This paper is concerned with the estimation of total factor productivity (TFP) growth for the Iranian electric utilities during the period 1980-1993 on the basis of panel data. A translog cost function is used which accommodates firm - specific variability through a one - way error component model. The results show that the Iranian electricity supply industry experienced increasing returns to s...

A common and longstanding assumption in the economic growth literature has been that total factor productivity growth is lower in the agriculture sector than in the rest of the economy. Using a stochastic production frontier finite mixture model, labor productivity change is decomposed into catch-up, technological change and factor accumulation effects and stochastic shocks. This decomposition ...

In recent y ears there has been a revival of interest in the trade-growth nexus. A number of authors have suggested that regional economic integration and liberalization of international trade are likely to have positive eects not only on productivity levels but also on long-term productivity growth rates in developing countries. Using a panel of Mexican manufacturing industries, this paper exa...

What factors underlie industry differences in research intensity and productivity growth? We develop a multi-sector endogenous growth model allowing for industry specific parameters in the production functions for output and knowledge, and in consumer preferences. We find that long run industry differences in both productivity growth and R&D intensity mainly reflect differences in "technologica...

nowadays, agricultural r&d provides new and developed technologies to create modern agricultural producing methods. during recent years, improving agricultural productivity is affected by not only domestic r&d investments but also foreign countries r&d investments. nowadays, according to new growth models, r&d is the base of productivity. recent economic theories consider agricu...

One of the most outstanding debates in the international economic circles is the one on productivity and related issues. Low productivity growth in most advanced countries has historically been related to structural changes and, more precisely, to the performance and weight of service industries (both in terms of labour and value added). The aim of the paper is, first, to describe the behaviour...

The financial intermediation–growth nexus is a widely studied topic in the literature of development economics. Deepening financial intermediation may promote economic growth by mobilizing more investments, and lifting returns to financial resources, which raises productivity. Relying on provincial panel data from China, this paper attempts to examine if regional productivity growth is accounte...

In recent decades, governments in Canada have pursued market-oriented policies at both the macro and micro levels. Economists believe that such policies should foster productivity growth. Since 2000, however, productivity growth in Canada has been dismal, much below that in the United States and below Canada’s historical trend. The objective of this paper is to attempt to explain the paradox of...

The relationship between the economic structure of a country and its productivity growth has received a lot of attention in recent decades. For instance, several theoretical models in this area now suggest that countries that specialize in technologically progressive industries will enjoy high rates of growth compared to other countries. This paper focuses on the impact of specialization and st...

The demand for animal protein especially fish is expanding due to the population growth, increased incomes and changes in eating habits and life styles. The capture fisheries in Malaysia which supply over 70 % of the fish used for food are over-exploited, and the yield has become stagnant over the last decades and in some cases it has even declined. In addition, the balance of trade for the pas...