Sectoral Labor Productivity Research Articles

The impact of productivity and demand shocks on structural dynamics: Evidence from Austrian manufacturing

Based on Pasinetti's model of structural dynamics we develop an empirical identification strategy for aggregate and sectoral labor productivity and demand shocks in a structural vector autoregressive model with long-run restrictions. Impulse response analysis shows that we can distinguish four patterns of the effects of changes in demand and productivity growth on sectoral output growth. For some industries demand is indeed the factor driving sectoral growth. Labor productivity and demand shocks are closely associated with the growth rates of employment and output across industries. However, there is less correlation with entry and exit. This suggest that structural change within and between industries may have quite different determinants.

Measuring Technological Change in Greece

This paper uses the Growth Accounting methodology to estimate technological change, as well as labor and capital productivity in the various sectors of the Greek economy over the period 1988–1998. The results show that the technological level, as measured through annual growth in Total Factor Productivity, has remained practically unchanged. Meanwhile, technological change accounts for about 40% of economic growth, which is slightly lower compared with the relative performance of other O.E.C.D. countries. Finally, our main findings are, in general terms, consistent with estimates by other researchers.

Labor productivity in the United States and the United Kingdom during the nineteenth century

A number of writers have recently questioned whether labor productivity or per capita incomes were ever higher in the United Kingdom than in the United States. This paper focuses on aggregate and sectoral labor productivity in the two countries during the nineteenth century. We build on earlier work by Broadberry to push comparative productivity estimates back to 1840 based on a time series projection from a 1910 benchmark and checked against a benchmark estimate for 1850. The results indicate that labor productivity in agriculture was broadly equal in the two countries, and that the United States had a substantial labor productivity lead in industry as early as 1840, while the United Kingdom was ahead in services. Hence aggregate labor productivity and per capita incomes were higher in the United Kingdom in the mid-nineteenth century, particularly since the United States had a larger share of the labor force in low value-added agriculture and a smaller share of the population in the labor force.

Banking Sector Output and Labour Productivity in Six European Countries

This paper contributes to the discussion on the measurement of banking sector output. It is also a prelude to discussion on possible causes of productivity change in banking. We demonstrate how the banking sector's service production can be measured using aggregate financial statement and payment transactions data. We compute banking sector labour productivity Tornqvist indices for six countries (Finland, Sweden, United Kingdom, Germany, France and Italy) over a period varying from 11 to 20 years. According to the results, Finnish banking sector productivity has improved via a substantial reduction size of labour force, whereas output growth has been rather modest. Although in most of the other countries the restructuring process has been less intense, most of the sectors studied have improved in terms of overall output and labour productivity, especially since the mid-1990s.

China's Economic Growth: Evidence from Multiple-Break Unit Root Tests

This paper performs multiple-break unit root tests on the data of China's national and sectoral output and labour productivity, with finite-sample critical values bootstrapped through Monte Carlo simulations. We find strong evidence against the unit-root hypothesis in favour of the segmented-trend-stationarity alternative. Based on breaking trend functions, the steady-state and transitional growth rates of output and productivity are computed and compared. While slowdowns characterise the economy in the 1960s and 1970s, the last two decades feature faster steady-state growth of both output and productivity in most cases, indicating that China's economic growth is sustainable.

Banking Sector Output and Labour Productivity in Six European Countries

This paper contributes to the discussion on the measurement of banking sector output. It is also a prelude to discussion on possible causes of productivity change in banking. We demonstrate how the banking sector’s service production can be measured using aggregate financial statement and payment transactions data. We compute banking sector labour productivity Tornqvist indices for six countries (Finland, Sweden, United Kingdom, Germany, France and Italy) over a period varying from 11 to 20 years. According to the results, Finnish banking sector productivity has improved via a substantial reduction size of labour force, whereas output growth has been rather modest. Although in most of the other countries the restructuring process has been less intense, most of the sectors studied have improved in terms of overall output and labour productivity, especially since the mid-1990s.

