IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/nbb/reswpp/201403-253.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Micro-based evidence of EU competitiveness: The CompNet database

Author

Listed:
  • 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
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nbb.be/doc/ts/publications/wp/wp253en.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Melitz, Marc J. & Redding, Stephen J., 2014. "Heterogeneous Firms and Trade," Handbook of International Economics, in: Gopinath, G. & Helpman, . & Rogoff, K. (ed.), Handbook of International Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 0, pages 1-54, Elsevier.
    2. Amil Petrin & James Levinsohn, 2005. "Measuring and Mismeasuring Industry Productivity Growth Using Plant-Level Data," 2005 Meeting Papers 214, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    3. Eric Bartelsman & John Haltiwanger & Stefano Scarpetta, 2009. "Measuring and Analyzing Cross-country Differences in Firm Dynamics," NBER Chapters, in: Producer Dynamics: New Evidence from Micro Data, pages 15-76, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Amil Petrin & James Levinsohn, 2005. "Measuring Aggregate Productivity Growth Using Plant-Level Data," Working Papers 552, Research Seminar in International Economics, University of Michigan.
    5. Ackerberg, Daniel & Caves, Kevin & Frazer, Garth, 2006. "Structural identification of production functions," MPRA Paper 38349, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Timothy Dunne & J. Bradford Jensen & Mark J. Roberts, 2009. "Producer Dynamics: New Evidence from Micro Data," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number dunn05-1.
    7. Haltiwanger, John, 2011. "Firm dynamics and productivity growth," EIB Papers 5/2011, European Investment Bank, Economics Department.
    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. 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.
    2. 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.
    3. 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.
    4. 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.
    5. 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.
    6. 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.
    7. repec:ecb:ecbops:2010161 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. 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.
    9. 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.
    10. 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.
    11. 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.
    12. 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.
    13. 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.
    14. 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.
    15. 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.
    16. 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.
    17. repec:ecb:ecbops:2012163 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. 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.
    19. 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.
    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.

    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. Dhyne, Emmanuel & Zurlo, Davide & Sandoz-Dit-Bragard, Charlotte & Chiriacescu, Bogdan & Cazacu, Ana-Maria & Lalinsky, Tibor & Biewen, Elena & Blank, Sven & Meinen, Philipp & Hagemejer, Jan & Tello, Pa, 2014. "Micro-based evidence of EU competitiveness: the CompNet database," Working Paper Series 1634, European Central Bank.
    2. Alexandru Cojocaru, 2017. "Kosovo Jobs Diagnostic," World Bank Publications - Reports 27173, The World Bank Group.
    3. 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.
    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. repec:ecb:ecbops:2012163 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Redding, Stephen & Weinstein, David, 2017. "Aggregating From Micro to Macro Patterns of Trade," CEPR Discussion Papers 12446, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    7. Alessandra Bonfiglioli & Rosario Crinò & Gino Gancia, 2018. "Firms and Economic Performance: A view from Trade," Working Papers 1034, Barcelona School of Economics.
    8. Richard Duhautois & Fabrice Gilles & Héloïse Petit, 2009. "Worker flows, job flows and establishment wage differentials: Analysing the case of France," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) hal-00646440, HAL.
    9. Richard Kneller & Danny McGowan, 2011. "Tax Policy and Firm Entry and Exit Dynamics: Evidence from OECD Countries," Discussion Papers 11/08, University of Nottingham, School of Economics.
    10. Laura Alfaro & Andrew Charlton & Fabio Kanczuk, 2009. "Plant Size Distribution and Cross-Country Income Differences," NBER Chapters, in: NBER International Seminar on Macroeconomics 2008, pages 243-272, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Bottasso, Anna & Conti, Maurizio & Sulis, Giovanni, 2017. "Firm dynamics and employment protection: Evidence from sectoral data," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 35-53.
    12. Finkelstein Shapiro, Alan & González Gómez, Andrés, 2017. "Credit market imperfections, labor markets, and leverage dynamics in emerging economies," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 44-63.
    13. Tran, Hien Thu, 2019. "Institutional quality and market selection in the transition to market economy," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 34(5), pages 1-1.
    14. William F. Lincoln & Andrew H. McCallum & Michael Siemer, 2017. "The Great Recession and a Missing Generation of Exporters," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2017-108, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    15. Geurts, Karen & Van Biesebroeck, Johannes, 2016. "Firm creation and post-entry dynamics of de novo entrants," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 59-104.
    16. Richard Duhautois & Fabrice Gilles & Héloïse Petit, 2012. "Worker flows and establishment wage differentials : a breakdown of the relationship," Post-Print hal-00833872, HAL.
    17. Bah, El-hadj & Fang, Lei, 2015. "Impact of the business environment on output and productivity in Africa," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 159-171.
    18. Gaelan MacKenzie, 2021. "Trade and Market Power in Product and Labor Markets," Staff Working Papers 21-17, Bank of Canada.
    19. Barseghyan, Levon, 2010. "Non-performing loans, prospective bailouts, and Japan's slowdown," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(7), pages 873-890, October.
    20. Joachim Wagner, 2016. "A survey of empirical studies using transaction level data on exports and imports," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 152(1), pages 215-225, February.
    21. Cette, Gilbert & Fernald, John & Mojon, Benoît, 2016. "The pre-Great Recession slowdown in productivity," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 3-20.

    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

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:nbb:reswpp:201403-253. 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: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/bnbgvbe.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.