IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/revinw/v56y2010is1ps224-s256.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

An Assumption‐Free Framework For Measuring Productivity Change

Author

Listed:
  • Bert M. Balk

Abstract

The measurement of productivity change (or difference) is usually based on models that make use of strong assumptions such as competitive behavior and constant returns to scale. This survey discusses the basics of productivity measurement and shows that one can dispense with most if not all of the usual, neoclassical assumptions. By virtue of its structural features, the measurement model is applicable to individual establishments and aggregates such as industries, sectors, or economies.

Suggested Citation

  • Bert M. Balk, 2010. "An Assumption‐Free Framework For Measuring Productivity Change," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 56(s1), pages 224-256, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:revinw:v:56:y:2010:i:s1:p:s224-s256
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-4991.2010.00388.x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-4991.2010.00388.x
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/j.1475-4991.2010.00388.x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Anders Isaksson, 2009. "The UNIDO World Productivity Database: An Overview," International Productivity Monitor, Centre for the Study of Living Standards, vol. 18, pages 38-50, Spring.
    2. Hulten, Charles R., 1986. "Productivity change, capacity utilization, and the sources of efficiency growth," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 33(1-2), pages 31-50.
    3. Marcel P. Timmer & Mary O’Mahony & Bart van Ark, 2007. "EU KLEMS Growth and Productivity Accounts: An Overview," International Productivity Monitor, Centre for the Study of Living Standards, vol. 14, pages 71-85, Spring.
    4. Basu, Susanto & Fernald, John G., 2002. "Aggregate productivity and aggregate technology," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(6), pages 963-991, June.
    5. Balk,Bert M., 2012. "Price and Quantity Index Numbers," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107404960.
    6. Denis Lawrence & W. Diewert & Kevin Fox, 2006. "The contributions of productivity, price changes and firm size to profitability," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 26(1), pages 1-13, August.
    7. Dale W. Jorgenson & J. Steven Landefeld, 2009. "Implementation of a New Architecture for the US National Accounts," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 99(2), pages 64-68, May.
    8. J. C. Dumagan & V. E. Ball, 2009. "Decomposing growth in revenues and costs into price, quantity and total factor productivity contributions," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(23), pages 2943-2953.
    9. T. K. Rymes, 1983. "More On The Measurement Of Total Factor Productivity," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 29(3), pages 297-316, September.
    10. Diewert, W Erwin, 1978. "Superlative Index Numbers and Consistency in Aggregation," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 46(4), pages 883-900, July.
    11. Roland Spant, 2003. "Why Net Domestic Product Should Replace Gross Domestic Product as a Measure of Economic Growth," International Productivity Monitor, Centre for the Study of Living Standards, vol. 7, pages 39-43, Fall.
    12. Friedman, Benjamin M, 1988. "Lessons on Monetary Policy from the 1980s," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 2(3), pages 51-72, Summer.
    13. Robert Inklaar & Marcel Timmer, 2008. "Accounting for growth in retail trade: an international productivity comparison," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 29(1), pages 23-31, February.
    14. W. Diewert & Alice Nakamura, 2003. "Index Number Concepts, Measures and Decompositions of Productivity Growth," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 127-159, April.
    15. Bert Balk, 2003. "The Residual: On Monitoring and Benchmarking Firms, Industries, and Economies with Respect to Productivity," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 5-47, July.
    16. Bert M. Balk, 2015. "Measuring and relating aggregate and subaggregate total factor productivity change without neoclassical assumptions," Statistica Neerlandica, Netherlands Society for Statistics and Operations Research, vol. 69(1), pages 21-48, February.
    17. Diewert, W. Erwin & Huang, Ning, 2011. "Capitalizing R&D Expenditures," Macroeconomic Dynamics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 15(4), pages 537-564, September.
    18. Ariel Coremberg, 2008. "The Measurement of TFP in Argentina, 1990-2004: A Case of the Tyranny of Numbers, Economic Cycles and Methodology," International Productivity Monitor, Centre for the Study of Living Standards, vol. 17, pages 52-74, Fall.
    19. Berndt, Ernst R. & Fuss, Melvyn A., 1986. "Productivity measurement with adjustments for variations in capacity utilization and other forms of temporary equilibrium," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 33(1-2), pages 7-29.
