Average Labor Productivity Research Articles

Innovative Technology in Higher Education: Opportunities and Challenges

The rapid rate of technological progress has been a critical aspect of Human History since the advent of the Industrial Revolution. Information Technology has enabled a large amount of flow of Information, ideas, thoughts, goods, and services across the region in a very short time. Higher education is a field that determines the average productivity of Labour, level of innovation, citizenship, and humane qualities in society. Some thinkers contend that the use of Information Technology is highly harmful while some dream of a technological utopia. The paper puts forward the view that reality is situated between extreme viewpoints.

PENGARUH KARAKTERISTIK KARYAWAN PANEN TERHADAP PRODUKTIVITAS PANEN DI PT. BERAU KARETINDO LESTARI

Good management of palm oil harvesters can reduce labor error rate during harvest, increasing work productivity, while also facilitate the achievement of company goals. This research aims to determine the effect of workforce characteristics, namely age, length of work and education on the productivity of palm oil harvest, as well as to determine whether harvest productivity is in accordance with company targets. The results of this research are expected to provide input for companies regarding the productivity of palm oil harvest and also as a reference for recruiting harvesters. Data analysis method used in this research is multiple linear regression. Result is determined using census method, as the sample is less than 100 people with the number of respondents reached 52 people. Based on the research results, it was indicated that length of work, age and education do not affect the productivity of harvesters at Long Ayan Estate PT. Berau Karetindo Lestari. The average labor productivity of harvesters reached 281.06 bunches/weekdays; thus, the workforce was able to achieve the target set by the company of 175 bunches/weekdays.

Macroeconomic impacts of increasing the minimum wage: The case of Korea

In the late 2010s, the Korean government substantially increased the minimum wage to help low-income workers and stimulate the economy. This study quantifies the long-run effect of increasing the minimum wage on major macroeconomic variables in Korea by using a large-firm search and matching model. Results indicate that increasing the minimum wage reduces employment, primarily among workers with low productivity. However, the average labor productivity for employed workers increases, thereby facilitating firms to increase capital investment. The latter effect is not substantially large to dominate the former effect. The results imply that increasing the real minimum wage by 15%, as in 2018, eventually reduces the total employment and gross output by 3.5% and 1.0%, respectively.

Investment attractiveness of the region’s development pole: methodology and analysis

The aim of the study is to develop scientific and methodological provisions for assessing the investment attractiveness of the region’s development poles and their approbation on the materials of the Sughd region of the Republic of Tajikistan. At the same time, a methodology should be developed for determining and justifying the capital investment objects with the highest return of the region’s development pole and growth point. The main objective of the research paper is to assess the investment attractiveness of the development poles as objects that most effectively use the region’s limited resources. The research methods are based on the principles of system-complex, deterministic and causal approaches in combination with the principle of dynamism. In relation to the Tajik regions considered as quasi-economy, the following range of indicators has been substantiated and proposed: the region’s enterprises production total profitability; market conditions (the industry production volumes dynamics and the development poles); competitive situation (the large competitors number in the region); the ratio of profitable and unprofitable enterprises; average labour productivity; the growth locomotives presence in the region. Based on the accounting and analysis of these indicators, a comparative assessment of the investment attractiveness of the North Development Pole and the food industry of the Sughd region of the Republic of Tajikistan has been carried out. It has been proved that the investment attractiveness of the development pole is 2.3 times higher than the investment attractiveness of the food industry chosen as a base for comparison. The results of the study can be used in the regional investment policy development processes and state regulation of spatial development.

Креативные индустрии, экономический рост и рынки труда

This paper shows the results of the first stage of the study of the creative industries’ sector in the regional context. The state institutions of performing arts – theaters and concert organizations – were chosen as the basis for the analysis. The statistics of functioning of these sectors of economic activity is considered and the hypothesis about the presence of Baumol’s «price disease» law is tested. We are proposing the clusterization of regions by the main indicators of this sector of creative industries. In particular, the Subjects of Russian Federation have been grouped according to the average wage, labor productivity and price index in the institutions compared to the level of these indicators in the regions as a whole. The study provides a brief description of the model of composite factors used to form three factors that characterize the activity of theater and concert organizations. The factors themselves are based on the performance of the institutions for 2012–2020. The use of the information model of composite factors allowed to study the influence of the formed indicators on the economic growth in the considered industries with regression models. The study confirmed the assumption about the influence of labor markets and intangible assets on the economic development of relevant cultural organizations.

