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Competition, Technological Change and Productivity Gains: A Sectoral Analysis

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  • Stéphane Ciriani

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  • François Jeanjean

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Abstract

The empirical relationship between competition intensity and the rate of productivity growth across 30 sectors of the French economy between 1978 and 2015 displays an inverted U-shape. This implies that there exists an optimal level of competition for each sector, defined by the price markup that maximises the growth rate of hourly labour productivity. As there is a significant and strong positive correlation between optimal markups and technical progress rates in each sector, it follows that sectors with high technical progress require higher markups to maximise their labour productivity growth rate. The persistence of non-optimal markups in French sectors is associated with a 0.4% loss in aggregate annual labour productivity growth during the period (1.86%). French long-term productivity growth could have reached 2.25% had markups been at their optimal level. As a result, policies to foster innovation and productivity should aim at enabling the optimal level of markup (or market power), particularly in high-innovation sectors.

Suggested Citation

  • Stéphane Ciriani & François Jeanjean, 2020. "Competition, Technological Change and Productivity Gains: A Sectoral Analysis," Intereconomics: Review of European Economic Policy, Springer;ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics;Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), vol. 55(3), pages 192-198, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:intere:v:55:y:2020:i:3:d:10.1007_s10272-020-0899-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s10272-020-0899-8
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Lefouili, Yassine & Madio, Leonardo, 2023. "Market Structure and Investments : A Progress Report," TSE Working Papers 23-1491, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE), revised Mar 2024.
    2. Aimene, Louise & Jeanjean, François & Liang, Julienne, 2021. "Impact of mobile operator consolidation on unit prices," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(4).

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