    20. Charles R. Hulten & Edwin R. Dean & Michael J. Harper, 2001. "New Developments in Productivity Analysis," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number hult01-1.
    21. Bert M. Balk, 2007. "Measuring Productivity Change without Neoclassical Assumptions: A Conceptual Analysis," CEPA Working Papers Series WP042007, School of Economics, University of Queensland, Australia.
    22. Benjamin M. Friedman, 1988. "Lessons On Monetary Policy From The 1980's," NBER Working Papers 2551, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    23. Arthur F. Burns, 1930. "The Measurement of the Physical Volume of Production," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 44(2), pages 242-262.
    24. Dale W. Jorgenson, 2009. "A New Architecture For The U.S. National Accounts," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 55(1), pages 1-42, March.
    25. Balk, Bert M., 2009. "On The Relation Between Gross Output– And Value Added–Based Productivity Measures: The Importance Of The Domar Factor," Macroeconomic Dynamics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 13(S2), pages 241-267, September.
    26. Robert Chambers, 2008. "Stochastic productivity measurement," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 30(2), pages 107-120, October.
    27. Diewert, W E, 1992. "The Measurement of Productivity," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(3), pages 163-198, July.
    28. Dale W. Jorgenson & Mun S. Ho & Kevin J. Stiroh, 2005. "Productivity, Volume 3: Information Technology and the American Growth Resurgence," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 3, number 0262101114, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. repec:dgr:rugggd:gd-137 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Ball, V.E. & Färe, R. & Grosskopf, S. & Margaritis, D., 2015. "The role of energy productivity in U.S. agriculture," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 460-471.
    3. C. Lovell & J. Lovell, 2013. "Productivity decline in Australian coal mining," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 40(3), pages 443-455, December.
    4. Marcel P. Timmer & Ilya B. Voskoboynikov, 2014. "Is Mining Fuelling Long-Run Growth in Russia? Industry Productivity Growth Trends Since 1995," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 60(S2), pages 398-422, November.
    5. de Mey, Yann & Vancauteren, Mark & Van Passel, Steven, 2011. "Input-output Concepts, Profits and Productivity Growth: An Application Using Flemish Farm Level Data," 2011 International Congress, August 30-September 2, 2011, Zurich, Switzerland 114448, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    6. Thomas Niebel & Marianne Saam, 2016. "ICT and Growth: The Role of Rates of Return and Capital Prices," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 62(2), pages 283-310, June.
    7. Bert M. Balk, 2015. "Measuring and relating aggregate and subaggregate total factor productivity change without neoclassical assumptions," Statistica Neerlandica, Netherlands Society for Statistics and Operations Research, vol. 69(1), pages 21-48, February.
    8. E. Grifell-Tatjé & C. Lovell, 2014. "Productivity, price recovery, capacity constraints and their financial consequences," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 41(1), pages 3-17, February.
    9. Robert J. Hill & Alice O. Nakamura, 2010. "Improving Inflation And Related Performance Measures For Nations: An Introduction," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 56(s1), pages 1-10, June.
    10. Diewert W.Erwin, 2010. "User Costs versus Waiting Services and Depreciation in a Model of Production," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 230(6), pages 759-771, December.
    11. Thunberg, Eric & Walden, John & Agar, Juan & Felthoven, Ron & Harley, Abigail & Kasperski, Stephen & Lee, Jean & Lee, Todd & Mamula, Aaron & Stephen, Jessica & Strelcheck, Andy, 2015. "Measuring changes in multi-factor productivity in U.S. catch share fisheries," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 294-301.
    12. Lippe Peter von der & Diewert W. Erwin, 2010. "Introduction to the Special Issue on Index Number Theory and Price Statistics," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 230(6), pages 660-672, December.
    13. D. S. Prasada Rao & Alicia N. Rambaldi & Bert M. Balk, 2015. "On Measuring Regional or Global Growth and Inflation," Discussion Papers Series 552, School of Economics, University of Queensland, Australia.
    14. Mark Vancauteren & Bruno Henry de Frahan, 2011. "Trade Policy, Competition and Productivity: The Impact of EU Harmonization in the Dutch Food Processing Industry," De Economist, Springer, vol. 159(4), pages 483-509, December.
    15. Yann, de Mey & Mark, Vancauteren & Frankwin, van Winsen & Erwin, Wauters & Ludwig, Lauwers & Steven, Van Passel, 2013. "Measuring productivity change using alternative input–output concepts: A farm level application using FADN data," 2013: Productivity and Its Impacts on Global Trade, June 2-4, 2013. Seville, Spain 152364, International Agricultural Trade Research Consortium.