Factors affecting gdp per capita - Apply Bayesian analysis

GDP per capita is often used by economists to measure the standard of living of people in each country. This paper analyzes some indicators affecting the level of GDP per capita, including average labor productivity, the percentage of trained workers of working age, the unemployment rate of the labor force in working age, the increase in the level of investment per capita in the whole society. With the application of the Bayesian linear regression analysis method, the analysis results show that the factor of the unemployment rate of the labor force in working age has the highest impact on GDP per capita. The factor of the percentage of trained workers of working age has the second highest impact, and the factor with the least impact in this study is Labor productivity. Except for the factor of the unemployment rate of the labor force in working age, which has a negative impact on GDP per capita, other factors show a positive impact on GDP per capita. The analysis results also suggest that besides maintaining the low unemployment rate, the government needs to pay attention to raising the proportion of trained workers by improving policies and investing more in education and training, thereby improving labor productivity and leading to an improvement in people's living standards.

Monetary policy, productivity, and market concentration

We identify a new channel through which monetary policy affects productivity at business cycle frequencies. An unexpected monetary easing initially reduces average labor productivity, which then overshoots its pre-shock level. At the same time, the firm entry rate rises in response to the shock and then undershoots. Market concentration matters for the monetary transmission mechanism. In low concentrated markets, the policy shock has a negligible effect on productivity, while a sizeable one on entry. To rationalize these empirical findings, we build a New Keynesian model where the pool of heterogeneous producers is endogenous. By reducing borrowing costs and stimulating demand, a monetary easing attracts low productivity firms to the market, inducing a reduction in average productivity. However, after few periods, the resulting increase in competition cleanses the market of unproductive firms, leading to a productivity overshooting together with an undershooting of the entry rate. Market concentration affects the nature of new entrants, and alters the transmission of the shock through the extensive margin.

The importance of specification choices when analyzing sectoral productivity gaps

AbstractA consistent finding in the development literature is that average non‐farm labor productivity is higher than average farm labor productivity. These differences in average productivity are sometimes used to promote policies which advance the non‐farm sector. In this article, we analyze the importance of two specification choices when comparing productivity gaps, using detailed household panel data from Malawi. Importantly, we are able to calculate both average revenue products (ARPLs)—similar to most of the sectoral productivity gap literature—as well as marginal revenue products (MRPLs). We show that the choice of productivity measure combined with the choice of production function specification can lead to different sectoral productivity rankings. MRPLs from translog production functions suggest the household farm sector is more productive than the household non‐farm sector, while MRPLs from a Cobb‐Douglas and ARPLs from both a translog and a Cobb‐Douglas find the opposite ranking.

The impact of training on labour productivity in the European utilities sector: An empirical analysis

This paper investigates the effects of firm training on productivity growth among sustainable utility companies in Europe during the Great Recession (2008–2010). The empirical analysis uses an ad-hoc dataset based on the merge between financial and sustainability reporting. Evidence indicates the existence of positive effects of both training flow and training stock on average labour productivity, showing the crucial role of firm-sponsored human capital development in the utilities sector. Results and implications offer useful insights for a faster recovery of the utilities sector after severe recessions and in presence of major techno-organizational changes through countercyclical training investments.

The time-varying and volatile macroeconomic effects of immigration

AbstractThis paper studies the impact of immigration on the US macroeconomy. I identify structural vector autoregressions (SVARs) with time-varying parameters (TVPs) and stochastic volatility (SV) using a novel set of restrictions. The TVP-SV-SVARs are estimated on a quarterly sample including average labor productivity (ALP), hours worked, immigration, consumption, and term spread from 1953 to 2017. An immigration supply shock increases domestic ALP and hours worked over the business cycle horizons. Movements in immigration are explained by its own shock and to a lesser extent by the productivity and news shocks. IRFs driven by these shocks vary over the sample, especially around changes in immigration policy such as the Immigration Act of 1990. In contrast, the forecast error variance decompositions exhibit little change over the sample. Immigration plays an important role in the US macroeconomy.