The role of structural change in labour productivity convergence among European Union countries: 1970‐1990

New evidence is presented on the degree of aggregate and sectoral labour productivity convergence among 11 EU countries between 1970 and 1990. As with studies for other groups of countries, it is found that there is a greater degree of aggregate than sectoral convergence. Aggregate productivity converged at 0.9 percent per annum, with agriculture and manufacturing both diverging and only services converging (0.6 percent p.a.). We contend that structural change provides one explanation for this finding. When measured as changes in sectoral employment shares, structural change accounted for between 50 percent and 66 percent of the overall rate of aggregate productivity convergence among the EU countries over the period. Countries with relatively low levels of aggregate productivity benefited most from structural change.

The impact of human capital on labour productivity in manufacturing sectors of the European Union

The effects of human capital on both the level and growth of labour productivity in manufacturing sectors in seven member states of the European Union are analysed, distinguishing between four effects of human capital: worker, allocative, diffusion and research. Human capital is represented by the shares of intermediate and highly-skilled workers in the workforce of a sector. It is shown that the manufacturing sectors can be divided into three classes of sectors with different intensities of highly-skilled workers: low-, medium- and high-skill sectors. The estimation results show that both intermediate and highly-skilled labour have a positive effect on the labour productivity of a sector, although the effect is only significant for highly-skilled labour. Moreover, there are indications of underinvestment of human capital in some manufacturing sectors. These sectors could improve their competitive position by raising the employment shares of intermediate and highly-skilled labour. Finally, intermediate-skilled labour has a significantly positive effect on the growth in sectoral labour productivity.

EFFECTS OF JAPAN NATIONAL RAILWAYS' PRIVATIZATION ON LABOR PRODUCTIVITY

ABSTRACT Japan National Railways went private in 1987, the first of many national railways to do so, and the Japanese experience could provide lessons to other nations. This paper evaluates the effects of Japan National Railways' Privatization on labor productivity and employment in the passenger sectors. The main data was obtained from the Annual Rail Statistics of both the Ministry of Transport and Japan National Railways. Quantitative methods such as labor productivity models were used to evaluate the effects of privatization. Large private railways, which are considered the most efficient railways in Japan, are often compared to privatized Japan Railways. Major findings are as follows: First, Japan Railways still have 20% more employees than large private railways. Second, current productivity differences between Japan Railways and large private railways appear in station and maintenance activities. Third, reduction in employment during the transitional periods of privatization greatly contributed to increases in the productivity of Japan Railways. Fourth, it is not clear whether or not productivity differences among regional Japan Railways have been decreasing since privatization. Finally, the effect of privatization on productivity growth was about 29%. Moreover, even if productivity increases, safety is not compromised, with serious accidents clearly being unrelated to productivity growth.

Effects of Japan National Railways' Privatization on labor productivity

Japan National Railways went private in 1987, the first of many national railways to do so, and the Japanese experience could provide lessons to other nations. This paper evaluates the effects of Japan National Railways' Privatization on labor productivity and employment in the passenger sectors. The main data was obtained from the Annual Rail Statistics of both the Ministry of Transport and Japan National Railways. Quantitative methods such as labor productivity models were used to evaluate the effects of privatization. Large private railways, which are considered the most efficient railways in Japan, are often compared to privatized Japan Railways. Major findings are as follows: First, Japan Railways still have 20% more employees than large private railways. Second, current productivity differences between Japan Railways and large private railways appear in station and maintenance activities. Third, reduction in employment during the transitional periods of privatization greatly contributed to increases in the productivity of Japan Railways. Fourth, it is not clear whether or not productivity differences among regional Japan Railways have been decreasing since privatization. Finally, the effect of privatization on productivity growth was about 29%. Moreover, even if productivity increases, safety is not compromised, with serious accidents clearly being unrelated to productivity growth.

Commercial sector wages and subsistence sector labor productivity in Guatemalan agriculture

Evidence from the author's 1988 sample survey on South Coast “ parcelamientos” and from a comparable survey done in 1965 indicates an absence of seasonal fluctuation of wages in Guatemala's commercial agriculture and no intertemporal change in real wages. At the same time, at least until the 1980s, the rapid accumulation of cleared or “improved” land and technological progress gave Guatemala one of the highest agricultural growth rates in the world. Real wages in commercial agriculture are similar to the stagnant labor productivity of peasants in subsistence agriculture, the source of labor for the commercial sector's growth. The data thus suggest an economy that has functioned for decades as described by the simplest classical or surplus labor model.