    16. Chris Bojke & Adriana Castelli & Katja Grašič & Andrew Street, 2017. "Productivity Growth in the English National Health Service from 1998/1999 to 2013/2014," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(5), pages 547-565, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bert M. Balk, 2007. "Measuring Productivity Change without Neoclassical Assumptions: A Conceptual Analysis," CEPA Working Papers Series WP042007, School of Economics, University of Queensland, Australia.
    2. Barnett, William A. & Erwin Diewert, W. & Zellner, Arnold, 2011. "Introduction to measurement with theory," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 161(1), pages 1-5, March.
    3. Bert M. Balk, 2015. "Measuring and relating aggregate and subaggregate total factor productivity change without neoclassical assumptions," Statistica Neerlandica, Netherlands Society for Statistics and Operations Research, vol. 69(1), pages 21-48, February.
    4. Hulten, Charles R., 2010. "Growth Accounting," Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, in: Bronwyn H. Hall & Nathan Rosenberg (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 987-1031, Elsevier.
    5. Diewert, Erwin & Fox, Kevin J., 2019. "Productivity Indexes and National Statistics: Theory, Methods and Challenges," Microeconomics.ca working papers erwin_diewert-2019-8, Vancouver School of Economics, revised 25 Apr 2019.
    6. Bert M. Balk, 2020. "A novel decomposition of aggregate total factor productivity change," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 53(1), pages 95-105, February.
    7. Nicholas Oulton, 2022. "The Divisia approach to measuring output and productivity: with an application to the BEA-BLS integrated industry-level production account, 1987-2020," Discussion Papers 2217, Centre for Macroeconomics (CFM).
    8. Diewert W.Erwin, 2010. "User Costs versus Waiting Services and Depreciation in a Model of Production," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 230(6), pages 759-771, December.
    9. Managi, Shunsuke & Opaluch, James J. & Jin, Di & Grigalunas, Thomas A., 2006. "Stochastic frontier analysis of total factor productivity in the offshore oil and gas industry," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(1), pages 204-215, November.
    10. Dariusz Kotlewski, 2022. "Przesłanki za wykorzystaniem rachunkowości wzrostu gospodarczego w badaniu specjalizacji regionalnych," Ekonomista, Polskie Towarzystwo Ekonomiczne, issue 2, pages 235-258.
    11. Jürgen Bitzer & Erkan Gören & Sanne Hiller, 2014. "International Knowledge Spillovers: The Benefits from Employing Immigrants," Working Paper Series in Economics 323, University of Lüneburg, Institute of Economics.
    12. Barkai, Simcha, 2016. "Declining Labor and Capital Shares," Working Papers 257, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, George J. Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State.
    13. repec:dgr:rugggd:gd-103 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Dariusz Cezary Kotlewski, 2023. "The soundness of returning to manufacturing through the lens of productivity accounting," Ekonomista, Polskie Towarzystwo Ekonomiczne, issue 3, pages 253-274.
    15. W. Diewert, 2011. "Measuring productivity in the public sector: some conceptual problems," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 36(2), pages 177-191, October.
    16. Ning Huang & Erwin Diewert, 2011. "Estimation of R&D depreciation rates: a suggested methodology and preliminary application," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 44(2), pages 387-412, May.
    17. W. Erwin Diewert & Kevin J. Fox, 2017. "Decomposing Value Added Growth into Explanatory Factors," Discussion Papers 2017-02, School of Economics, The University of New South Wales.
    18. Dale W. Jorgenson, 2012. "The World KLEMS Initiative," International Productivity Monitor, Centre for the Study of Living Standards, vol. 24, pages 5-19, Fall.
    19. repec:hum:wpaper:sfb649dp2008-040 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Giraleas, Dimitris & Emrouznejad, Ali & Thanassoulis, Emmanuel, 2012. "Productivity change using growth accounting and frontier-based approaches – Evidence from a Monte Carlo analysis," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 222(3), pages 673-683.
    21. Erauskin-Iurrita, Iñaki, 2008. "The sources of economic growth in the Basque Country, Navarre and Spain during the period 1986-2004," INVESTIGACIONES REGIONALES - Journal of REGIONAL RESEARCH, Asociación Española de Ciencia Regional, issue 12, pages 35-58.
    22. Kevin J. Fox & Peter Goodridge & Jonathan Haskel & Gavin Wallis, 2017. "Spillovers from R&D and Other Intangible Investment: Evidence from UK Industries," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 63, pages 22-48, February.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:revinw:v:56:y:2010:i:s1:p:s224-s256. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/iariwea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.