International Migration as a Factor of Economic Development of Central, Eastern and Southern Europe

This paper provides the analysis and assessment of the impact of international migration on the economies of Central, Eastern and Southern Europe, which are EU Member States, as well as Ukraine due to the geographical proximity and historical similarity with the CEE countries. To achieve this goal, modeling using panel data was chosen, which well approximates the presented data and can be used for further forecasting. The research has found that the GDP per capita of Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovenia, Spain, Italy, Greece, and Portugal depends on the inward and outward migrant remittance flows, the level of average annual wages and labor productivity. Foreign-born employment rate in these countries on average is not very high, and therefore is not a determinant of the economic situation of the studied countries. Ukraine's integration into international migration processes has increased significantly in recent decade, so a separate linear regression model has been created for Ukraine using the OLS method, based on which Ukraine's GDP per capita depends on migrant remittances inflows and outflows along with unemployment. The study also analyzes the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the selected economies and existing risks in the context of international migration. Spain, where the unemployment rate among foreigners rose to 15.3%, suffered the most from the coronavirus crisis. In addition, the countries of Central and Southern Europe depend on migrant workers, who are involved in such important sectors as health and services.

Labour productivity during the Great Depression and the Great Recession in UK engineering and metal manufacture

Abstract This article compares UK labour productivity during the Great Depression (GD) and the Great Recession (GR) in engineering, metal working, and allied industries. Over the downturn of the GD cycle, hourly labour productivity was countercyclical. Over the GR downturn, hourly productivity was procyclical. The combined flexibility of workers and hours, together with short-run diminishing returns, is argued to be the main drivers behind the GD productivity outcomes. There was less workers and hours responsiveness in the GR downturn. These differences are linked to educational and human capital arguments. Employers’ real-wage costs feature importantly in both depressions. In the GD, real hourly product wages rose steeply serving to encourage shorter work weeks, which produced positive impacts on average hourly labour productivity. Unusually, high-labour supply pressures in the GR acted to reduce real hourly product wages serving to protect the jobs of less efficient workers and to lower average hourly labour productivity.

ИСПОЛЬЗОВАНИЕ СЦЕНАРНОГО ПОДХОДА ПРИ КРАТКОСРОЧНОМ ПРОГНОЗИРОВАНИИ ЗАНЯТОСТИ В РЕГИОНАЛЬНОЙ ЭКОНОМИКЕ

The average annual number of people employed in the regional economy is one of the key macroeconomic indicators characterizing its state and development, and also largely determining the state of the labor market in the region. Forecasting the dynamics of this indicator is a rather important task, in solving which it is necessary to take into account the scenarios of the development of the regional economy and the influence of the demography of the region. The purpose of this article is to present a modification of the complex of econometric models of a typical scenario approach for assessing the average annual number of people employed in the regional economy. To achieve this goal, methods of comparative, logical and statistical analysis, methods of modeling and short-term forecasting of the dynamics of a number of key macroeconomic indicators of the functioning of the regional economy were used. Along with this, the work uses standard methods for analyzing scientific literature on the issues under study, as well as a descriptive method for characterizing methods for constructing time series models and subsequent short-term forecasting of the values of their levels. As a result of the study, it is proposed to improve the models of the dynamics of the average annual number of employed in the regional economy and replace the insufficiently substantiated models for assessing the impact on this indicator of investments in its basic production assets with an econometric model of the dynamics of average labor productivity in the economic system under consideration. The constructed econometric models were tested for significance and adequacy by calculating the Fisher test, the coefficient of determination, and the Darbin – Watson test. For the target and baseline scenarios of the development of the regional economy, characterized by the corresponding values of the gross regional product, short-term forecasts of the average annual number of employed were formed, which were compared with the data published by the state statistics bodies and specialized divisions of the regional administration. The estimation of the forecasting accuracy was carried out by calculating the relative error between the statistical data and the forecast values of the considered macroeconomic indicator. The values of the relative forecasting error indicate the possibility and expediency of using the proposed models to solve the problems of assessing the dynamics and short-term forecasting of the average annual number of employed in the regional economy.

