IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hal/journl/halshs-01300987.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The French productivity puzzle

Author

Listed:
  • Philippe Askenazy

    (PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Christine Erhel

    (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, CEE - Centre d'études de l'emploi - M.E.N.E.S.R. - Ministère de l'Education nationale, de l’Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche - Ministère du Travail, de l'Emploi et de la Santé)

Abstract

Since 2008, France experiences a sharp productivity slowdown. Both output per hour and total factor productivity are particularly deceptive in the market economy. This recent trend contrasts with the acceleration of productivity during the previous crisis in the 1990's and the continuous increase during the following decade. This text provides the first comprehensive exploration of this puzzling break. The direct impacts of the Great Recession on industry composition or reallocation of capital are not significant suspects for a slowdown occurring across business activities. Labour market mechanisms are better candidates. On the one hand, the French labour market policy has massively boosted the creation of low-productive jobs including very-short term employees and self-employed workers. On the other hand, firms, which benefit from massive tax cuts, have hoarded their high-skilled workforce. In addition, the spread of innovative HRM incentives, e.g. employee shareholding, seems to have turned productivity more sensitive to the business cycle (and especially to the fall of stock markets).
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

Suggested Citation

  • Philippe Askenazy & Christine Erhel, 2016. "The French productivity puzzle," Post-Print halshs-01300987, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-01300987
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    To our knowledge, this item is not available for download. To find whether it is available, there are three options:
    1. Check below whether another version of this item is available online.
    2. Check on the provider's web page whether it is in fact available.
    3. Perform a search for a similarly titled item that would be available.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ronald B. Davies & Julien Martin & Mathieu Parenti & Farid Toubal, 2018. "Knocking on Tax Haven’s Door: Multinational Firms and Transfer Pricing," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 100(1), pages 120-134, March.
    2. Chevalier, Paul-Antoine & Lecat, Rémy & Oulton, Nicholas, 2012. "Convergence of firm-level productivity, globalisation and information technology: Evidence from France," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 116(2), pages 244-246.
    3. Askenazy, Philippe & Erhel, Christine, 2015. "The French Productivity Puzzle," IZA Discussion Papers 9188, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Philippe Askenazy & Lutz Bellmann & Alex Bryson & Eva Moreno Galbis, 2016. "Productivity Puzzles Across Europe," Post-Print halshs-01379283, HAL.
    5. Laura Hospido & Eva Moreno-Galbis, 2015. "The Spanish productivity puzzle in the Great Recession," Working Papers 1501, Banco de España.
    6. Luc Arrondel & André Masson, 2011. "L'épargnant dans un monde en crise : ce qui a changé," Post-Print halshs-00654662, HAL.
    7. Bloom, Nicholas & Van Reenen, John, 2011. "Human Resource Management and Productivity," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 19, pages 1697-1767, Elsevier.
    8. Askenazy, Philippe, 2013. "Capital Prices and Eurozone Competitiveness Differentials," CEPREMAP Working Papers (Docweb) 1301, CEPREMAP.
    9. Philippe Aghion & Philippe Askenazy & Nicolas Berman & Gilberte Cette & Laurent Eymard, 2012. "Credit Constraints and the Cyclicality of R&D Investment: Evidence from Micro Panel data," PSE-Ecole d'économie de Paris (Postprint) halshs-00754573, HAL.
