Total Factor Regional Productivity in Greece

Abstract

The components of productivity change in manufacturing industry over the regions of Greece in the 1980s are examined. Regional differences in productivity are significant in two respects. They reflect the outcomes of different production processes in space where labour is supplied and combined with various sorts of capital and where specific technologies are used. They also reflect opportunities for developing efficient business operations in space, in that they indicate one important aspect of a region's comparative advantage. Change in value added in manufacturing is represented by change in the factor inputs of capital, labour, and technology. Some of this change in output is accounted for by constant returns to scale. The rest is a result of variable returns to scale, such as produced by agglomeration economies or diseconomies, different levels of infrastructure provision, etc, and technological change. Total factor productivity represents these sources of nonconstant returns to scale. It is shown that for Greece the largest gains in total factor productivity are to be found in the noncentral regions, and especially in those having industrial area projects and industrial grants and incentives. These results are in line with research undertaken in other contexts. Those areas with the most significant productivity gains from the deployment of new technology tend to be the well-established centres housing medium-sized populations. There is some evidence to suggest that new employment opportunities are associated with increases in total factor productivity, although rarely with advances in the use of new technology.

Regional Productivity Dynamics of Manufacturing in Greece

“…This is especially the case when the joint effects of factor inputs are to be taken into account and this where notions of total factor productivity have proved helpful. (Vagionis and Spence 1994). Neither is it easy to measure the productivity of separate input factors of production and it must be said that the comprehensive measurement of regional labour productivity is beyond the intentions of this paper.…”

Viability and employment estimations based on sectoral, regional and size analysis of total factor productivity: The case of Greek manufacturing enterprises

“…Specifically for the assessment of the branch and regional capital stock the data are also from the NSSG and the methodology used is based on previous work of the authors (Vagionis & Spence, 1994; and internationally accepted.…”

“…There are several modelling attempts and variations in empirical research. The basic model followed here is an adaptation of the Beeson (1987) model, also used by Vagionis and Spence (1994) and is as follows:…”

Constructing a Manufacturing Fixed Capital Stock Series for the Regions of Greece

“…These can reveal which part of regional growth can be attributed to the expansion of capital and labour inputs and which part is owing to technical change (Moomaw, 1981;Harris, 1982;Hulten & Schwab, 1984;Beeson, 1987;Vagionis & Spence, 1994;Vagionis & Sfakianakis, 1997); (iii) to build investment and consumption functions that can be used not only for testing theories but also for the prediction of the future investment, income or consumption levels (Usher, 1980a;O'Mahony, 1993). (iv) to assess the regionally divergent effects of tax policies (Luger, 1986).…”