How has the Japanese manufacturing sector fared in productivity and technological learning in recent years? To answer this, we summarized the manufacturing industry into 3-digit sub-sector (25 sub-sectors) and evaluated the entire manufacturing industry. Our study covers 15 years of production cycles (2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014). Using data envelopment analysis and loglinear learning models, we empirically estimated the productivity and technological learning of these industries. The result shows negative (− 0.6%) total factor productivity (TFP) growth between 2000 and 2014. TFP was particularly affected by 2001, and 2008/2009 financial crisis. TFP regress also deepened in recent years (2011-2014) which we blamed on both internal and external shocks in the system. We showed that positive TFP observed in other years resulted from technical progress and efficiency improvement. Industry-level results were consistent with the annual mean result which suggest a common economic downturn. Estimated progress ratios from learning models show that individual industry exhibits unique learning rates, with some industries showing technological learning (i.e., decreasing unit cost of production) between 2000 and 2007 and others between 2010 and 2014. Industries viz. production machinery, electrical devices and circuit, chemical, pharmaceutical, and food manufacturing showed sustained learning between 2001 and 2013, implying huge cost saving as outputs expand. The overall result, however, showed that learning got worst and was lost at some point between 2008 and 2014. We conclude that productivity differentials explained by learning rates show that technological progress and innovations in Japanese manufacturing were capital intensive and cost inefficient and that Japanese manufacturing industry has not fully regained its competitiveness as the world's leading manufacturing hub. We argued that for productivity improvement in Japanese manufacturing industries, there is a need for policy thrust to restore and ensure sustained learning within and across the industries.
PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the gains, challenges and determinants of electronic banking adoption in Nigeria.Design/methodology/approachThis paper applied the generalized structural equation modelling (GSEM) to a large sample of respondents surveyed from five of the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria to model the determinants of electronic banking. In addition to many other advantages, GSEM can be used as a likelihood function. As a result, this paper proposes GSEM as the most appropriate tool for modelling the socioeconomic determinant of electronic banking adoption.FindingsAbout three-quarter of respondents adopted at least a form of electronic banking. However, only a tenth of users used e-banking for purchase of goods or services, implying low electronic payment adoption. The low adoption of electronic payment was due to poor digital security infrastructure which made users vulnerable to widespread electronic frauds. The findings also show that the adoption of e-banking platforms or services was characterized by users' socioeconomic status. For example, the odds of adopting internet/mobile banking decreases with older users but increase with higher educational attainment and income, whereas the odds of adopting e-banking platforms such as short message service (SMS) and point of sale (POS) banking increases with older users and informally employed users respectively.Practical implicationsFor a sustainable cashless economy and financial inclusion in Nigeria, policy consolidation that provides safe e-banking services is necessary. Also, e-banking service providers should deliver specific contents and services that match the physical and economic characteristics of users.Originality/valueGeneralized structural equation modelling (GSEM) is a robust likelihood function method that combines the power of structural equation modelling with the generalized linear model. The application of GSEM to predict the likelihood of adopting a banking technology or Service has not been explored in electronic banking literature. Also, as a fast-growing economy with a heterogeneous population, Nigeria presents an interesting context to study the determinants of electronic banking.
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