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Productivity, Efficiency and Economic Growth: East Asia and the Rest of the World

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  • Han, Gaofeng
  • Kalirajan, Kaliappa
  • Singh, Nirvikar

Abstract

This study compares the sources of growth in East Asia with the rest of the world, using a methodology that allows one to decompose total factor productivity (TFP) growth into technical efficiency changes (catching up) and technological progress. It applies a varying coefficients frontier production function model to aggregate data for the period 1970-1990, for a sample of 45 developed and developing countries. Our results are consistent with the view that East Asian economies were not outliers in terms of TFP growth. Of the high-performing East Asian economies, our methodology identifies South Korea as having the highest TFP growth, followed by Singapore, Taiwan and Japan. Our methodology also allows us to separately estimate technical efficiency change, which is a component of TFP growth, and we find that, in general, the estimated technical efficiency of the high-performing East Asian economies was not out of line with the rest of the world.

Suggested Citation

  • Han, Gaofeng & Kalirajan, Kaliappa & Singh, Nirvikar, 2003. "Productivity, Efficiency and Economic Growth: East Asia and the Rest of the World," Santa Cruz Department of Economics, Working Paper Series qt16z7s028, Department of Economics, UC Santa Cruz.
    • Handle: RePEc:cdl:ucscec:qt16z7s028
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    2. Idris Jajri, 2011. "Total Factor Productivity and Output Growth in Malaysian Service Sector," Annals - Economic and Administrative Series -, Faculty of Business and Administration, University of Bucharest, vol. 5(1), pages 63-76, December.
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    4. Hamid Sepehrdoust & Saber Zamani Shabkhaneh, 2015. "Impact of Knowledge-based Components on Total Factor Productivity of MENA Countries," Iranian Economic Review (IER), Faculty of Economics,University of Tehran.Tehran,Iran, vol. 19(2), pages 149-163, Spring.

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