Showing papers on "Productivity model published in 1984"

Resource Reallocation and Productivity Growth

Abstract: Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the relation between productivity growth and changes in the sectoral composition of production and factor use in the face of disequilibrium in factor markets. The usual measures of allocation effects ignore all inputs other than labor and take the average product of labor as their productivity indicator. The effect of resource reallocation can be identified only at the aggregate level. When total output growth is aggregated from the sectoral results, there is no room for resource reallocation as an independent source of growth. The narrowing of productivity differences can explain acceleration in growth, the disappearance of the slack can contribute to a one-time productivity slowdown. The estimated contributions of structural change to growth probably underestimate the impact of resource shifts. Another potential source of underestimation of the importance of resource shifts lies in the static and partial nature of the measures. Thus, the level and rate of growth of productivity in the sector expanding inputs and output are independent of the expansion process itself, which rules out the possibility of various economies of scale in manufacturing. A reallocation of resources from sectors with low returns to those with high returns would reflect a reduction in the misallocation of resources and an improvement in the average quality of inputs. Rapid shifts may contribute to accelerate growth, but these in turn may not be feasible without high rates of growth and investment.

On Interindustry Differences in Absolute Productivity

Abstract: In the literature, comparisons between absolute levels of productivity in different industries occur frequently. This paper explores the meaning and possible significance of such measures. Prices must be used to permit the required comparison of the outputs of different industries. It is shown that base-year weights produce a valid measure of productivity growth but not of absolute productivity level. Current price weights do yield a valid index of absolute productivity but one that tends to be equal for all industries because of the general equilibrium mechanism that reallocates resources from low-productivity to high-productivity industries.

Productivity Measurement at the Firm Level

Abstract: Many managers are reluctant to measure the productivity of their firms because the concept of productivity remains elusive and it is not clear to them how to measure it. This paper discusses the concept and addresses the critical issues of measurement at the firm level: index numbers, conversion factors, and various measurement problems of inputs and outputs.

British Manufacturing Productivity 1955-1983: Measurement Problems, Oil Shocks and Thatcher Effects.

Abstract: There has been considerable controversy over the apparent slowdown in productivity growth in Britain and in other industrial countries over 1971-80 and the apparent speed up in at least British productivity growth over 1980-83. This paper throws light on these matters by means of an aggregate production function for British manufacturing estimated on quarterly data for 1956-83. This makes it possible to distinguish cyclical movements in productivity caused by variations in labour utilization from underlying trends. The measure of labour utilization rests on information on weekly hours of overtime work as a fraction of the normal work week. The paper also considers measurement problems in output for which several significant observable proxies are available and in capital, the latter being compared with the CBI's capacity utilization data and Bennett and Smith-Gavine's Percentage Utilization of Labour index. Estimates are provided of measurement biases in output and comparisons made between crude output per head and a productivity measure corrected for variations in utilization and measurement biases in output.

R&D, Production Structure, and Productivity Growth in the U.S., Japaneseand German Manufacturing Sectors

Abstract: The paper analyzes the production structure and the demand for inputs in three major industrialized countries, the U.S., Japan and Germany. A dynamic factor demand model with two variable inputs (labor and energy)and two quasi-fixed inputs (capital and RD we also find that for all countries the speed of adjustment for capital is higher than that of R&D. Adjustment costs are of importance in the demand equations for capital and R&D, but play a minor role in the decomposition of total factor productivity growth.

Productivity growth in the paper and paperboard industries: A variable cost approach

Abstract: Annual indices of total productivity growth were calculated for the paper and paperboard industries of the United States between 1958 and 1981. The procedure relied on the hypothesis that each indu...

Energy Accounting: A New Field Develops

Abstract: Energy is an important component of the total productivity question and since its costs have been increasing faster than the rate of inflation, its importance is growing over time. As with most productivity measurement, energy productivity is difficult to monitor due to lack of metering and lack of data on “standard energy costs.” Also, manufacturers differ greatly in their energy use profile due to such variables as location, weather, number of people, product, manufacturing intensity, and a host of others. This paper examines energy productivity monitoring and control measurement systems. Standard “one-shot” efficiency measures are examined and then some unique ideas and more sophisticated computer programs (BLAST and DOE II) for calculating standard energy costs are presented and discussed.

A note on capacity utilization, productivity, and the Canadian output gap

Abstract: This study revises estimates of real Canadian potential output and the real GNP gap by applying a method of directly estimating the actual and potential factor utilization rates to quarterly Canadian data. The empirical results indicate that capital utilization varies just under twice as much as labour use over the cycle. The results also suggest that labour productivity will vary procyclically, with the elasticity of productivity with respect to the employment rate estimated to be 1.42.

Impacts of information systems on efficiency of sales order processing

Abstract: Since the sales order processing function is essential to the generation of the firm's revenue, its efficiency may be measured by a productivity index representing the firm's revenue, preferably value-added revenue, per unit of its inputs. This index enables one to evaluate economic impacts of an information system on the function. In the past, information systems have helped to enhance the productivity of the function as they have evolved in steps by incorporating advances in computer technology into their design. The evolution mainly concerns how order data are prepared and entered into the computer system. Two cases are presented to illustrate such productivity enhancements.