2013年-世界发展银行全球_Productivity_Growth_in_Europe_43页_1mb

Summary of "Productivity Growth in Europe"

Core Content

This policy research working paper analyzes the factors contributing to productivity growth in the European Union (EU) between 2003 and 2008. It examines both country-level and firm-level characteristics, using a combination of firm-level data from the Amadeus database and country-level indicators from the World Bank's Doing Business (DB), Eurostat, and World Development Indicators (WDI). The paper seeks to understand the differences in productivity growth across EU12 (newer EU members), EU15 (older EU members), and EU15 South (southern countries of the EU15), and to provide insights into how government regulation, foreign direct investment (FDI), and firm characteristics influence productivity.

Main Findings

• EU12 (New Europe): Country-level characteristics are the most important determinants of productivity growth. Key factors include:

  • The stock of inward FDI, which is especially significant in manufacturing.
  • Credit availability, which is a strong predictor of productivity growth.
  • Regulatory quality, as measured by the DB indices, is significantly correlated with productivity growth.

• EU15 (Old Europe): Firm-level characteristics, such as size, ownership type, and international affiliation, are the most important for productivity growth. Notably:

  • Smaller firms grow more quickly than larger ones.
  • Foreign-affiliated firms, particularly global headquarters, show the highest productivity gains.
  • Outward FDI and regulatory quality also play a significant role in explaining productivity differences across EU15 countries.

• EU15 South (Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain): These countries experienced negative productivity growth during the period, which is attributed to:

  • A distribution of firms skewed toward small and domestic producers.
  • Less favorable regulatory environments that hinder private sector expansion.
  • Lower levels of outward FDI, which limits access to technology and knowledge transfers.

Key Variables and Their Impact

The paper uses the following variables to analyze productivity growth:

• Firm-level variables:

  • Size (measured by number of employees).
  • Age (divided into categories).
  • Ownership type (domestic, foreign-affiliated, global headquarters).

• Country-level variables:

  • Inward and outward FDI (measured as ratios to GDP).
  • Credit availability (private sector credit to GDP).
  • Workforce skills (percentage of workforce with tertiary education).
  • Infrastructure quality (from the Global Competitiveness Report).
  • Regulatory environment (measured via DB indices):
    • Business Startup: barriers to entry and exit.
    • Business Operations: difficulty of operating a firm.
    • Institutional Environment: quality of legal and institutional frameworks.

Methodology

• The authors use ordinary least squares (OLS) regression to estimate the contribution of each factor to productivity growth.
• They apply resampling techniques to ensure a representative sample of firms across different size, sector, and country strata.
• Fixed effects are included for both country and sector to account for unobserved heterogeneity.
• The analysis is conducted separately for EU12 and EU15, with further breakdowns into manufacturing and services sectors.

Policy Implications

• Improving government regulation and encouraging FDI (both inward and outward) can lead to significant productivity gains.
• These policies may be more cost-effective and quicker to implement than infrastructure or education investments.
• The results suggest that regulatory reforms and FDI promotion are essential for catching up in productivity among lagging EU countries.

Conclusion

The study highlights the importance of both firm-level and country-level factors in driving productivity growth. While country characteristics are more influential in the EU12, firm-level attributes dominate in the EU15. However, regulatory quality plays a crucial role in both groups. The EU15 South stands out as an exception, with negative productivity growth due to structural and regulatory disadvantages. The paper concludes that policy interventions aimed at improving the regulatory environment and promoting FDI can help boost productivity across the EU.

Key Information

• Time period: 2003–2008.
• Data sources:
  • Amadeus database: Firm-level data on productivity, size, age, and ownership.
  • Eurostat: FDI data and sectoral statistics.
  • World Bank's Doing Business (DB): Regulatory environment indicators.
  • World Development Indicators (WDI): Credit availability and workforce skills.
  • Global Competitiveness Report: Infrastructure quality.
• Sample characteristics:
  • Sample 1: Firms with at least 10 employees.
  • Sample 2: Firms with at least 50 employees.
• Methodological notes:
  • Resampling is used to ensure representativeness.
  • Fixed effects for country and sector are included.
  • OLS regression with clustered errors is employed to account for correlations between co-national firms.

References and Related Work

• The paper builds on previous research by Nicoletti and Scarpetta (2003), Conway et al. (2006), and Arnold, Nicoletti, and Scarpetta (2008), which highlight the role of regulation and FDI in productivity growth.
• It also references Burda and Hunt (2001) and Winston (1993), who emphasize the role of economic integration and competition in improving productivity.
• The use of principal component analysis (PCA) on DB indicators allows for a comprehensive assessment of regulatory environments.