Productivity Growth and Product Variety : Gains from Imitation and Education
collection.link.5 |
https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/9
| |
collection.name.5 |
Policy Research Working Papers
| |
dc.contributor.author |
Addison, Douglas M.
| |
dc.date.accessioned |
2014-05-12T18:02:06Z
| |
dc.date.available |
2014-05-12T18:02:06Z
| |
dc.date.issued |
2003-04
| |
dc.date.lastModified |
2021-04-23T14:03:42Z
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dc.description.abstract |
Is there a correlation between
productivity and product variety? Certainly it appears that
the rich countries are more productive and have more product
variety than the poor nations. In fact, the relationship is
quite strong when measured in levels. Does this same
correlation hold up when measured in growth rates? If so,
can poor countries imitate the success of the rich? Addison
provides theoretical and empirical reasons to believe the
answer to both questions is yes. Recent economic theory
suggests that rising variety in factor inputs can help avoid
diminishing marginal returns. Product variety can also
sustain learning-by-doing which would otherwise be exhausted
in a fixed number of products. Finally, invention or
imitation adds to the stock of non-rival knowledge. There
have been only two previous empirical tests of the
correlation between growth in product variety and
productivity growth. Both were affirmative but neither
examined a wide range of developing countries and neither
looked deeper to test what might drive product variety. This
research is based on a cross-country sample of 29 countries
(13 rich and 16 poor). The data display a statistically
significant and positive relationship between growth in
product variety and productivity growth when condition on
other variables such as research and development (R&D)
employment, macroeconomic stability, and domestic security.
These results are robust to the addition and subtraction of
various explanatory variables but fragile with respect to an
influential data point for Venezuela. Industrial nations
tend to generate most of their productivity gains through
R&D employment in a stable environment that results in
better production processes and product quality. In
contrast, the largest source of productivity growth in
developing countries is product variety imitation while
instability takes away from productivity. Addison tests
various explanations for growth in variety. The results show
that nations furthest from the frontier of observable
variety tend to imitate fastest, with the ability to imitate
being improved by educational attainment and by productivity
gains. This could be a source of hope for small, less
developed nations. Growth in market size was not correlated
with growth in variety, though this may be due to a rather
short sample period of only eight years. In addition to the
empirical testing, Addison also contributes to a general
discussion of measurement concepts and measurement issues
related to product variety and sets out an agenda for
further research.
| en |
dc.identifier |
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2003/04/2300153/productivity-growth-product-variety-gains-imitation-education
| |
dc.identifier.uri |
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/18252
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dc.language |
English
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dc.language.iso |
en_US
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dc.publisher |
World Bank, Washington, DC
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dc.relation.ispartofseries |
Policy Research Working Paper;No. 3023
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dc.rights |
CC BY 3.0 IGO
| |
dc.rights.uri |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/
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dc.subject |
AVERAGE GROWTH
| |
dc.subject |
AVERAGE GROWTH RATE
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dc.subject |
AVERAGE RATE
| |
dc.subject |
CAPITAL GOODS
| |
dc.subject |
CAPITAL GROWTH
| |
dc.subject |
CAPITAL STOCK
| |
dc.subject |
CAPITAL STOCK GROWTH
| |
dc.subject |
CONSUMER PREFERENCES
| |
dc.subject |
CONSUMER PRICE INFLATION
| |
dc.subject |
CONSUMERS
| |
dc.subject |
COUNTRY CHARACTERISTICS
| |
dc.subject |
COUNTRY OBSERVATIONS
| |
dc.subject |
COUNTRY SIZE
| |
dc.subject |
COURNOT COMPETITION
| |
dc.subject |
CPI
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dc.subject |
DEMAND SIDE
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dc.subject |
DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS
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dc.subject |
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
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dc.subject |
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
| |
dc.subject |
