Total Factor Productivity in South African Manufacturing Firms

Abstract

We use firm-level data for the period 2010-2013 to estimate total factor productivity in the South African manufacturing sector. We examine differences in the level and growth of productivity across manufacturing subsectors and examine the heterogeneity in productivity levels within sectors. We find that productivity grew in most subsectors but that there is heterogeneity across subsectors in the pace of growth. We find that firm size is positively correlated with productivity and its growth rate. We also find that there is a productivity premium associated with engaging in R&D and international trade. JEL Classification: D22, D24, O12

Foreign direct investment, information technology and economic growth dynamics in Sub-Saharan Africa

“…In accordance with contemporary economic development literature, four elements are selected for the conditioning information set (Elu & Price, 2010;Anyanwu, 2011;Barro, 2003;Sahoo et al, 2010;Fosu, 2015;Asongu, 2015;Nyasha & Odhiambo, 2015a, 2015bElu & Price, 2017;Meniago & Asongu, 2018;Kreuser & Newman, 2018 ;Maryam & Jehan, 2018). These include: population, inflation, government expenditure and education.…”

How Heterogeneous Are the Determinants of Total Factor Productivity in Manufacturing Sectors? Panel-Data Evidence from Vietnam

“…The paper contributes to the literature in several ways. First, our work extends the current literature (Castellani and Giovannetti 2010;Kreuser and Newman 2018;Kim 2018;Ngo and Tran 2020;Ngo and Nguyen 2019;Giang et al 2019) by accounting for heterogeneity in examining the determinants of TFP at the firm level in a dynamically emerging economy. Second, we examine the TFP determinants in detail by exploring the issues at the levels of 21 manufacturing sectors, and not at level of the aggregated industry.…”

Drivers of manufacturing firms’ productivity: a micro-perspective to industrialization in Nigeria

“…Industrial development is regarded as a bedrock for economic growth at all stages of development of both advanced and developing economies of the world (Kreuser and Newman 2018;World Bank 2019). Today, regardless of level of development, all countries around the globe continue to embark upon relevant policies and strategies to ensure stable macroeconomic policies that would guarantee a virile working environment for sustainable industrial development (Earle and Gehlbach 2014;Tybout 2000).…”

“…Today, regardless of level of development, all countries around the globe continue to embark upon relevant policies and strategies to ensure stable macroeconomic policies that would guarantee a virile working environment for sustainable industrial development (Earle and Gehlbach 2014;Tybout 2000). A significant body of the literature suggests that the manufacturing sector has a strategic role in economic development (Kreuser and Newman 2018;Ngo et al 2019), a key for innovation and technology diffusion (Mijiyawa 2017), pathway for job creation and other opportunities (Tybout 2000), promoting technological progress (Chikabwi et al 2017;Landi and Niederreiter 2017) and also has other positive spill-over impacts (World Bank 2019). Given the importance of manufacturing sector in the developing countries context, understanding the productivity performance of the sector and its drivers is important in designing policies to promote the growth of the sector (Kreuser and Newman 2018;World Bank 2019).…”

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