IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/aea/apandp/v109y2019p444-49.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Measuring Productivity: Lessons from Tailored Surveys and Productivity Benchmarking

Author

Listed:
  • David Atkin
  • Amit K. Khandelwal
  • Adam Osman

Abstract

We use tailored surveys and benchmarking in the flat-weave rug industry to better understand the shortcomings of standard productivity measures. Quantity-based productivity (TFPQ) performs poorly because of variation in product specifications across firms. Controlling for specifications aligns TFPQ with lab benchmarks. We also collect quality metrics to construct quality productivity (the ability to produce quality given inputs) and find substantial dispersion across firms. This motivates interest in multidimensional productivity, or capability. As quality productivity is negatively correlated with TFPQ, revenue-based productivity (TFPR) may perform better at capturing capabilities in settings where better firms make products with more demanding specifications that have greater input requirements.

Suggested Citation

  • David Atkin & Amit K. Khandelwal & Adam Osman, 2019. "Measuring Productivity: Lessons from Tailored Surveys and Productivity Benchmarking," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 109, pages 444-449, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:apandp:v:109:y:2019:p:444-49
    Note: DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20191005
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.aeaweb.org/doi/10.1257/pandp.20191005
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.aeaweb.org/doi/10.1257/pandp.20191005.appx
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.aeaweb.org/doi/10.1257/pandp.20191005.ds
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to AEA members and institutional subscribers.
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David Atkin & Amit K. Khandelwal & Adam Osman, 2017. "Exporting and Firm Performance: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 132(2), pages 551-615.
    2. Olley, G Steven & Pakes, Ariel, 1996. "The Dynamics of Productivity in the Telecommunications Equipment Industry," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 64(6), pages 1263-1297, November.
    3. Wooldridge, Jeffrey M., 2009. "On estimating firm-level production functions using proxy variables to control for unobservables," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 104(3), pages 112-114, September.
    4. Olley, G Steven & Pakes, Ariel, 1996. "The Dynamics of Productivity in the Telecommunications Equipment Industry," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 64(6), pages 1263-1297, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Mertens, Matthias & Mueller, Steffen, 2022. "The East-West German gap in revenue productivity:Just a tale of output prices?," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(3), pages 815-831.
    2. Marcela Eslava & John Haltiwanger & Nicolas Urdaneta, 2024. "The Size and Life-Cycle Growth of Plants: The Role of Productivity, Demand, and Wedges," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 91(1), pages 259-300.
    3. Fieler, Ana Cecília & Harrison, Ann E., 2023. "Escaping import competition in China," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    4. Chen, Yutong & Chiplunkar, Gaurav & Sekhri, Sheetal & Sen, Anirban & Seth, Aaditeshwar, 2023. "How Do Political Connections of Firms Matter during an Economic Crisis?," IZA Discussion Papers 16131, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Paul L. E. Grieco & Shengyu Li & Hongsong Zhang, 2022. "Input prices, productivity, and trade dynamics: long‐run effects of liberalization on Chinese paint manufacturers," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 53(3), pages 516-560, September.
    6. Goraya, Sampreet Singh, 2023. "How does caste affect entrepreneurship? birth versus worth," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 116-133.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Alistair Dieppe, 2021. "Global Productivity," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 34015, December.
    2. Guerini, Mattia & Nesta, Lionel & Ragot, Xavier & Schiavo, Stefano, 2024. "Zombification of the economy? Assessing the effectiveness of French government support during COVID-19 lockdown," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 218(C), pages 263-280.
    3. Yuan, Li & Rao, Siqi & Yang, Shenggang & Dai, Pengyi, 2023. "Does equity market openness increase productivity? the dual effects of Shanghai-Hong Kong stock Connect program in China," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    4. Roberto Martino & Phu Nguyen-Van, 2014. "Labour market regulation and fiscal parameters: A structural model for European regions," Working Papers of BETA 2014-19, Bureau d'Economie Théorique et Appliquée, UDS, Strasbourg.
    5. Bournakis, Ioannis & Tsionas, Mike G., 2023. "A Non-Parametric Estimation of Productivity with Idiosyncratic and Aggregate Shocks: The Role of Research and Development (R&D) and Corporate Tax," MPRA Paper 118100, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Zhu, Ling & Liu, Shasha & Kong, Dongmin, 2023. "Governments' fiscal stress and firm decentralization," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    7. Daan Freeman & Leon Bettendorf & Gerrit Hugo van Heuvelen & Gerdien Meijerink, 2024. "Business Dynamics and Productivity Growth in the Netherlands," CESifo Working Paper Series 11071, CESifo.
    8. Zhaohui Yan & Mingli Wang & Yumeng Sun & Zihui Nan, 2023. "The Impact of Research and Development Investment on Total Factor Productivity of Animal Husbandry Enterprises: Evidence from Listed Companies in China," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-21, September.
    9. KONISHI Yoko & NISHIMURA Yoshihiko, 2013. "A Note on the Identification of Demand and Supply Shocks in Production: Decomposition of TFP," Discussion papers 13099, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    10. Moisă ALTĂR & Ana-Maria CAZACU, 2016. "Testing Self-Selection And Learning By Exporting Hypotheses. The Case Of Romania," ECONOMIC COMPUTATION AND ECONOMIC CYBERNETICS STUDIES AND RESEARCH, Faculty of Economic Cybernetics, Statistics and Informatics, vol. 50(1), pages 5-22.
    11. Pham Phuong Ngoc & Dainn Wie, 2023. "Fishing in Troubled Waters: The Impact of the US-China Trade War on Vietnam," GRIPS Discussion Papers 23-06, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies.
    12. Javier Papa & Luke Rehill & Brendan O'Connor, 2021. "Patterns of Firm-Level Productivity in Ireland," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 52(3), pages 241-268.
    13. Genthner, Robert & Kis-Katos, Krisztina, 2022. "Foreign investment regulation and firm productivity: Granular evidence from Indonesia," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(3), pages 668-687.
    14. Mion, Giordano & Jacob, Nick, 2020. "On the productivity advantage of cities," CEPR Discussion Papers 14644, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    15. Békés, Gábor & Hornok, Cecília & Muraközy, Balázs, 2016. "Globalization and the markups of European firms," Kiel Working Papers 2044, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    16. Axel Demenet, 2016. "Does Managerial Capital also Matter Among Micro and Small Firms in Developing Countries?," Working Papers DT/2016/12, DIAL (Développement, Institutions et Mondialisation).
    17. Felipe Saffie & Liliana Varela & Kei-Mu Yi, 2020. "The Micro and Macro Dynamics of Capital Flows," NBER Working Papers 27371, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Kancs, d’Artis & Siliverstovs, Boriss, 2016. "R&D and non-linear productivity growth," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(3), pages 634-646.
    19. Axel Demenet & Quynh Hoang, 2018. "How important are management practices for the productivity of small and medium enterprises?," WIDER Working Paper Series 69, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    20. Mertens, Matthias & Mueller, Steffen, 2022. "The East-West German gap in revenue productivity:Just a tale of output prices?," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(3), pages 815-831.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:aea:apandp:v:109:y:2019:p:444-49. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Michael P. Albert (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/aeaaaea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.