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Intangibles, Markups, and the Measurement of Productivity Growth

Author

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  • Nicolas Crouzet
  • Janice C. Eberly

Abstract

In recent years, measured TFP growth in the US has declined. We argue that two forces contributed to this decline: the mismeasurement of intangible capital, and rising markups. Markups affect input shares, while intangibles omitted from measures of investment affect measured capital growth, each potentially generating downward bias in measured TFP growth. Most importantly, when both forces are simultaneously present, their effects reinforce each other and amplify the downward bias in measured TFP growth. Using input-output data, we estimate that this mechanism could account for one-third to two-thirds of the decline in measured TFP growth.

Suggested Citation

  • Nicolas Crouzet & Janice C. Eberly, 2021. "Intangibles, Markups, and the Measurement of Productivity Growth," NBER Working Papers 29109, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:29109
    Note: CF EFG PR
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    Cited by:

    1. Ndhlovu, Emmanuel & Doruk, Ömer Tuğsal & Gohore, Bi Irie Claude Martial, 2024. "Property rights protection and intangible investment in the Sub-Saharan African non-financial firms," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 69(PB).
    2. Jing, Chunxiao & Foltz, Jeremy D., 2024. "Can the Service Sector Lead Structural Transformation in Africa? Evidence from Côte d'Ivoire," 2024 Annual Meeting, July 28-30, New Orleans, LA 343566, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    3. Nonnis, Alberto & Roth, Felix & Bounfour, Ahmed, 2024. "Is the EU ready for the next generation of investment? The case of France and Germany," Hamburg Discussion Papers in International Economics 16, University of Hamburg, Department of Economics.
    4. Benedikt Heid & Frank Stähler, 2024. "Disentangling Frictions Across the World: Markups Versus Trade Costs," CESifo Working Paper Series 11420, CESifo.
    5. Weilin Liu, 2022. "Did Trade Liberalization Boost Total Factor Productivity Growth in Manufacturing in India in the 1990s?," International Productivity Monitor, Centre for the Study of Living Standards, vol. 43, pages 110-139, Fall.
    6. repec:ags:aaea22:343566 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Ian Goldin & Pantelis Koutroumpis & François Lafond & Julian Winkler, 2024. "Why Is Productivity Slowing Down?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 62(1), pages 196-268, March.
    8. Boppart, Timo & Li, Huiyu, 2021. "Productivity slowdown: reducing the measure of our ignorance," CEPR Discussion Papers 16478, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    9. Liu, Yajie & Cui, Lijuan & Xiong, Yanyan & Yao, Xianguo, 2023. "Does the development of the Internet improve the allocative efficiency of production factors? Evidence from surveys of Chinese manufacturing firms," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 161-174.
    10. Dennis J. Fixler & Eva de Francisco, 2022. "Understanding the uneven growth of Intellectual Property Products investment in the U.S," BEA Working Papers 0198, Bureau of Economic Analysis.
    11. Neuhann, Daniel & Sockin, Michael, 2024. "Financial market concentration and misallocation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    12. You, Linqing, 2024. "Aggregate productivity, leased capital and market participation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    13. Hu, Weiwei & Li, Kai & Xu, Yiming, 2024. "Lease-adjusted productivity measurement," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    14. Michael Grömling & Thomas Niebel, 2024. "Measuring the productivity effects of digital capital—a conceptual approach," AStA Wirtschafts- und Sozialstatistisches Archiv, Springer;Deutsche Statistische Gesellschaft - German Statistical Society, vol. 18(3), pages 319-335, December.
    15. Andrea Colciago & Marco Membretti, 2024. "Barriers to Entry and the Labor Market," Working Papers 813, DNB.
    16. Tsuyoshi NAKAMURA & Hiroshi OHASHI, 2022. "Japanese Firms' Markups and Firm-to-firm Transactions," Discussion papers 22083, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    17. Carter Davis & Alexandre Sollaci & James Traina, 2022. "Profit Puzzles or: Public Firm Profits Have Fallen," Papers 2201.09160, arXiv.org.
    18. Diego Comin & Javier Quintana & Tom Schmitz & Antonella Trigari, 2021. "Measuring TFP: The role of profits, adjustment costs, and capacity utilization," Working Papers 2143, Banco de España.
    19. Comin, Diego & Quintana Gonzalez, Javier & Schmitz, Tom & Trigari, Antonella, 2020. "Revisiting Productivity Dynamics in Europe: A New Measure of Utilization-Adjusted TFP Growth," CEPR Discussion Papers 15402, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    20. Shenhai Huang & Chao Du & Xian Jin & Daini Zhang & Shiyan Wen & Yu’an Wang & Zhenyu Cheng & Zhijie Jia, 2022. "The Boundary of Porter Hypothesis: The Energy and Economic Impact of China’s Carbon Neutrality Target in 2060," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(23), pages 1-18, December.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • D4 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design
    • E01 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General - - - Measurement and Data on National Income and Product Accounts and Wealth; Environmental Accounts
    • E22 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Investment; Capital; Intangible Capital; Capacity
    • G31 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Capital Budgeting; Fixed Investment and Inventory Studies

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