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Measuring Productivity Dispersion: Lessons from counting one-hundred million ballots

Author

Listed:
  • Ethan Ilzetzki

    (London School of Economics (LSE)
    Centre for Macroeconomics (CFM))

  • Saverio Simonelli

    (University of Naplpes Federico II
    Center for Studies in Economics and Finance)

Abstract

We measure output per worker in nearly 8,000 municipalities in the Italian electoral process using ballot counting times in the 2013 general election and two referenda in 2016. We document large productivity dispersion across provinces in this very uniform and low-skill task that involves nearly no technology and requires limited physical capital. Using a development accounting framework, this measure explains up to half of the firm-level productivity dispersion across Italian provinces and more than half the north-south productivity gap in Italy. We explore potential drivers of our measure of labor efficiency and find that its association with measures of work ethic and trust is particularly robust.

Suggested Citation

  • Ethan Ilzetzki & Saverio Simonelli, 2017. "Measuring Productivity Dispersion: Lessons from counting one-hundred million ballots," Discussion Papers 1725, Centre for Macroeconomics (CFM).
    • Handle: RePEc:cfm:wpaper:1725
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    Cited by:

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    2. Anelli, Massimo & Colussi, Tommaso & Ichino, Andrea, 2021. "Aversion to Breaking Rules and Migration," IZA Discussion Papers 14286, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Raffaela Giordano & Sergi Lanau & Pietro Tommasino & Petia Topalova, 2020. "Does public sector inefficiency constrain firm productivity? Evidence from Italian provinces," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 27(4), pages 1019-1049, August.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Labor productivity; Development accounting; Work ethic; Cultural economics;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O47 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Empirical Studies of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence
    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • Z10 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - General

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