity change in wastewater treatment plants is essential to improve performance and reduce operational costs. Several indices are available to compute unit productivity, however some assessments are more reliable than others. In the absence of price data, the Malmquist productivity index is the most commonly applied; but it does not maintain total factor productivity properties under variable returns to scale technology. Hence, Malmquist productivity index is not a suitable index to compute total factor productivity change in wastewater treatment plants. The present study served to overcome such limitations by calculating, for the first time, total fact…
ICT and Economic Growth
2005
Using new sectoral data on investment and capital services we carry out a growth accounting exercise on Spain 1985-2002. We compute the contribution to output and labour productivity growth of employment, non-ICT and ICT capital, labour qualification and Total Factor Productivity. Results are given for 29 different branches; individually and grouped into four clusters according to their ICT use intensity. Three ICT assets (hardware, communications and software) are considered. We find that although the ICT intensive group appears to be the most dynamic cluster, most of the impact on productivity is still to come. There is some evidence of a reversal of the productivity slow down of the nine…
Total Factor Productivity Convergence Amongst Italian Regions: Some Evidence from Panel Unit Root Tests
2009
Byrne J. P., Fazio G. and Piacentino D. Total factor productivity convergence among Italian regions: some evidence from panel unit root tests. Regional Studies. This paper employs panel unit root tests to investigate convergence in total factor productivity (TFP) among Italian regions. These tests provide an inference valid in the presence of heterogeneity and cross-sectional dependence, and when the cross-sectional dimension is smaller than the time dimension, allowing the investigation of convergence among different subsets of regions. The results add a further dimension to the conventional view on growth dynamics in the Italian peninsula depicting a lack of regional TFP convergence not o…
Catching-up to foreign technology? Evidence on the “Veblen–Gerschenkron” effect of foreign investments
2006
Abstract The presence of foreign multinational enterprises may benefit local economies. In particular, highly productive foreign-owned firms may promote the technological catch-up of local firms. This channel of spillovers is defined as the “Veblen–Gerschenkron” effect of foreign direct investment and is analyzed in this article. Rather than the overall concentration of foreign-owned plants in a region or sector, it is their productivity advantage that determines the positive effect on domestic firms in geographical and technological proximity. We test this hypothesis using new firm-level data for German and Italian manufacturing firms during the 1990s. These two countries are particularly …
Productivity, Ownership & National Chains: Evidence from the British Retail Sector
2008
This paper investigates whether foreign-owned retailers operating in the British retail sector perform differently than domestic-owned firms with diverse national presence. Using simultaneous quantile regression techniques we test for any sign of performance gaps. The findings suggest that foreign ownership turns out to be a weak explanatory factor of differences in performance across retailers. Only when firms in the upper quantiles of TFP are compared, the role of foreign ownership gains statistical significance, although with exceptions. On the other hand, firms able to expand their infrastructure across Great Britain possess a productivity advantage over more local retailers. This impli…
Product and process innovation and total factor productivity: Evidence for manufacturing in four Latin American countries
2017
The literature on firm productivity recognizes the important role played by firm innovation activities on firm productivity in developed countries. However, the literature for developing and emerging economies is scarce and far from conclusive. The aim of this paper is to study the innovation–productivity link (distinguishing between process and product innovations) for manufacturing at the firm level for four Latin American countries (two classified as upper-middle income countries by the World Bank—Argentina and Mexico—and two as lower-middle income—Colombia and Peru). We aim testing whether the level of development is a mediating factor in the innovation–productivity link. The data used …