251 research outputs found
Labor productivity growth: disentangling technology and capital accumulation
No full textHow much of the convergence in labor productivity that we observe in manufacturing is due to convergence in technology versus convergence in capital-labor ratios? To shed light on this question, we introduce a nonparametric counterfactual decomposition of labor productivity growth into growth of the capital-labor ratio (K/L), technological productivity (TEP) and total factor productivity (TFP). Our nonparametric specification enables us to model technology allowing for heterogeneity across all relevant dimensions (i.e. countries, sectors and time). Using data spanning from the 1960s to the 2000s, covering 42 OECD and non OECD countries across 11 manufacturing sectors, we find TEP and TFP to account for roughly 46 and −6% of labor productivity growth respectively, on average. While technological growth at the world level is driven primarily by the US and a handful of other OECD countries, we find strong evidence of convergence in both technology and capital-labor ratios. Interestingly, very few of the usual growth determinants are found to enhance the process of technological catching-up
Should all microfinance institutions mobilize microsavings? Evidence from economies of scope
No full textWe extend a recently developed generalized local polynomial estimator
into a semiparametric smooth coefficient framework to estimate a generalized cost
function. The advantage of the generalized local polynomial approach is that we can
simultaneously choose the degree of polynomial for each continuous nonparametric
regressor and the bandwidths via data-driven methods. We provide estimates of scope
economies from the joint production of microloans and microdeposits for a dataset of
Microfinance Institutions from over 50 countries. Our approach allows analysis on all
Microfinance Institutions rather than only those offering just microloans. Moreover,
the smooth coefficient estimator provides a general interface in which to account for
both direct and indirect environmental factors. We find substantial scope economies
in general, of about 10% at the median, as well as evidence that economies of scope
vary across the type of services and country in which the MFIs operate, suggesting
key insights into policy prescriptions
Decomposing The Conditional Variance of Cross-Country Output
No full textA well established fact in the growth empirics literature is the increasing variation in output per capita across countries. This phenomena however does not adequately describe changes in the distribution of output since it does not account for changes in the covariates which undoubtedly in influence per capita output levels. We propose a robust, nonparametric decomposition of the conditional variation of per capita output and find that OECD countries have experienced diminishing conditional variation while other regions have experienced increasing conditional variation. Our decomposition suggests that most of these changes in the conditional variance of output is due to unobserved factors not accounted for by the traditional growth determinants. In addition to this we show as these factors played very different roles over time and across regions.Generalized Kernel, Nonparametric, Conditional Variation
Skill biased technical change and misallocation
No full textDue to strict reliance on competitive labor markets, standard approaches which measure skill biased technical change (SBTC) conflate labor market distortions which prevent firms from choosing the efficient ratio between skilled and unskilled labor and ‘true’ SBTC. This contrasts with recent evidence on decoupling between wages and productivity. To overcome this limitation, we present a unified framework to estimate SBTC which accounts for factor accumulation (FA) effects, and quantifies the discrepancy (i.e., relative misallocation) between the wage ratio (skilled to unskilled) and the marginal rate of technical substitution (MRTS)
Clustering and Polarization in the Distribution of Output: A Multivariate Perspective.
No full text► Deploy multivariate clustering algorithms. ► Document clustering between output and TFP. ► Few transitions over time amongst clusters. ► Mainly Latin American countries moving.
Modeling the cross-country distribution of per capita income using mixture analysis provides a natural platform for the detection of clubs of countries. Unfortunately, these mixture methods, when based on a strictly univariate approach are limiting towards one’s ability to learn about the underlying process of the emergence of what constitutes a club. This paper takes a fresh look at the constitution of the emerging clubs in the distribution of cross-country output using bivariate and multivariate mixture analysis. Our results suggest that clubs are also forming in the main Solowian determinants of economic growth
GDP clustering: a reappraisal
No full textThis note explores clustering in cross country GDP per capita using recently developed model based clustering methods for panel data. Previous research characterizing the components of the overall distribution of output either use ad hoc methods, or methods which ignore/subvert the panel nature of the data. These new methods allow the characterization of the possible autoregressive relationship of output between time points. We show that traditional static clustering decade by decade gives mixed results regarding clustering over time, while the application of longitudinal mixtures presents three distinct clusters at all periods of time
Imposing Economic Constraints in Nonparametric Regression: Survey, Implementation and Extension
No full textEconomic conditions such as convexity, homogeneity, homotheticity, and monotonicity are all important assumptions or consequences of assumptions of economic functionals to be estimated. Recent research has seen a renewed interest in imposing constraints in nonparametric regression. We survey the available methods in the literature, discuss the challenges that present themselves when empirically implementing these methods and extend an existing method to handle general nonlinear constraints. A heuristic discussion on the empirical implementation for methods that use sequential quadratic programming is provided for the reader and simulated and empirical evidence on the distinction between constrained and unconstrained nonparametric regression surfaces is covered.identification, concavity, Hessian, constraint weighted bootstrapping, earnings function
Normal Reference Bandwidths for the General Order, Multivariate Kernel Density Derivative Estimator
No full textThis note derives the general form of the approximate mean integrated squared error for the q-variate, th-order kernel density r th derivative estimator. This formula allows for normal reference rule-of-thumb bandwidths to be derived. We give tables for some of the most common cases in the literature.Derivative Estimation, Smoothing, AMISE
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Introduction to the special issue on African productivity
No full textThis Special Issue of the Journal of Productivity Analysis on African Productivity is the result of many years of collaboration and planning that began with Felicity Addo of the Institute for Sustainable Economic Development (Vienna) and her interest in expanding and broadening the scope of the International Society for Efficiency and Productivity Analysis’ (ISEaPA) conferencing venues to encompass the African continent. Although planning for such a conference began with discussions in 2016 at the European Workshop on Efficiency and Productivity in London, it was not until 2021 that formal planning for a virtual conference gained momentum. Almas Heshmati of the Jönköping International Business School (Sweden), whose experience in African higher education and research is quite extensive, and his former student Selamawit G. Kebede of the Poverty and Social Welfare Center (Ethiopia), joined with Christopher Parmeter (University of Miami), Robin Sickles (Rice University), and Felicity Addo to solicit papers and coordinate with then Editor-in-Chief William Greene on a Special Issue for the Journal of Productivity Analysis.</p
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Reply to “A Replication of “Sorting through Global Corruption Determinants: Institutions and Education Matter— Not Culture” (World Development, 2018)”
No full textIn this reply, we comment on Goel and Saunoris’ (GS) replication of Jetter and Parmeter ( World Development, 2018, JP). We note that GS’ analysis is useful in extending the scope of studying corruption across countries. Our comment centers on two points: (i) the underlying databases used to measure corruption across countries and (ii) the countries that are omitted when studying alternative samples across these databases. It is likely that the qualitative differences that GS find are intimately connected with these discrepancies. Nevertheless, the combination of both (JP and GS) sets of results extends the understanding of what potentially contributes to corruption across countries
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