Showing papers on "Productivity model published in 1993"

Productivity and computers in Canadian banking

Abstract: Canadian banks have invested millions in computer systems in the last two decades. Yet the banks and outside observers have been uncertain that these investments have had net benefits. In this paper, unique data collected directly from a bank is used to investigate the impact of these investments on bank output, input and productivity. Using data from 1974-1987, a translog cost model is estimated. Both capital and labor are divided into information and noninformation inputs. The results are generally consistent with economic theory. The attempt to separate technical change from possible scale effects is very sensitive to alternative specification. Overall there has been some productivity growth associated with the changing computer technology. However, many of the benefits seem to have accrued to the customer and have not directly lead to gains for the bank.

Learning-by-doing and the sources of productivity growth: A dynamic model with application to U.S. agriculture

Abstract: The significance of learning to productivity growth is formulated within a dynamic adjustment-cost framework Explicitly treating the acquisition of knowledge as a firm-specific capital good entering the production function along with other conventional inputs, the dynamic optimization model integrates the learning-by-doing hypothesis with technical change, scale, and disequilibrium input use effects in the aggregate productivity analysis The theoretical framework is applied to examining the dynamic components accounting for the growth of US production agriculture over the 1950–82 period The results imply a less important role for technical change and assign a substantial role to the previously unmeasured contribution of learning-by-doing to the growth of aggregate agriculture industry

Prices, Real Value Added and Productivity in Dutch Manufacturing, 1921-1960

Abstract: This paper describes the results of a study on prices, real output and productivity for the Dutch manufacturing sector in the period 1921-1960 Use was made of the production statistics: an annual survey by the Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics of important manufacturing industries The frequency of the survey allows us to construct time series for gross value added, input and output prices, and productivity by major group of industry To deflate output and input values specific long term price indexes were constructed, based on the industry-of-origin method Double and single deflated time series of gross value added and productivity are constructed and analysed

Estimating industry-level productivity trends in the building industry from building cost and price data

Abstract: A method of measuring total-factor productivity (TFP) trends in the building industry is described in this paper. This method is an improved version of the approach described in a paper by Chau and Walker in that it requires less restrictive assumptions and is theoretically less biased while requiring only slightly more data. With small modification, the same method can be used to measure other productivity trends corresponding to other productivity concepts. The data used in measuring TFP of Hong Kong's building industry are also different from those proposed in Chau and Walker. A number of modifications have been made. These modifications have been possible both as a result of work by Chau and the increased availability of statistics in recent years. One of the major difficulties in measuring TFP trends in the building or construction industry has been the lack of data. This is also one of the major reasons for the dearth of empirical studies in this area. Very few attempts have been made to solve the p...

Labor productivity: A biophysical definition and assessment

Abstract: A model of energy analysis is presented to study the concept of labor productivity from a biophysical perspective. It is argued that current methods of defining and assessing labor productivity in the fields of work physiology and input/output energy analysis are relatively poor operational tools for assessing productivity in the economy and society. We propose to adopt society as the hierarchical level of analysis rather than the individual, as labor productivity can best be studied as a function of parameters related to the technological development of society. Parameters considered are: the ratio exosomatic/endosomatic energy used in society, the ratio working/non-working population, the return on the circulating energy investment, and the profile of human time allocated to the economic process. The links between patterns of human time allocation, population structure, standard of living, technological development, and demand on natural resources are analyzed. The results suggest that the role and meaning of human labor differ widely in societies with different levels of technological development.

Productivity or efficiency— Measuring what we really want

Abstract: Most productivity measures are geared toward easy quantification, tending to evaluate the efficiency of an individual, group, organization, or country. But to help ensure productivity and quality, organizations need a new definition of productivity that takes into account a multitude of factors beyond inputs and outputs. These factors and their relative importance must be solicited from management. This article details a new, improved definition of productivity and explains bow organizations can apply it to their own situations.

Analysis and Measurement of Productivity at the Workplace

Abstract: The Australian Industrial Relations Commission is now committed to the development of productivity bargaining as an integral part of the formal industrial relations system. Its ‘Enterprise Bargaining Principle’ makes future wage increases contingent upon measures designed to effect ‘real gains’ in productivity. Yet there is no agreed approach to measuring productivity gains at the workplace, let alone the contribution of employees to productivity gains, for the purpose of determining the size and distribution of wage increases. This paper analyses the rationale of productivity bargaining, and presents two possible approaches to productivity measurement in this context. The first is the conventional approach based upon the neoclassical production function, and the second is an alternative approach based upon performance indicators. The conclusion of the paper is that a ‘balanced scorecard’ of performance indicators can be used to provide not only a superior approach to measurement but also a more ...

Reliability of function points productivity model for enhancement projects (A field study)

Abstract: The use of productivity models for enhancement projects is illustrated, and the reliability of function points-based models is reported. The results of a field study at a major Canadian financial institution indicate that function points-based productivity models are within the range of the recommended criteria for good models in software engineering: a mean relative error of /spl plusmn/25% in 75% of cases. >

Estimating total factor productivity using parametric, nonstochastic cost frontiers

Abstract: The standard approach to measuring total factor productivity can produce biased results if the data are drawn from a market that is not in long-run competititve equilibrium. This article presents a methodology for adjusting data on output and variable inputs to the values they would have if the market were in long-run competitive equilibrium, given the fixed inputs and input prices. The method uses nonstochastic, parametric translog cost frontiers and calculates equilibrium values for output and varible inputs using an iterative linear programming procedure. Data from seven industries for 1970–1979 are used to illustrate the methodology.

Optimal Base‐period Data for Productivity Measurement

Abstract: The profit‐linked total‐factor productivity measurement models, such as the American Productivity Center model, use base‐period data as the standard against which the current‐period performance is measured. Hence, the design and development of accurate and appropriate base‐period data is critical in analysing performance. Presents a linear programming model to generate the optimal base‐period data as well as to provide valuable information through sensitivity analysis that is not possible by the measurement model. This information can lead to an investigation of the causes of problems such as resource inefficiencies, in addition to the validity and the flexibility of consumption and production figures.

Fixed factor models of agricultural productivity growth

Abstract: Measures of productivity typically assume that all inputs are variable, thus ignoring the quasi-fixed nature of agricultural inputs such as farm machinery, land and structures, and self-employed labour. This paper applies recent developements in productivity growth in the presence of quasi-fixed inputs. We find that adjusting for quasi-fixity reduces absorved productivity growth in US agriculture by 19% from 1950 to 1989.

Monitoring Labour Productivity Using a Time Series Approach

Abstract: A measure of the performance of an operation at a plant is the plant labour productivity index. Deviations in this index often precede changes in the end product delivery time, and the overall company profitability. In this research, uses the M‐type Iterative Procedure and a level shift routine to model this index in terms of ARIMA (p,d,q) process, and to locate outliers and level shifts. These deviations help in identifying changes in this productivity index.