    10. Askenazy, Philippe & Chevalier, Martin & Erhel, Christine, 2015. "Okun’s Laws Differentiated by Education," CEPREMAP Working Papers (Docweb) 1514, CEPREMAP.
    11. Carol Corrado & Jonathan Haskel & Cecilia Jona-Lasinio & Massimiliano Iommi, 2012. "Intangible Capital and Growth in Advanced Economies: Measurement Methods and Comparative Results," Economics Program Working Papers 12-03, The Conference Board, Economics Program.
    12. Philippe Askenazy & Christine Erhel, 2015. "Productivity Puzzles in France," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) hal-01297703, HAL.
    13. Alina Barnett & Ben Broadbent & Adrian Chiu & Jeremy Franklin & Helen Miller, 2014. "Impaired Capital Reallocation and Productivity," National Institute Economic Review, National Institute of Economic and Social Research, vol. 228(1), pages 35-48, May.
    14. Haskel, Jonathan & Iommi, Massimiliano, 2012. "Intangible Capital and Growth in Advanced Economies: Measurement and Comparative Results," CEPR Discussion Papers 9061, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    15. Eve Caroli & Jérôme Gautié, 2008. "Low wage work in France," Post-Print hal-00266332, HAL.
    16. Philippe Aghion & Philippe Askenazy & Nicolas Berman & Gilbert Cette & Laurent Eymard, 2012. "Credit Constraints And The Cyclicality Of R&D Investment: Evidence From France," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 10(5), pages 1001-1024, October.
    17. Moreno-Galbis, Eva & Sopraseuth, Thepthida, 2014. "Job polarization in aging economies," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 44-55.
    18. repec:dau:papers:123456789/7001 is not listed on IDEAS
    19. Nicholas Bloom, 2009. "The Impact of Uncertainty Shocks," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 77(3), pages 623-685, May.
    20. Moreno-Galbis, Eva & Sopraseuth, Thepthida, 2014. "Job polarization in aging economies," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 44-55.
    21. Gonthier, Pauline, 2012. "Why Was Short-Time Work Unattractive During the Crisis?," Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, Working Paper Series qt5dn0w9b1, Institute of Industrial Relations, UC Berkeley.
    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. Werner Eichhorst & Paul Marx, 2021. "How stable is labour market dualism? Reforms of employment protection in nine European countries," European Journal of Industrial Relations, , vol. 27(1), pages 93-110, March.
    2. Askenazy, Philippe & Erhel, Christine, 2015. "The French Productivity Puzzle," IZA Discussion Papers 9188, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Thomas Amossé & Philippe Askenazy & Martin Chevalier & Christine Erhel & Héloïse Petit & Antoine Rebérioux, 2016. "Industrial Relations and Firms’ Reactions to the Recession: A Comparative Micro-Econometric Analysis of France and Great Britain [Relations sociales et ajustements à la crise : une analyse micro-st," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) hal-02172455, HAL.
    4. Bart van Ark & Kirsten Jäger, 2017. "Recent Trends in Europe's Output and Productivity Growth Performance at the Sector Level, 2002-2015," International Productivity Monitor, Centre for the Study of Living Standards, vol. 33, pages 8-23, Fall.
    5. V. Bignon & F. Boissay & C. Cahn & L.-M. Harpedanne de Belleville, 2016. "Extended eligibility of credit claims for Eurosystem refinancing Consequences for the supply of credit to companies," Quarterly selection of articles - Bulletin de la Banque de France, Banque de France, issue 43, pages 15-23, Autumn.
    6. Thomas Grjebine & Jérôme Héricourt & Fabien Tripier, 2019. "Sectoral Reallocations, Real Estate Shocks and Productivity Divergence in Europe: a Tale of Three Countries," EconPol Policy Reports 15, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.
    7. Alex Bryson & Michael White, 2019. "Migrants and Low-Paid Employment in British Workplaces," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 33(5), pages 759-776, October.
