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A Richer Understanding of Australia’s Productivity Performance in the 1990s: Improved estimates based upon firm-level panel data

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  • Robert Breunig
  • Marn-Heong Wong

Abstract

Australia’s productivity performance is characterized by important differences across continuing firms, frequent entry of new firms, and substantial exit of firms which, for one reason or another, decide to cease production. These basic facts call into question the appropriateness of measuring productivity using an aggregate production function that is based upon a representative firm. This study relaxes the standard assumptions that industries are comprised of a set of homogeneous firms, the set of which are constant over time. Instead, we apply a semi-parametric production to continue production. The model controls for the relationship between productivity shocks and input choices and the inter-relationship between these and the decision to continue production. Using the Business Longitudinal Survey we estimate an improved set of production functions for twenty-five two-digit industries in Australia. We use these results to examine aggregate industry-level productivity performance. We use a new aggregation method in calculating these changes which allows us to separate productivity changes and output composition changes which sheds new light on industry-level productivity performance in Australia.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert Breunig & Marn-Heong Wong, 2007. "A Richer Understanding of Australia’s Productivity Performance in the 1990s: Improved estimates based upon firm-level panel data," CEPR Discussion Papers 545, Centre for Economic Policy Research, Research School of Economics, Australian National University.
    • Handle: RePEc:auu:dpaper:545
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    File URL: https://www.cbe.anu.edu.au/researchpapers/CEPR/DP545.pdf
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    Cited by:

    1. Samantha Farmakis‐Gamboni & David Prentice, 2011. "When Does Reducing Union Bargaining Power Increase Productivity? Evidence from the Workplace Relations Act," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 87(279), pages 603-616, December.
    2. V. Breunig Robert & Bakhtiari Sasan, 2013. "Outsourcing and Innovation: An Empirical Exploration of the Dynamic Relationship," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 13(1), pages 395-418, April.
    3. Sasan Bakhtiari, 2011. "Size Evolution and Outsourcing: Theory and Evidence from Australian Manufacturing," Discussion Papers 2012-08, School of Economics, The University of New South Wales.
    4. Sasan Bakhtiari & Robert Breunig, 2012. "Outsourcing and Innovation: An Empirical Study of Causes and Effects," Discussion Papers 2012-35, School of Economics, The University of New South Wales.
    5. Gaétan de Rassenfosse & Russell Thomson, 2019. "R&D offshoring and home industry productivity," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 28(6), pages 1497-1513.
    6. Sasan Bakhtiari, 2020. "Do manufacturing entrepreneurs in Australia have (or develop) a productivity advantage?," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 53(3), pages 321-338, June.
    7. Sasan Bakhtiari, 2015. "Productivity, outsourcing and exit: the case of Australian manufacturing," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 44(2), pages 425-447, February.
    8. Sasan Bakhtiari, 2013. "Firm Size Evolution and Outsourcing," Discussion Papers 2013-07, School of Economics, The University of New South Wales.
    9. Sasan Bakhtiari, 2011. "Efficiency and Outsourcing: Evidence from Australian Manufacturing," Discussion Papers 2012-07, School of Economics, The University of New South Wales.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Firm-level production function estimation; multi-factor productivity; semiparametric estimation; Australian economic performance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D21 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Theory
    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • L20 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - General
    • C14 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Semiparametric and Nonparametric Methods: General

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