Recovery and exit of zombie firms in Portugal

The resources sunk in zombie firms have risen over the last two decades, hampering productivity growth in developed economies. In this paper, we examine the recovery and exit of zombie firms among small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME), as well as the determinants of these transitions. To our knowledge, this is the first study on the determinants of the probability of a zombie recovering or exiting in a European context. The study also contributes to the discussion of the definition of zombie firms. Based on a panel of Portuguese manufacturing and services firms covering the 2004–2017 period, we do find a widespread presence of zombies. As expected, they are relatively less productive than non-zombies, while the probability of transition into recovery and exit is relatively low, which we interpret as evidence in favour of the presence of high barriers to firm mobility. In turn, the regression results show that downsizing and restructuring, as well as debt restructuring, are crucial in enhancing recovery of zombie firms. These are non-trivial results from the perspective of managers and policy makers. We performed several exercises using alternative definitions of zombie firms and estimation techniques and found that our findings are robust.Plain English Summary A 1% decline in the share of highly indebted and unprofitable firms (i.e. zombies) is estimated to increase the average labour productivity by 3.1 percent. Recovery of zombies in particular can be enhanced by downsizing and restructuring. Based on a very large panel of Portuguese small- and medium-sized manufacturing and services firms, covering the 2004–2017 period, we do find a widespread presence of zombie firms. Moreover, the chance of these firms to recover or exit is relatively low, an evidence of the presence of high barriers to firm mobility and resource misallocation. Our results have important managerial and policy implications: (1) a coordinated and holistic restructuring strategy (technological, operational and debt-related) is crucial to increase the likelihood of recovery of weak companies; (2) governments should formulate an adequate institutional framework in order to strengthen the selection of zombie firms, namely by designing more reallocation-friendly insolvency regimes and discouraging creditors to refinance unviable firms.

Productivity of Unorganised Manufacturing Enterprises in India

Since unorganised manufacturing enterprises (UMEs) provide employment to a huge mass in India therefore its growth and productivity is a matter of concern. Thus, through this paper the growth and productivity of Indian UMEs are shown with the help of NSSO Data (67th and 73rd Rounds). This paper reveals that the number of UMEs increased significantly in India during 2010-11 to 2015-16. The average productivity of labour increased over time. Using the Cobb-Douglas production function it was further found that the marginal productivity of labour is much higher than the marginal productivity of capital. Productivity is found to be positively and significantly influenced by male ownership, own account enterprises, enterprises do not face problem, expanding status of growth, government assistance, registration of enterprises and capital intensity.

Resource misallocation in the Chinese wind power industry: The role of feed-in tariff policy

This article analyzes resource misallocation in the Chinese wind power industry by examining wind power development in relation to implementation of feed-in tariff (FIT), an electricity price subsidy policy. We construct a plant-level dataset to explore the extent of distortions exacerbating resource misallocation in the wind power industry from 2000 through 2013. Our results show that distortions have been exacerbated since 2009, when the Chinese government implemented FIT, and that the potential production improvement of the wind power industry was relatively high after 2009. FIT provides added incentives for low-productivity plants to enter the industry, especially in regions better endowed with resources. This suggests that the increased distortion in resource allocation of most wind power plants is largely due to government subsidies. In addition, higher FIT rates significantly lower average capital productivity of wind power plants while having no significant effect on average labor productivity. Plants with better production technologies face worse growth rates in the region most richly endowed with relevant resources and there is no significant difference in these productivity impacts between new and already existing power plants. We postulate that similar relationships between subsidies and efficiency are likely to occur in other renewable energy sectors receiving government subsidies.

PRODUKTYWNOŚĆ CZYNNIKÓW PRODUKCJI W ROLNICTWIE POLSKI I W WYBRANYCH KRAJACH UNII EUROPEJSKIEJ Z UWZGLĘDNIENIEM PŁATNOŚCI WSPÓLNEJ POLITYKI ROLNEJ

The aim of the paper is to analyze the productivity of production factors of Polish and selected EU farms from 2004 to 2017, taking into account the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) payments, based on the literature. In the postaccession period, there was a marked increase in the efficiency of production factors on Polish farms. The average land, labor, and capital productivity indices from 2004 to 2017 were EUR 442.89/ha, EUR 4,774.35/AWU, and EUR 0.25/ EUR 1, respectively. In 2014, land productivity increased to EUR 1,591.3/ha and labor productivity to EUR 11,800/AWU, amounting to 68.8% and 28.6% of the EU-28 average, respectively, while capital productivity was higher (EUR 1.41/EUR 1) compared to the EU-28 average (EUR 1.29/EUR 1). The share of CAP payments in the income of the Polish farms in 2014 increased to 49.5%; however, this was still below the EU-28 average (61.1%). Regardless of the fact that the total factor productivity (TFP) remains lower in comparison to other EU countries, the increased efficiency of Polish farms in the post-accession period should be considered as significant.

