IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/unm/unumer/2010032.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Brazilian aerospace manufacturing in comparative perspective: A Brazil/USA comparison of output and productivity

Author

Listed:
  • Vertesy, Daniel

    (UNU-MERIT)

  • Szirmai, Adam

    (UNU-MERIT)

Abstract

A comparison of the performance of the Brazilian aerospace industry with that of the world leader in aerospace production, the USA, requires appropriate conversion rates. Following the methodology of the International Comparisons of Output and Productivity project (ICOP), we calculate unit value ratios for the aerospace industry based on ex-factory prices. So far no comparisons have been made for this sector, due to problems of disclosure in national statistics. In this paper, we have made adjustments to official data from industrial surveys using supplementary data on quantities and prices from a variety of other sources. Our 2005 unit value ratios for the aerospace industry are somewhat lower than updated UVRs from a previous ICOP study by Mulder et al (2002) for the whole transport equipment branch, but the two estimates are in the same range. Our results on comparative labour productivity in aerospace point to more rapid catch up than in the transport sector as a whole. There was a period between 1999 and 2003, when the Brazilian aerospace industry clearly outperformed the United States. However, Brazil was unable to sustain this dramatic sectoral catch up. After 2003, firms disregarded the clear signals of shrinking value added and continued to increase the number of employees. As a result Brazil once again fell behind.

Suggested Citation

  • Vertesy, Daniel & Szirmai, Adam, 2010. "Brazilian aerospace manufacturing in comparative perspective: A Brazil/USA comparison of output and productivity," MERIT Working Papers 2010-032, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    • Handle: RePEc:unm:unumer:2010032
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://unu-merit.nl/publications/wppdf/2010/wp2010-032.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. repec:dgr:rugggd:199411 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. repec:dgr:rugggd:200258 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Van Ark, B. & Gersbach, H., 1994. "Micro Foundations for International Productivity Comparisons," Papers 572, Groningen State, Institute of Economic Research-.
    4. Michiel VAN Dijk, 2003. "South African Manufacturing Performance In International Perspective 1970–1999," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 71(1), pages 119-142, March.
    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. Vertesy, Daniel & Szirmai, Adam, 2010. "Interrupted innovation: Innovation system dynamics in latecomer aerospace industries," MERIT Working Papers 2010-059, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).

    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. Laurence Nayman & Deniz Ünal-Kesenci, 2001. "The French-German Productivity Comparison Revisited : Ten Years after the German Unification," Working Papers 2001-14, CEPII research center.
    2. Sean M. Dougherty & Robert Inklaar & Robert H. McGuckin & Bart van Ark, 2007. "International Comparisons of R&D Expenditure: Does an R&D PPP Make a Difference?," NBER Chapters, in: Hard-to-Measure Goods and Services: Essays in Honor of Zvi Griliches, pages 291-322, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Müller, Gerald, 1999. "Smaller Productivity Gap Between German Regions When Different Producer Prices are Taken into Account," IWH Discussion Papers 89/1999, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    4. repec:dgr:rugggd:gd-88 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Inklaar, Robert & Wu, Harry & Ark, Bart van, 2003. ""Losing ground" : Japanese labour productivity and unit laboour cost manufacturing in comparison to the U.S," GGDC Research Memorandum 200364, Groningen Growth and Development Centre, University of Groningen.
    6. repec:dgr:rugggd:200251 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. repec:dgr:rugggd:200362 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. You, Kefei & Bianco, Silvia Dal & Amankwah-Amoah, Joseph, 2020. "Closing Technological Gaps to Alleviate Poverty: Evidence from 17 Sub-Saharan African Countries," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    9. Bart van Ark & Erik Monnikhof & Marcel Timmer, 1999. "Prices, Quantities, and Productivity in Industry: A Study of Transition Economies in a Comparative Perspective," NBER Chapters, in: International and Interarea Comparisons of Income, Output, and Prices, pages 327-367, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. repec:dgr:rugggd:200364 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Amy Kahn & Moses Sithole & Yasser Buchana, 2022. "An analysis of the impact of technological innovation on productivity in South African manufacturing firms using direct measures of innovation," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 90(1), pages 37-56, March.
    12. Jørn Rattsø & Torfinn Harding, 2009. "Looking Abroad, but Lagging Behind: How the World Technology Frontier Affects South Africa," Working Paper Series 10209, Department of Economics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
    13. Michiel VAN Dijk, 2003. "South African Manufacturing Performance In International Perspective 1970–1999," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 71(1), pages 119-142, March.
    14. Castaldi, Carolina & Sapio, Sandro, 2006. "The Properties of Sectoral Growth: Evidence from Four Large European Economies," GGDC Research Memorandum GD-88, Groningen Growth and Development Centre, University of Groningen.
    15. repec:dgr:rugsom:03c20 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Janet Ceglowski & Stephen S. Golub, 2012. "Does China Still Have a Labor Cost Advantage?," Global Economy Journal (GEJ), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 12(3), pages 1-30, August.
    17. Elias Kourliouros & George Korres & Emmanuel Marmaras & George Tsobanoglou, 2006. "Economic Geography and Regional Growth: An Empirical Evidence From Greece," ERSA conference papers ersa06p30, European Regional Science Association.
    18. Edwards, Lawrence & Golub, Stephen S., 2004. "South Africa's International Cost Competitiveness and Exports in Manufacturing," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 32(8), pages 1323-1339, August.
    19. repec:dgr:rugggd:199840 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Robert J. Hill, 2004. "Constructing Price Indexes across Space and Time: The Case of the European Union," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(5), pages 1379-1410, December.
    21. Lawrence Edwards & StephenS. Golub, 2003. "South African Productivity And Capital Accumulation In Manufacturing: An International Comparative Analysis," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 71(4), pages 659-678, December.
    22. McKenzie, David, 2011. "How can we learn whether firm policies are working in africa ? challenges (and solutions?) for experiments and structural models," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5632, The World Bank.
    23. Timmer, Marcel P., 1998. "Catch up patterns in newly industrializing countries : an international comparison of manufacturing productivity in Taiwan, 1961-1993," GGDC Research Memorandum 199840, Groningen Growth and Development Centre, University of Groningen.
    24. Ark, Bart van & Timmer, Marcel & Inklaar, Robert, 2002. "The Canada-U.S. manufacturing productivity gap revisited: new ICOP results," GGDC Research Memorandum 200251, Groningen Growth and Development Centre, University of Groningen.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    aerospace manufacturing; labour productivity growth; international comparison; Brazil; United States;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L62 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Manufacturing - - - Automobiles; Other Transportation Equipment; Related Parts and Equipment
    • O14 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Industrialization; Manufacturing and Service Industries; Choice of Technology
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • O47 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Empirical Studies of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence

    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:unm:unumer:2010032. 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: Ad Notten (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/meritnl.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.