DEVELOPMENT POLICY
| |
dc.subject |
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
| |
dc.subject |
ECONOMIC THEORY
| |
dc.subject |
ECONOMISTS
| |
dc.subject |
EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT
| |
dc.subject |
ELASTICITY
| |
dc.subject |
EMPIRICAL LITERATURE
| |
dc.subject |
EMPIRICAL RESEARCH
| |
dc.subject |
EMPIRICAL WORK
| |
dc.subject |
EMPLOYMENT
| |
dc.subject |
ENDOGENOUS GROWTH
| |
dc.subject |
ENDOGENOUS REGRESSORS
| |
dc.subject |
ENDOGENOUS VARIABLES
| |
dc.subject |
EQUATIONS
| |
dc.subject |
ERROR TERM
| |
dc.subject |
EXOGENOUS VARIABLES
| |
dc.subject |
EXPLANATORY POWER
| |
dc.subject |
EXPLANATORY VARIABLES
| |
dc.subject |
EXPORTS
| |
dc.subject |
FACTOR ACCUMULATION
| |
dc.subject |
FIXED COSTS
| |
dc.subject |
FIXED EFFECTS
| |
dc.subject |
FOREIGN INVESTMENT
| |
dc.subject |
FUNCTIONAL FORM
| |
dc.subject |
FUTURE RESEARCH
| |
dc.subject |
GDP
| |
dc.subject |
GDP PER CAPITA
| |
dc.subject |
GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURES
| |
dc.subject |
GROWTH RATE
| |
dc.subject |
GROWTH RATES
| |
dc.subject |
HETEROSKEDASTICITY
| |
dc.subject |
HUMAN CAPITAL
| |
dc.subject |
IMPERFECT COMPETITION
| |
dc.subject |
IMPORTS
| |
dc.subject |
INCOME
| |
dc.subject |
INCREASING RETURNS
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dc.subject |
INCREASING RETURNS TO SCALE
| |
dc.subject |
INDEPENDENT VARIABLES
| |
dc.subject |
INDIVIDUAL COUNTRIES
| |
dc.subject |
INFLATION
| |
dc.subject |
INFLATION RATE
| |
dc.subject |
INTERMEDIATE GOODS
| |
dc.subject |
INTERNATIONAL TRADE
| |
dc.subject |
LABOR FORCE
| |
dc.subject |
LABOR FORCE GROWTH
| |
dc.subject |
LIFE EXPECTANCY
| |
dc.subject |
MACRO STABILITY
| |
dc.subject |
MACROECONOMIC INSTABILITY
| |
dc.subject |
MACROECONOMIC MANAGEMENT
| |
dc.subject |
MARGINAL RETURNS
| |
dc.subject |
MEASUREMENT ERROR
| |
dc.subject |
MODEL SPECIFICATIONS
| |
dc.subject |
NEGATIVE GROWTH
| |
dc.subject |
0 HYPOTHESIS
| |
dc.subject |
OBSERVED CHANGES
| |
dc.subject |
OIL
| |
dc.subject |
OPEC
| |
dc.subject |
OUTPUT GROWTH
| |
dc.subject |
POLICY IMPLICATIONS
| |
dc.subject |
POLICY RESEARCH
| |
dc.subject |
POPULATION GROWTH
| |
dc.subject |
POSITIVE CORRELATION
| |
dc.subject |
POSITIVE RELATIONSHIP
| |
dc.subject |
POVERTY REDUCTION
| |
dc.subject |
PRODUCERS
| |
dc.subject |
PRODUCT DIFFERENTIATION
| |
dc.subject |
PRODUCTION FUNCTION
| |
dc.subject |
PRODUCTION PROCESSES
| |
dc.subject |
PRODUCTIVITY
| |
dc.subject |
PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH
| |
dc.subject |
PUBLIC INVESTMENT
| |
dc.subject |
REAL EXCHANGE RATE
| |
dc.subject |
REAL GROWTH
| |
dc.subject |
RICH COUNTRIES
| |
dc.subject |
SIGNIFICANT CORRELATION
| |
dc.subject |
STANDARD DEVIATION
| |
dc.subject |
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
| |
dc.subject |
TFP
| |
dc.subject |
TOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITY
| |
dc.subject |
TRADE POLICIES
| |
dc.subject |
URBAN AREAS PRODUCTIVITY
| |
dc.subject |
GROWTH RATE
| |
dc.subject |
ECONOMIC THEORY
| |
dc.subject |
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
| |
dc.subject |
MACROECONOMIC STABILITY
| |
dc.subject |
EMPLOYMENT
| |
dc.subject |
THEORY
| |
dc.subject |
HYPOTHESIS TESTING
| |
dc.subject |
STATISTICAL DATA
| |
dc.subject |
URBAN AREAS
| |
dc.title |
Productivity Growth and Product Variety : Gains from Imitation and Education
| en |
okr.doctype |
Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper
| |
okr.doctype |
Publications & Research
| |
okr.docurl |
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2003/04/2300153/productivity-growth-product-variety-gains-imitation-education
| |
okr.globalpractice |
Macroeconomics and Fiscal Management
| |
okr.globalpractice |
Poverty
| |
okr.globalpractice |
Health, Nutrition, and Population
| |
okr.googlescholar.linkpresent |
yes
| |
okr.identifier.doi |
10.1596/1813-9450-3023
| |
okr.identifier.externaldocumentum |
000094946_03050804060524
| |
okr.identifier.internaldocumentum |
2300153
| |
okr.identifier.report |
WPS3023
| |
okr.language.supported |
en
| |
okr.pdfurl |
http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2003/05/23/000094946_03050804060524/Rendered/PDF/multi0page.pdf
| en |
okr.region.administrative |
Africa
| |
okr.topic |
Poverty Reduction :: Achieving Shared Growth
| |
okr.topic |
Economic Theory and Research
| |
okr.topic |
Health Monitoring and Evaluation
| |
okr.topic |
Macroeconomics and Economic Growth :: Economic Conditions and Volatility
| |
okr.topic |
Environmental Economics and Policies
| |
okr.topic |
Health, Nutrition and Population :: Public Health Promotion
| |
okr.topic |
Poverty Reduction :: Inequality
| |
okr.topic |
Macroeconomics and Economic Growth :: Economic Growth
| |
okr.unit |
Poverty Reduction and Economic Management 3, Africa Technical Families
| |
okr.volume |
1
|
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