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What Makes a Difference in Achieving Higher Labor Productivity?: The Case of Low-Income Countries in Latin America

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  • Osvaldo Nina

    (Grupo Integral)

Abstract

This paper uses firm level surveys from Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua to estimate the determinants of labor productivity. This study started out with the hypothesis that the adverse external business conditions that firms in poor Latin American countries face, may be an important explication of the generally low levels of productivity. However, the empirical results, based on the survey of more than 1300 businesses, do not confirm this hypothesis. Compared to all the variables that are under the firms control, such as capital intensity, energy use, and worker skills, the external business environment (macroeconomic instability and labor regulations) has very little impact on productivity.

Suggested Citation

  • Osvaldo Nina, 2005. "What Makes a Difference in Achieving Higher Labor Productivity?: The Case of Low-Income Countries in Latin America," Development Research Working Paper Series 04/2005, Institute for Advanced Development Studies.
    • Handle: RePEc:adv:wpaper:200504
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Lewis, William W., 2004. "The Power of Productivity," University of Chicago Press Economics Books, University of Chicago Press, number 9780226476766.
    2. Harold L. Cole & Lee E. Ohanian & Álvaro José Riascos & James A. Schmitz, 2006. "Latin America in the rearview mirror," Quarterly Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, vol. 30(Sep).
    3. Geeta Batra & Daniel Kaufmann & Andrew H. W. Stone, 2003. "Investment Climate Around the World : Voices of the Firms from the World Business Environment Survey," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 15143.
    4. Eduardo Lora & Patricia Cortés, 2001. "Los obstáculos al desarrollo empresarial y el tamaño de las firmas en América Latina," Research Department Publications 4258, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
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