IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/unu/wpaper/wp-2016-163.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Private standards and labour productivity in the food sector in Vietnam

Author

Listed:
  • Neda Trifković

Abstract

A rising number of firms from developing countries have adopted voluntary private standards in the last decade. This has become an area of active research, especially in terms of the impact of private standards on trade, organizational performance, and employee outcomes. This paper analyses how standards affect labour productivity of small and medium firms from the food sector in Vietnam. The results based on a 3-year panel show that the application of private standards improves labour productivity. These gains primarily occur to firms operating above a threshold labour-intensity level.

Suggested Citation

  • Neda Trifković, 2016. "Private standards and labour productivity in the food sector in Vietnam," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2016-163, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
  • Handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2016-163
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.wider.unu.edu/sites/default/files/wp2016-163.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Keith E. Maskus & Tsunehiro Otsuki & John S. Wilson, 2013. "Do foreign product standards matter? Impacts on costs for developing country exporters," Asia-Pacific Journal of Accounting & Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(1), pages 37-57, March.
    2. Paul Lanoie & Michel Patry & Richard Lajeunesse, 2008. "Environmental regulation and productivity: testing the porter hypothesis," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 30(2), pages 121-128, October.
    3. Deepananda Herath & Zuhair Hassan & Spencer Henson, 2007. "Adoption of Food Safety and Quality Controls: Do Firm Characteristics Matter? Evidence from the Canadian Food Processing Sector," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 55(3), pages 299-314, September.
    4. Fontagné, Lionel & Orefice, Gianluca & Piermartini, Roberta & Rocha, Nadia, 2015. "Product standards and margins of trade: Firm-level evidence," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(1), pages 29-44.
    5. Paunov, Caroline, 2016. "Corruption's asymmetric impacts on firm innovation," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 216-231.
    6. Lionel Fontagné & Gianluca Orefice & Roberta Piermartini & Nadia Rocha, 2015. "Product Standards and Margins of Trade: Firm-Level Evidence Product Standards and Margins of Trade: Firm-Level Evidence," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) hal-01299757, HAL.
    7. David I. Levine & Michael W. Toffel, 2010. "Quality Management and Job Quality: How the ISO 9001 Standard for Quality Management Systems Affects Employees and Employers," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 56(6), pages 978-996, June.
    8. Nakamura, Masao & Takahashi, Takuya & Vertinsky, Ilan, 2001. "Why Japanese Firms Choose to Certify: A Study of Managerial Responses to Environmental Issues," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 23-52, July.
    9. John C. Beghin & Miet Maertens & Johan Swinnen, 2017. "Nontariff Measures and Standards in Trade and Global Value Chains," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: John Christopher Beghin (ed.), Nontariff Measures and International Trade, chapter 2, pages 13-38, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    10. Bontemps, Christophe & Nauges, Céline & Réquillart, Vincent & Simioni, Michel, 2012. "Food Safety Regulation and Firm Productivity:Evidence from the French Food Industry," IDEI Working Papers 696, Institut d'Économie Industrielle (IDEI), Toulouse.
    11. Rodrik, Dani, 2011. "The Future of Convergence," Scholarly Articles 5131504, Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
    12. Terlaak, Ann & King, Andrew A., 2006. "The effect of certification with the ISO 9000 Quality Management Standard: A signaling approach," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 60(4), pages 579-602, August.
    13. Spencer Henson & John Humphrey, 2010. "Understanding the Complexities of Private Standards in Global Agri-Food Chains as They Impact Developing Countries," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(9), pages 1628-1646.
    14. John C. Beghin & Miet Maertens & Johan Swinnen, 2017. "Nontariff Measures and Standards in Trade and Global Value Chains," World Scientific Book Chapters,in: Nontariff Measures and International Trade, chapter 2, pages 13-38 World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    15. Maertens, Miet & Swinnen, Johan F.M., 2009. "Trade, Standards, and Poverty: Evidence from Senegal," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 161-178, January.
    16. Charles J. Corbett & María J. Montes-Sancho & David A. Kirsch, 2005. "The Financial Impact of ISO 9000 Certification in the United States: An Empirical Analysis," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 51(7), pages 1046-1059, July.
    17. Petra Christmann & Glen Taylor, 2006. "Firm self-regulation through international certifiable standards: determinants of symbolic versus substantive implementation," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 37(6), pages 863-878, November.
    18. Andrew D. Foster & Emilio Gutierrez, 2013. "The Informational Role of Voluntary Certification: Evidence from the Mexican Clean Industry Program," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(3), pages 303-308, May.
    19. Aw, Bee Yan & Chen, Xiaomin & Roberts, Mark J., 2001. "Firm-level evidence on productivity differentials and turnover in Taiwanese manufacturing," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(1), pages 51-86, October.
