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The Productivity of Nations

Author

Listed:
  • Oleg Badunenko

    (Portsmouth Business School)

  • Daniel J. Henderson

    (University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa)

  • Valentin Zelenyuk

    (University of Queensland)

Abstract

This paper scrutinizes research on the productivity of nations with a particular focus on the preceding 50 years. First, we briefly synopsize ‘classic’ studies on economic growth and convergence of nations. The main criticism of these studies is that they did not account for potential inefficiency of countries. The production frontier literature attempts to deal with this issue and we give a brief introduction to it with a focus on data envelopment analysis. One central point of this review is the analysis of sources of productivity growth before and after 1990, a period of time, which appears to be a point of a structural change in growth patterns around the world. The second thread of this paper concerns the forces behind the transformation of the worldwide productivity distribution from a uni-modal to a bimodal distribution during the 1990s. Finally, we emphasize caveats and outline possible directions for future research.

Suggested Citation

  • Oleg Badunenko & Daniel J. Henderson & Valentin Zelenyuk, 2017. "The Productivity of Nations," Working Papers in Economics & Finance 2017-05, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth Business School, Economics and Finance Subject Group.
    • Handle: RePEc:pbs:ecofin:2017-05
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    Cited by:

    1. Oleg Badunenko & Daniel J. Henderson & Valentin Zelenyuk, 2008. "Technological Change and Transition: Relative Contributions to Worldwide Growth During the 1990s," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 70(4), pages 461-492, August.
    2. Oleg Badunenko, 2017. "Labor Market Regulations and Growth," Working Papers in Economics & Finance 2017-07, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth Business School, Economics and Finance Subject Group.
    3. Laurens Cherchye & Bram Rock & Dieter Saelens & Marijn Verschelde, 2024. "Productive efficiency analysis with incomplete output information," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 62(3), pages 291-301, December.
    4. Yan Meng & Christopher F. Parameter & Valentin Zelenyuk, 2021. "Is Newer Always Better? A Reinvestigation Of Productivity Dynamics," CEPA Working Papers Series WP062021, School of Economics, University of Queensland, Australia.
    5. Yan Meng & Christopher F. Parmeter & Valentin Zelenyuk, 2023. "Is newer always better? A reinvestigation of productivity dynamics using updated PWT data," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 59(1), pages 1-13, February.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Convergence; Bi-modality; Catching up; Data Envelopment Analysis; Efficiency; Economic Growth; Human capital; Income Distribution; Penn World Tables; Physical capital; Productivity; Stochastic Frontier Analysis; Technology; TFP;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • C14 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Semiparametric and Nonparametric Methods: General
    • C43 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics - - - Index Numbers and Aggregation
    • O47 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Empirical Studies of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence

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