Cross-Country Differences in Productivity: The Role of Allocation and Selection

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Bartelsman, Eric; Haltiwanger, John; Scarpetta, Stefano
• 署名单位: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam; University System of Maryland; University of Maryland College Park; National Bureau of Economic Research; Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD)
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC REVIEW
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0002-8282
• DOI: 10.1257/aer.103.1.305
• 发表日期: 2013
• 页码: 305-334
• 关键词: Reallocation; turnover; DYNAMICS; GROWTH; TRADE

摘要

This paper investigates the effect of idiosyncratic (firm-level) policy distortions on aggregate outcomes. Exploiting harmonized firm-level data for a number of countries, we show that there is substantial and systematic cross-country variation in the within-industry covariance between size and productivity. We develop a model in which heterogeneous firms face adjustment frictions (overhead labor and quasi-fixed capital) and distortions. The model can be readily calibrated so that variations in the distribution of distortions allow matching the observed cross-country moments. We show that the differences in the distortions that account for the size-productivity covariance imply substantial differences in aggregate performance. (JEL D24, L25, O47)