Showing papers by "James Tybout published in 1991"

Researching the trade - productivity link : new directions

Abstract: This paper is an effort to bring together diverse literatures on the measurement of productivity and its relation to trade regime, focussing on recently developed techniques and their applications. It provides a brief review of the theoretical arguments linking trade policy and productivity. Empirical work at the sector and macro level is discussed, as well as plant level empirical work. Applications of the different approaches are reported to a sample of semi-industralized countries that have recently been analyzed in the World Bank research project"Industrial Competition, Productivity, and their Relation to Trade Regimes."

Size Rationalization and Trade Exposure in Developing Countries

Abstract: Given the lack of direct evidence regarding industrial adjustment in response to trade liberalization, this paper tackles some very basic questions. Specifically, in LDCs, how is trade orientation correlated with the size distribution of plants and with plant-level labor productivity? It begins with a simple model that summarizes some effects of trade exposure on producer size and productive efficiency that have been stressed in the recent analytical and simulation literature. It then examines annual plant-level data from Chile and Colombia to determine whether these effects can be confirmed. The empirical results indicate that, over the long run, higher trade exposure is correlated with smaller plant sizes, controlling for industry and country effects. However, the mix of high versus low productivity plants is not strongly associated with trade exposure. Both of these findings cast doubt on the mechanisms linking trade, plant size, and productivity in a number of recent analytical and simulation studies. (This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

Estimating returns to scale with large imperfect panels

Abstract: In this paper, the authors provide systematic panel-based econometric estimates of plant-level returns to scale for various 3-digit and 4-digit manufacturing industries, using panel data for Chilean plants. The paper attempts to answer two questions: 1) Do policies that promote"bigness"in manufacturing plants also promote greater productivity?; and 2) As plants grow, do they become more efficient? The paper is organized as follows. First, the author's assumptions regarding technology and behavior are presented. The following section discusses alternative estimators that deal with different aspects of the econometric problems they faced. Finally, applications of the alternative estimators to various 3-digit and 4-digit industries are reported and an attempt is made to determine which returns to scale estimates are the most reliable.