Total Factor Productivity in Mexican Manufacturing
Total Factor Productivity in Mexican Manufacturing

Author: Sammy Kent Anderson

Publisher:

Published: 1993

Total Pages: 202

ISBN-13:

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This study provides an analysis of the effects of Mexico's industrial development policies on the structure and productivity of its manufacturing base between 1975 and 1985. Because virtually every aspect of the economy was controlled by the government during those years, its trade and development policies have been credited with creating both the greatest industrial expansion and the worst economic crisis in its history. The methodology employed to assess the structural changes in manufacturing is based on the transcendental logarithmic production function which explicitly measures the marginal productivities and elasticities of output with respect to labor, capital and material inputs. In addition, this methodology provides an empirical measure of total factor productivity (TFP), or increase in output not accounted for by increases in factor inputs. The results indicate that TFP contributed negatively to the production process, declining 1.02 percent while growth in output was in excess of 31 percent. The marginal productivity and contribution of capital declined 6.15 percent and 12.12 percent, respectively, more the result of a decline in capital return than from reduced investment. The contribution of labor declined 2.57 percent owing to a 29.75 percent reduction in real wages, as employment grew 55.96 percent. Increases in the prices of material inputs caused its share in the value of output to increase 5.56 percent while the marginal productivity grew a modest 0.12 percent. Trade orientation had no detectable effect on TFP due to relatively insignificant changes in trade performance. Exports grew in real terms but remained a small part of total output (5.3 percent in 1985). Import substitution grew 22.0 percent but imports accounted for only 7.8 percent of domestic use in 1985. Government trade and development programs were primarily responsible for the over-all decline in productivity but not for the variations in TFP among the sectors. Efforts to promote productivity though control of technology transfer, investment, ownership, and financial incentives proved ineffective against extensive protectionist measures and currency controls. These actions provided an anti-export bias and a disincentive to investment in technology.

NAFTA Revisited
NAFTA Revisited

Author: Gary Clyde Hufbauer

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2005-10-15

Total Pages: 533

ISBN-13: 0881324477

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NAFTA entered into force in 1994 after a bitter Congressional debate. But NAFTA in operation has proved no less controversial than NAFTA before ratification, for both supporters and opponents of trade liberalization have cited experience with the agreement to justify their positions. To provide a factual basis for this ongoing debate, the authors evaluate NAFTA's performance over the first seven years, comparing actual experience with both the objectives of the agreement's supporters and the charges of its critics. They then examine future challenges and opportunities in the trade and investment relationships among the three partner countries and the broader implications for new trade initiatives throughout the hemisphere.

Under-Rewarded Efforts
Under-Rewarded Efforts

Author: Santiago Levy Algazi

Publisher: Inter-American Development Bank

Published: 2018-07-11

Total Pages: 323

ISBN-13: 1597823058

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Why has an economy that has done so many things right failed to grow fast? Under-Rewarded Efforts traces Mexico’s disappointing growth to flawed microeconomic policies that have suppressed productivity growth and nullified the expected benefits of the country’s reform efforts. Fast growth will not occur doing more of the same or focusing on issues that may be key bottlenecks to productivity growth elsewhere, but not in Mexico. It will only result from inclusive institutions that effectively protect workers against risks, redistribute towards those in need, and simultaneously align entrepreneurs’ and workers’ incentives to raise productivity.

Global Productivity
Global Productivity

Author: Alistair Dieppe

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2021-06-09

Total Pages: 552

ISBN-13: 1464816093

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The COVID-19 pandemic struck the global economy after a decade that featured a broad-based slowdown in productivity growth. Global Productivity: Trends, Drivers, and Policies presents the first comprehensive analysis of the evolution and drivers of productivity growth, examines the effects of COVID-19 on productivity, and discusses a wide range of policies needed to rekindle productivity growth. The book also provides a far-reaching data set of multiple measures of productivity for up to 164 advanced economies and emerging market and developing economies, and it introduces a new sectoral database of productivity. The World Bank has created an extraordinary book on productivity, covering a large group of countries and using a wide variety of data sources. There is an emphasis on emerging and developing economies, whereas the prior literature has concentrated on developed economies. The book seeks to understand growth patterns and quantify the role of (among other things) the reallocation of factors, technological change, and the impact of natural disasters, including the COVID-19 pandemic. This book is must-reading for specialists in emerging economies but also provides deep insights for anyone interested in economic growth and productivity. Martin Neil Baily Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution Former Chair, U.S. President’s Council of Economic Advisers This is an important book at a critical time. As the book notes, global productivity growth had already been slowing prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and collapses with the pandemic. If we want an effective recovery, we have to understand what was driving these long-run trends. The book presents a novel global approach to examining the levels, growth rates, and drivers of productivity growth. For anyone wanting to understand or influence productivity growth, this is an essential read. Nicholas Bloom William D. Eberle Professor of Economics, Stanford University The COVID-19 pandemic hit a global economy that was already struggling with an adverse pre-existing condition—slow productivity growth. This extraordinarily valuable and timely book brings considerable new evidence that shows the broad-based, long-standing nature of the slowdown. It is comprehensive, with an exceptional focus on emerging market and developing economies. Importantly, it shows how severe disasters (of which COVID-19 is just the latest) typically harm productivity. There are no silver bullets, but the book suggests sensible strategies to improve growth prospects. John Fernald Schroders Chaired Professor of European Competitiveness and Reform and Professor of Economics, INSEAD