Evaluating Several Models of Quality Management and Impacts on Lychee Price Applying for Vietnam Agriculture Products Value Chain Sustainable Development

Sustainability of Vietnam agriculture value chain will be dependent on various factors such as skills and experience of farmers, advanced technology, agricultural engineering, standards and models such as VIETGAP or GLOBAL GAP, etc. The role is still important, but Vietnam's agricultural production still has many Weakness points compared to other countries in the region when comparing resource use efficiency (land, water and labor). As a result, the efficiency of agricultural production tends to decrease recently. Specifically, the growth in average agricultural labor productivity annual rate of Vietnam also decreased correspondingly from 2.7% in the period 1990-1999 to 2.5% in the period 2000-2013 (World Bank, 2016). In Vietnam, we will evaluate the effectiveness of VIETGAP and GLOBAL GAP models, principles and standards applying in Vietnam agriculture value chain in a specific case study. The research results show a strict condition for applying VIETGAP and GLOBAL GAP for better quality in agriculture, including: Conditions for soil, irrigation water, fertilizers, pest control, etc. Last but not least, we also use an econometric model to measure impacts of multi macro factors on lychee price in Vietnam market over past years 2014-2019. Regression results show that we need to control inflation at low level, stable GDP growth and trade balance and exchange rate to stabilize lychee price. The research findings are of value to policy makers, farmers and investors in making decisions to invest for sustainability of Vietnam agriculture value chain. We will also make suggestions for commercial bank system in agriculture sector development.

English

Soil degradation, one of the causes associated with declining maize productivity is an environmental concern whose consequences are felt most strongly by poor people in developing countries. Indeed, the production of maize on soil fertilized with a combination of mycorrhizal fungi and half a dose of NPK has resulted in a production like that of the extension practice in Benin. This study aims, through an analysis of the financial profitability, to highlight the interest that maize production can generate with the production system using biofertilizer based on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in Benin. The study was conducted among 100 randomly selected maize producers in 9 villages in South-Benin, Central-Benin and North-Benin. Economic profitability indicators including net margin, average labor productivity, and profit-cost ratio were determined. The results showed that regardless of the production area, maize cultivation with the AMF biofertilizer-based system was more profitable for producers (63,830 FCAF of net margin against 43,730 FCAF for vulgarized practice). Thus, agricultural policies could be oriented towards the promotion of maize inputs based on AMF bio-fertilizers to facilitate their availability to producers. Key words: Arbuscular mycorrhizal, Zea mays L., crop production systems; economic efficiency, farm development, Benin.

The relationship between labor productivity and number of operating firms

This paper constructs a theoretical model matching empirically observed relationships between average labor productivity and the number of operating firms. The models in the related literature which utilize CES utility function find no relationship between average labor productivity and the number of operating firms in the economy (Melitz, Marc J. [2003. “The Impact of Trade on Intra-Industry Reallocations and Aggregate Industry Productivity.” Econometrica 71 (6): 1695–1725] and many versions of this model). Moreover, the models which utilize non-homothetic preferences with a numeraire good find a positive relationship between average labor productivity and the number of operating firms (Melitz, Marc, and Gianmarco I. P. Ottaviano [2008. “Market Size, Trade, and Productivity.” Review of Economic Studies 75: 295–316] and many versions of this model). However, the model developed in this paper provides a single theoretical framework that depending on the source, a rise in the average labor productivity may lead to an increase or a decrease in the number of operating firms. In line with our results, we provide empirical evidence from ten European countries for the 2008–2016 period, which shows that the correlation between these two variables is positive for some of the countries, while negative for the others.