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Estimating Production Functions When Productivity Change is Endogenous

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  • Marc-Andreas Muendler

Abstract

Production function estimation with micro-data shows that a persistent unobserved variable varies within firm or plant over time but resists treatment and may cause biases. This paper presents an estimation model of the firm under endogenous productivity change. The model implies that (i) the so-far untreated effect stems from firms' planned efficiency responses to the competitive environment and that (ii) a suit-able proxy to productivity is investment interacted with a sector-level competition variable. An application to Brazilian manufacturing firm data shows that this proxy and multivariate extensions yield coefficient estimates with considerably less noise in bootstraps than alternative proxies, while reducing the difference to fixed-effects estimation and remedying commonly suspected biases. Whereas productivity change is measured consistently, scale economies are not identified when productivity and price are endogenous.

Suggested Citation

  • Marc-Andreas Muendler, 2004. "Estimating Production Functions When Productivity Change is Endogenous," CESifo Working Paper Series 1143, CESifo.
  • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_1143
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Robert Breunig & Marn-Heong Wong, "undated". "Australia's firm-level productivity -- a new perspective," Australasian Stata Users' Group Meetings 2004 2, Stata Users Group.
    2. Paz, Lourenco, 2012. "Trade liberalization and inter-industry productivity spillovers: an analysis of the 1989-1998 Brazilian trade liberalization episode," MPRA Paper 38859, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Ana Martins & Tiago Domingues & Catarina Branco, 2018. "The Determinants of TFP Growth in the Portuguese Service Sector," GEE Papers 0114, Gabinete de Estratégia e Estudos, Ministério da Economia, revised Nov 2018.
    4. Doraszelski, Ulrich & Jaumandreu, Jordi, 2006. "R&D and productivity: Estimating production functions when productivity is endogenous," MPRA Paper 1246, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Robert Breunig & Marn‐Heong Wong, 2008. "A Richer Understanding of Australia's Productivity Performance in the 1990s: Improved Estimates Based Upon Firm‐Level Panel Data," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 84(265), pages 157-176, June.
    6. Jan De Loecker, 2011. "Product Differentiation, Multiproduct Firms, and Estimating the Impact of Trade Liberalization on Productivity," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 79(5), pages 1407-1451, September.
    7. Daniel Gonçalves & Ana Martins, 2016. "The Determinants of TFP Growth in the Portuguese Manufacturing Sector," GEE Papers 0062, Gabinete de Estratégia e Estudos, Ministério da Economia, revised Nov 2016.
    8. Pedro Carvalho, 2018. "Competition and Firm Productivity: Evidence from Portugal," GEE Papers 00108, Gabinete de Estratégia e Estudos, Ministério da Economia, revised Jul 2018.
    9. Pedro Carvalho, 2018. "Competition and Firm Productivity: Evidence from Portugal," GEE Papers 00108, Gabinete de Estratégia e Estudos, Ministério da Economia, revised Jul 2018.
    10. David Greenstreet, 2007. "Exploiting Sequential Learning to Estimate Establishment-Level Productivity Dynamics and Decision Rules," Economics Series Working Papers 345, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C51 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric Modeling - - - Model Construction and Estimation
    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity

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