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Labour-Use Efficiency in Tunisian Manufacturing Industries

Author

Listed:
  • Haouas, Ilham

    (Abu Dhabi University)

  • Yagoubi, Mahmoud

    (University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne)

  • Heshmati, Almas

    (University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City)

Abstract

This paper investigates the process of adjustment in employment. A dynamic model is applied to a panel of six Tunisian manufacturing industries observed over the period 1971–96. The adjustment process is industry and time specific. The adjustment parameter is specified in terms of factors affecting the speed of adjustment. Industries are assumed to adjust their labour inputs towards a desired level of labour-use. A translog labour requirement function is specified in terms of observable variables and is used to model the desired level of labour-use. The labour requirement is specified to be function of wages, output, quasi-fixed capital stock and technology. The empirical results show that in the long run, employment demand responds greatest to value-added, followed by capital stock changes, and least by wages. The speed of adjustment in employment and the degree of labour-use efficiency show large variations among the sectors and over time.

Suggested Citation

  • Haouas, Ilham & Yagoubi, Mahmoud & Heshmati, Almas, 2003. "Labour-Use Efficiency in Tunisian Manufacturing Industries," IZA Discussion Papers 687, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp687
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Subal Kumbhakar & Almas Heshmati & Lennart Hjalmarsson, 2002. "How Fast Do Banks Adjust? A Dynamic Model of Labor-Use with an Application to Swedish Banks," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 18(1), pages 79-102, July.
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    6. Heshmati, Almas & Ncube, Mkhululi, 1998. "A Flexible Adjustment Model of Employment with Application to Zimbabwe's Manufacturing Industries," SSE/EFI Working Paper Series in Economics and Finance 278, Stockholm School of Economics, revised 15 Aug 2003.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ilham Haouas & Almas Heshmati, 2015. "The Impact of Arab Spring on Hiring and Separation Rates in the Tunisian Labor Market," Working Papers 921, Economic Research Forum, revised Jun 2015.
    2. Almas Heshmati & Ilham Haouas & Kazi Sohag & Muhammad Shahbaz, 2017. "Hiring and Separation Rates Before and after the Arab Spring in the Tunisian Labour Market," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 85(2), pages 259-278, June.
    3. Mollick, André Varella, 2009. "Employment Responses of Skilled and Unskilled Workers at Mexican Maquiladoras: The Effects of External Factors," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(7), pages 1285-1296, July.
    4. Jaan Masso & Almas Heshmati, 2004. "The optimality and overuse of labour in Estonian manufacturing enterprises," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 12(4), pages 683-720, December.
    5. Jaffry, Shabbar & Ghulam, Yaseen & Cox, Joe, 2008. "Labour use efficiency in the Indian and Pakistani commercial banks," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 259-293, June.
    6. Shabbar Jaffry & Yaseen Ghulam & Joe Cox, 2006. "Impact of Regulatory Reforms on Labour Efficiency in the Indian and Pakistani Commercial Banks," The Pakistan Development Review, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, vol. 45(4), pages 1085-1102.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    dynamics; employment; labour-use efficiency; panel data; Tunisia; speed of adjustment; technical change;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C23 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models
    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • L60 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Manufacturing - - - General

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