    8. Gilbert Cette & Simon Corde & Rémy Lecat, 2017. "Stagnation of productivity in France: A legacy of the crisis or a structural slowdown?," Economie et Statistique / Economics and Statistics, Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques (INSEE), issue 494-495-4, pages 11-36.
    9. Philippe Askenazy & Christine Erhel, 2017. "La productivité du travail en déclin : quels liens avec les transformations du marché du travail ?," Post-Print hal-02138346, HAL.
    10. Askenazy, Philippe & Chevalier, Martin & Erhel, Christine, 2015. "Okun’s Laws Differentiated by Education," CEPREMAP Working Papers (Docweb) 1514, CEPREMAP.
    11. Christine Erhel & Mathilde Guergoat-Larivière, 2016. "Innovations and job quality regimes: a joint typology for the EU," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) hal-01907472, HAL.
    12. Liis Roosaar & Urmas Varblane & Jaan Masso, 2020. "Productivity Gains From Labour Churning In Economic Crisis: Do Foreign Firms Gain More?," University of Tartu - Faculty of Economics and Business Administration Working Paper Series 125, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, University of Tartu (Estonia).
    13. Peter Bauer & Igor Fedotenkov & Aurelien Genty & Issam Hallak & Peter Harasztosi & David Martinez Turegano & David Nguyen & Nadir Preziosi & Ana Rincon-Aznar & Miguel Sanchez Martinez, 2020. "Productivity in Europe: Trends and drivers in a service-based economy," JRC Research Reports JRC119785, Joint Research Centre.
    14. Thomas Grjebine & Jérôme Héricourt & Fabien Tripier, 2023. "Sectoral reallocations, real estate shocks, and productivity divergence in Europe," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 159(1), pages 101-132, February.
    15. J. Morenas & B. Rudelle, 2016. "Money and its counterparts in France and in the euro area," Quarterly selection of articles - Bulletin de la Banque de France, Banque de France, issue 43, pages 25-34, Autumn.
    16. John Fernald, 2018. "Cyclical Downturn or Slowing Trend? A Review Article on Productivity Puzzles across Europe," International Productivity Monitor, Centre for the Study of Living Standards, vol. 34, pages 110-117, Spring.
    17. A. Berthou, 2016. "Current account adjustments and productivity dynamics in Europe during the crisis," Quarterly selection of articles - Bulletin de la Banque de France, Banque de France, issue 43, pages 59-70, Autumn.
    18. R. Cezar, 2016. "France’s trade integration measured in value added," Quarterly selection of articles - Bulletin de la Banque de France, Banque de France, issue 43, pages 47-58, Autumn.
    19. V. Grossmann-Wirth & M. Vari, 2016. "Exiting low interest rates in a situation of excess liquidity: the experience of the Fed," Quarterly selection of articles - Bulletin de la Banque de France, Banque de France, issue 43, pages 5-14, Autumn.
    20. Catherine Bruneau & Pierre-Luis Girard, 2021. "Labor Productivity in France: Is the Slowdown of its Growth Inevitable or are there Levers to fight it?," Athens Journal of Business & Economics, Athens Institute for Education and Research (ATINER), vol. 7(1), pages 9-40, January.
    21. C. Guette-Khiter, 2016. "Non-resident holdings of French CAC 40 companies at end-2015," Quarterly selection of articles - Bulletin de la Banque de France, Banque de France, issue 43, pages 35-46, Autumn.
    22. Christine Erhel & Mathilde Guergoat-Larivière, 2016. "Innovations and job quality regimes: a joint typology for the EU," Working Papers hal-01907472, HAL.
    23. Guillaume Cléaud & Francisco de Castro Fernández & Jorge Durán Laguna & Lucia Granelli & Martin Hallet & Anne Jaubertie & Carlos Maravall Rodriguez & Diana Ognyanova & Balazs Palvolgyi & Tsvetan Tsali, 2019. "Cruising at Different Speeds: Similarities and Divergences between the German and the French Economies," European Economy - Discussion Papers 103, Directorate General Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), European Commission.
    24. Askenazy, Philippe & Palier, Bruno, 2018. "France: rising precariousness supported by the welfare state," CEPREMAP Working Papers (Docweb) 1801, CEPREMAP.