Labor Market Dynamics in the U.S. Food Sector

AbstractA simultaneous equation model is estimated to explain labor market phenomena (including wages, employment, and labor productivity) and food prices at manufacturing and retail levels of the U.S. food industry. Dynamic simulation results show that endogenizing input costs in a fully specified markup‐pricing model leads to a complex long‐run pattern of food price determination. Wage determination is found to play a central role linking general price levels to food sector prices and labor market behavior. Energy price changes are shown to significantly affect food prices. Food sector labor productivity is found to decline in response to exogenous commodity price shocks.

The Productivity Growth Slowdown by Industry

LABOR productivity growth for the private economy as a whole seems to have stopped altogether. In the first half of 1982 the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics index of private sector labor productivity was below its 1977 level. Productivity has stagnated for five years. Weak aggregate demand has been an ingredient in this stagnation, but cannot account for much of it. Even in the 1930s there was only a four-year stagnation of productivity accompanying a much more severe fall in demand. By 1934, productivity was above its 1929 level. This paper is part of a continuing research project to understand and explain the slowdown. In earlier work I looked at the aggregate picture. I In this paper I report on the behavior of productivity at the industry level-the major industry groups and the two-digit manufacturing industries. In future work I will analyze the behavior of individual firms and establishments. The paper focuses on the following questions. (1) Does the incidence of the productivity slowdown by industry suggest that capital services have declined relative to the capital stock? (2) Does it suggest that the rate of technical change has slowed? (3) Have responses to the increased cost of energy been a major cause of the slowdown? (4) Have changes

Is the Price Right? State and Local Government Architect and Engineer Selection

8. For a detailed discussion of arguments for and against full funding, see Bleakney, op. cit., pp. 1 10-1 17. 9. See Rubin G. Cohn, Employee Retirement PlansThe Nature of Employees' 'Rights', Law Forum (Spring 1962). 10. This argument is discussed in Wellington, Harry H., and Ralph K. Winter, Jr., The Unions and the Cities (Washington, D.C.: The Brookings Institution, 1971), pp. 19-20. 11. See Woolf, op. cit. 12. The possible relationship between pension funding policy, wages, and employment is discussed by Mumy, op. cit. 13. See Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations, op. cit., for some discussion on the relationship between pensions and debt. Three general factors limit the degree to which pension and general fund borrowing can be considered fiscal substitutes. First, as ruled in a Washington State Supreme Court decision, pension obligations are not formally debt but rather contingent liabilities and so are not subject to constitutional debt limitations. Next, there are political limitations on the degree of trade-offs a priori between allocating revenue to debt and pensions because of the role of the pension fund administrator, as reinforced by the legal and derived accounting treatment of trust funds in the budgetary process. See Harry D. Kerrigan, Fund Accounting (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1969). Finally, in terms of the economic theory of public finance, pension and debt apply to different factors of production, labor and capital respectively. Conceptual implications of the difference, in terms of the labor intensity of the public sector, relative factor costs, and factor substitution are fundamental in theoretical analyses of the issue but, while posing interesting questions about the relationship between public sector labor productivity, financial capacity, and fiscal crisis, are outside the scope of this paper. 14. On these points, see Roger F. Murray, Economic Aspects of Pensions: A Summary Report (New York: National Bureau of Economic Research, 1968); and Municipal Finance Officers Association, Accounting and Operating Handbook for Public Employee Retirement Systems (Chicago: Municipal Finance Officers Association, 1966).

The performance of French planning 1952?1978

The previous sections of this paper have examined the relationship between virtually every published plan forecast, and the outcomes between 1952 and 1978, and offered an assessment of the additional information provided by the aggregate and certain industrial projections. Simple forecast-outcome ratios suggest that the projections became increasingly accurate at all levels of aggregation from the Second to Fourth Plans, after which the degree of predictive error rose. Generally, plans were pessimistic about growth prospects before 1970, but optimistic after that date. The planners were least successful in forecasting imports, Government expenditure, sectoral labour availability and productivity, and industrial rank orders during periods of unbalanced growth.