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Micro-based evidence of EU competitiveness: The CompNet database

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  • CompNet Task Force

Abstract

Drawing from confidential firm-level balance sheets in 11 European countries, the paper presents a novel sectoral database of comparable productivity indicators built by members of the Competitiveness Research Network (CompNet) using a newly developed research infrastructure. Beyond aggregate information available from industry statistics of Eurostat or EU KLEMS, the paper provides information on the distribution of firms across several dimensions related to competitiveness, e.g. productivity and size. The database comprises so far 11 countries, with information for 58 sectors over the period 1995-2011. The paper documents the development of the new research infrastructure, the construction of the database, and shows some preliminary results. Among them, it shows that there is large heterogeneity in terms of firm productivity or size within narrowly defined industries in all countries. Productivity, and above all, size distribution are very skewed across countries, with a thick left-tail of low productive firms. Moreover, firms at both ends of the distribution show very different dynamics in terms of productivity and unit labour costs. Within-sector heterogeneity and productivity dispersion are positively correlated to aggregate productivity given the possibility of reallocating resources from less to more productive firms. To this extent, we show how allocative efficiency varies across countries, and more interestingly, over different periods of time. Finally, we apply the new database to illustrate the importance of productivity dispersion to explain aggregate trade results.

Suggested Citation

  • CompNet Task Force, 2014. "Micro-based evidence of EU competitiveness: The CompNet database," Working Paper Research 253, National Bank of Belgium.
  • Handle: RePEc:nbb:reswpp:201403-253
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Martin Schneider, 2014. "Labor Productivity Developments in Austria in an International Perspective," Monetary Policy & the Economy, Oesterreichische Nationalbank (Austrian Central Bank), issue 3, pages 13-35.
    2. Thomas Grebel & Mauro Napoletano & Lionel Nesta, 2023. "Distant but Close in Sight: Firm‐level Evidence on French–German Productivity Gaps in Manufacturing," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 69(1), pages 228-261, March.
    3. Aleksandra Kordalska & Magdalena Olczyk, 2020. "What fosters firm-level labour productivity in Eastern European and Central Asian countries?," Bank i Kredyt, Narodowy Bank Polski, vol. 51(1), pages 91-120.
    4. Osbat, Chiara & Zollino, Francesco & Aiello, Giovanni & Bluhm, Benjamin & Buelens, Christian & Cavallini, Flavia & Joseph, Andreas & Leonte, Alexandru & Lommatzsch, Kirsten & Momchilov, Georgi & Giord, 2015. "Compendium on the diagnostic toolkit for competitiveness," Occasional Paper Series 163, European Central Bank.
    5. Marijn Verschelde & Michel Dumont & Glenn Rayp & Bruno Merlevede, 2016. "Semiparametric stochastic metafrontier efficiency of European manufacturing firms," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 45(1), pages 53-69, February.
    6. Laurens Cherchye & Thomas Demuynck & Bram De Rock & Marijn Verschelde, 2018. "Nonparametric identification of unobserved technological heterogeneity in production," Working Paper Research 335, National Bank of Belgium.
    7. Marijn Verschelde & Michel Dumont & Bruno Merlevede & Glenn Rayp, 2014. "A constrained nonparametric regression analysis of factor-biased technical change and TFP growth at the firm level," Working Paper Research 266, National Bank of Belgium.
    8. Genthner, Robert & Kis-Katos, Krisztina, 2022. "Foreign investment regulation and firm productivity: Granular evidence from Indonesia," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(3), pages 668-687.
    9. Masso, Jaan & Meriküll, Jaanika & Vahter, Priit, 2022. "The role of firms in the gender wage gap," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 454-473.
    10. E. Dhyne & C. Duprez, 2017. "The world is a village… The integration of Belgian firms into the world economy," Economic Review, National Bank of Belgium, issue ii, pages 25-36, september.
    11. Bindseil, Ulrich & Domnick, Clemens & Zeuner, Jörg, 2015. "Critique of accommodating central bank policies and the 'expropriation of the saver' - A review," Occasional Paper Series 161, European Central Bank.
    12. Thomas Grebel & Mauro Napoletano & Lionel Nesta, 2022. "Distant but Close in Sight: Firm‐level Evidence on French–German Productivity Gaps in Manufacturing," Post-Print hal-04531123, HAL.
    13. Emmanuel Dhyne & Cedric Duprez, 2017. "It’s a Small, Small World... A Guided Tour of the Belgian Production Network," International Productivity Monitor, Centre for the Study of Living Standards, vol. 32, pages 84-96, Spring.
    14. repec:ecb:ecbops:2012163 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. repec:ecb:ecbops:2010161 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Orlic, Edvard & Hashi, Iraj & Hisarciklilar, Mehtap, 2018. "Cross sectoral FDI spillovers and their impact on manufacturing productivity," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 777-796.
    17. Brumm, Johannes & Georgiadis, Georgios & Gräb, Johannes & Trottner, Fabian, 2019. "Global value chain participation and current account imbalances," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 111-124.
    18. Laurens Cherchye & Thomas Demuynck & Bram De Rock & Marijn Verschelde, 2018. "Nonparametric Production Analysis with Unobserved Heterogeneity in Productivity," Working Papers ECARES 2018-25, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    19. Gamberoni, Elisa & Gradeva, Katerina & Weber, Sebastian, 2016. "Firm responses to employment subsidies: a regression discontinuity approach to the 2012 Spanish labour market reform," Working Paper Series 1970, European Central Bank.
    20. Brian Micallef, 2016. "The Adjustment of Maltese Firms to the Post-crisis Economic Environment: Evidence from a Firm-level Survey," International Business Research, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 9(9), pages 122-133, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    cross country analysis; firm-level data; competitiveness; productivity and size distribution; total factor productivity; allocative efficiency;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms
    • L25 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Performance
    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • O4 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity
    • O57 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Comparative Studies of Countries

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