    20. Henson, Spencer & Masakure, Oliver & Cranfield, John, 2011. "Do Fresh Produce Exporters in Sub-Saharan Africa Benefit from GlobalGAP Certification?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 375-386, March.
    21. Lorenzo Caliendo & Esteban Rossi-Hansberg, 2012. "The Impact of Trade on Organization and Productivity," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 127(3), pages 1393-1467.
    22. Brian P. Cozzarin, 2016. "Advanced technology, innovation, wages and productivity in the Canadian manufacturing sector," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(4), pages 243-249, March.
    23. Blunch, Niels-Hugo & Castro, Paula, 2005. "Multinational enterprises and training revisited: do international standards matter?," Social Protection Discussion Papers and Notes 32546, The World Bank.
    24. Liesbeth Colen & Miet Maertens & Johan Swinnen, 2012. "Private Standards, Trade and Poverty: GlobalGAP and Horticultural Employment in Senegal," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(8), pages 1073-1088, August.
    25. Nguyen, Binh T. & Albrecht, James W. & Vroman, Susan B. & Westbrook, M. Daniel, 2007. "A quantile regression decomposition of urban-rural inequality in Vietnam," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(2), pages 466-490, July.
    26. Dani Rodrik, 2011. "The future of economic convergence," Proceedings - Economic Policy Symposium - Jackson Hole, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, pages 13-52.
    27. Oliver Masakure & Spencer Henson & John Cranfield, 2009. "Standards and export performance in developing countries: Evidence from Pakistan," The Journal of International Trade & Economic Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(3), pages 395-419.
    28. Goedhuys, Micheline & Sleuwaegen, Leo, 2013. "The Impact of International Standards Certification on the Performance of Firms in Less Developed Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 87-101.
    29. Arellano, Manuel & Bover, Olympia, 1995. "Another look at the instrumental variable estimation of error-components models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 29-51, July.
    30. John M. Antle, 2000. "No Such Thing as a Free Safe Lunch: The Cost of Food Safety Regulation in the Meat Industry," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 82(2), pages 310-322.
    31. Grekova, K. & Bremmers, H.J. & Trienekens, J.H. & Kemp, R.G.M. & Omta, S.W.F., 2014. "Extending environmental management beyond the firm boundaries: An empirical study of Dutch food and beverage firms," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 174-187.
    32. Anderson, T. W. & Hsiao, Cheng, 1982. "Formulation and estimation of dynamic models using panel data," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 47-82, January.
    33. Schuster, Monica & Maertens, Miet, 2014. "Do labor standards benefit workers in horticultural export chains in Peru?," Working Papers 191037, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Centre for Agricultural and Food Economics.
    34. Andrews,Donald W. K. & Stock,James H. (ed.), 2005. "Identification and Inference for Econometric Models," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521844413.
    35. Christian Volpe Martincus & Sebastián Castresana & Tomás Castagnino, 2010. "ISO Standards: A Certificate to Expand Exports? Firm‐Level Evidence from Argentina," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(5), pages 896-912, November.
    36. Blundell, Richard & Bond, Stephen, 1998. "Initial conditions and moment restrictions in dynamic panel data models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 115-143, August.
    37. Cassiman, Bruno & Golovko, Elena & Martínez-Ros, Ester, 2010. "Innovation, exports and productivity," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 372-376, July.
    38. Goodwin, Harold L., Jr. & Shiptsova, Rimma, 2002. "Changes In Market Equilibria Resulting From Food Safety Regulation In The Meat And Poultry Industries," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 5(1), pages 1-14.
    39. Thorsten Beck & Asli Demirguc-Kunt & Ross Levine, 2005. "SMEs, Growth, and Poverty: Cross-Country Evidence," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 10(3), pages 199-229, September.
    40. Thorsten Beck & Asli Demirgüç-Kunt, 2004. "SMEs, Growth, and Poverty," World Bank Publications - Reports 11278, The World Bank Group.
    41. Tsunehiro Otsuki, 2011. "Effect of International Standards Certification on Firm-Level Exports: An Application of the Control Function Approach," OSIPP Discussion Paper 11E005, Osaka School of International Public Policy, Osaka University.
    42. Fulponi, Linda, 2006. "Private voluntary standards in the food system: The perspective of major food retailers in OECD countries," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 1-13, February.
    43. Ebru Alpay & Joe Kerkvliet & Steven Buccola, 2002. "Productivity Growth and Environmental Regulation in Mexican and U.S. Food Manufacturing," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 84(4), pages 887-901.
    44. Eitan Naveh & Miriam Erez, 2004. "Innovation and Attention to Detail in the Quality Improvement Paradigm," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 50(11), pages 1576-1586, November.
    45. Manuel Arellano & Stephen Bond, 1991. "Some Tests of Specification for Panel Data: Monte Carlo Evidence and an Application to Employment Equations," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 58(2), pages 277-297.
    46. Schuster, Monica & Maertens, Miet, 2015. "The Impact of Private Food Standards on Developing Countries’ Export Performance: An Analysis of Asparagus Firms in Peru," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 208-221.
    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. Duy, Nguyen Vu & Tran, Tien Quang, 2021. "The influence of international standards on SME tax compliance in Vietnam," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 40(C).