    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. Philippe Askenazy & Christine Erhel, 2015. "Okun’s Laws Differentiated by Education," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) hal-01297704, HAL.
    2. Philippe Askenazy & Christine Erhel, 2017. "La productivité du travail en déclin : quels liens avec les transformations du marché du travail ?," Post-Print hal-02138346, HAL.
    3. Goldin, Ian & Koutroumpis, Pantelis & Lafond, François & Winkler, Julian, 2020. "Why is productivity slowing down?," MPRA Paper 99172, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Szalavetz, Andrea, 2012. "Az immateriális beruházások és a nem közvetlenül a termelésben foglalkoztatottak szerepe a gazdasági felzárkózásban [The role intangible investments and non-production workers play in economic catc," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(11), pages 1187-1206.
    5. Döttling, Robin & Ratnovski, Lev, 2023. "Monetary policy and intangible investment," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 53-72.
    6. Chen, Shiu-Sheng, 2017. "Exchange rate undervaluation and R&D activity," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 148-160.
    7. Toma Lankauskiene, 2021. "Labour Productivity Growth Determinants in the Manufacturing Sector in the Baltic States," ConScienS Conference Proceedings 025tl, Research Association for Interdisciplinary Studies.
    8. Bishwanath Goldar & Yashobanta Parida, 2017. "Intangible Capital and Firm Productivity," South Asia Economic Journal, Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka, vol. 18(2), pages 246-275, September.
    9. Perotti, Enrico & Döttling, Robin, 2017. "Secular Trends and Technological Progress," CEPR Discussion Papers 12519, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    10. Kyoji Fukao, 2013. "Explaining Japan's Unproductive Two Decades," Asian Economic Policy Review, Japan Center for Economic Research, vol. 8(2), pages 193-213, December.
    11. David M. Byrne & John G. Fernald & Marshall B. Reinsdorf, 2016. "Does the United States Have a Productivity Slowdown or a Measurement Problem?," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 47(1 (Spring), pages 109-182.
    12. Andrés Rodríguez‐Pose & Roberto Ganau & Kristina Maslauskaite & Monica Brezzi, 2021. "Credit constraints, labor productivity, and the role of regional institutions: Evidence from manufacturing firms in Europe," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(2), pages 299-328, March.
    13. Bart van Ark, 2015. "From Mind the Gap to Closing the Gap. Avenues to Reverse Stagnation in Europe through Investment and Productivity Growth," European Economy - Discussion Papers 006, Directorate General Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), European Commission.
    14. Derya Fındık & Aysıt Tansel, 2013. "Intangible investment and Technical efficiency: The case of software-intensive manufacturing firms in Turkey," EY International Congress on Economics I (EYC2013), October 24-25, 2013, Ankara, Turkey 235, Ekonomik Yaklasim Association.
    15. Fabiano Schivardi & Enrico Sette & Guido Tabellini, 2022. "Credit Misallocation During the European Financial Crisis," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 132(641), pages 391-423.
    16. Ander Perez-Orive & Andrea Caggese, 2017. "Capital Misallocation and Secular Stagnation," 2017 Meeting Papers 382, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    17. Isabel Busom & Jorge-Andrés Vélez-Ospina, 2021. "Subsidising innovation over the business cycle," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(6), pages 773-803, July.
    18. Angelos A. Antzoulatos & Dimitris Karanastasis & Thomas Syrmos, 2022. "The Puzzling Convergence of Intangible Investments," International Advances in Economic Research, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 28(3), pages 171-182, November.
    19. Philippe Aghion & Nicholas Bloom & Brian Lucking & Raffaella Sadun & John Van Reenen, 2021. "Turbulence, Firm Decentralization, and Growth in Bad Times," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 13(1), pages 133-169, January.
    20. Chiara Criscuolo & Angelo Secchi, 2016. "Resources (mis)allocation, innovation and the competitiveness of Europe," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 43(1), pages 1-9, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    productivity; labour market; France;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O40 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - General
    • J20 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - General
    • D20 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - General
    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity

    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:hal:journl:halshs-01300987. 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: CCSD (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/ .

    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.