    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. Neda Trifkovic, 2016. "Private standards and labour productivity in the food sector in Vietnam," WIDER Working Paper Series 163, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    2. Trifković, Neda, 2017. "Spillover Effects of International Standards: Working Conditions in the Vietnamese SMEs," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 79-101.
    3. Neda Trifkovic, 2015. "Spillover effects of international standards: Work conditions in Vietnamese small and medium enterprises," WIDER Working Paper Series 047, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    4. Neda Trifković, 2015. "Spillover Effects of International Standards: Work Conditions in Vietnamese Small and Medium Enterprises," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2015-047, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    5. Neda Trifkovic, 2024. "Certifiable management standards, labor productivity, and worker wages: Evidence from the food sector in Vietnam," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 40(1), pages 161-184, January.
    6. Neda Trifković, 2018. "Certification and business risk," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2018-80, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    7. Neda Trifkovic, 2018. "Certification and business risk," WIDER Working Paper Series 80, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    8. Schuster, Monica & Maertens, Miet, 2015. "The Impact of Private Food Standards on Developing Countries’ Export Performance: An Analysis of Asparagus Firms in Peru," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 208-221.
    9. Giorgio Barba Navaretti & Giulia Felice & Emanuele Forlani & Paolo Garella, 2018. "Non-tariff measures and competitiveness," Development Working Papers 438, Centro Studi Luca d'Agliano, University of Milano, revised 01 Feb 2023.
    10. Schuster, Monica & Maertens, Miet, 2013. "Food Standards, Heterogeneous Firms and Developing Countries’ Export Performance," Working Papers 152084, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Centre for Agricultural and Food Economics.
    11. John C. Beghin & Miet Maertens & Johan Swinnen, 2017. "Nontariff Measures and Standards in Trade and Global Value Chains," World Scientific Book Chapters,in: Nontariff Measures and International Trade, chapter 2, pages 13-38 World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    12. John C. Beghin & Miet Maertens & Johan Swinnen, 2017. "Nontariff Measures and Standards in Trade and Global Value Chains," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: John Christopher Beghin (ed.), Nontariff Measures and International Trade, chapter 2, pages 13-38, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    13. Dela-Dem Doe Fiankor & Insa Flachsbarth & Amjad Masood & Bernhard Brümmer, 2020. "Does GlobalGAP certification promote agrifood exports? [Standards as barriers versus standards as catalysts: assessing the impact of HACCP implementation on US seafood imports]," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Foundation for the European Review of Agricultural Economics, vol. 47(1), pages 247-272.
    14. Calza, Elisa & Goedhuys, Micheline, 2018. "Domestic quality certification and growth of Vietnamese MSMEs," MERIT Working Papers 2018-026, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    15. Elisa Calza & Micheline Goedhuys & Neda Trifković, 2019. "Drivers of productivity in Vietnamese SMEs: the role of management standards and innovation," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(1), pages 23-44, January.
    16. Curzi, Daniele & Schuster, Monica & Maertens, Miet & Olper, Alessandro, 2020. "Standards, trade margins and product quality: Firm-level evidence from Peru," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    17. Grant, Jason & Arita, Shawn, 2017. "Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary Measures: Assessment, Measurement, and Impact," Commissioned Papers 259417, International Agricultural Trade Research Consortium.
    18. Schuster, Monica & Maertens, Miet, 2015. "Worker Empowerment through Labor Standards. Evidence from the Peruvian Horticultural Export Sector," Working Papers 208142, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Centre for Agricultural and Food Economics.
    19. Ehrich, Malte & Mangelsdorf, Axel, 2016. "The Role of Private Standards for Manufactured Food Exports from Developing Countries," GlobalFood Discussion Papers 243400, Georg-August-Universitaet Goettingen, GlobalFood, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development.
    20. Elisa Calza & Micheline Goedhuys & Neda Trifković, 2019. "Drivers of productivity in Vietnamese SMEs: the role of management standards and innovation," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(1), pages 23-44, January.

    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:unu:wpaper:wp-2016-163. 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: Siméon Rapin (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/widerfi.html .

    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.