Ownership Structure and TFP: Evidence from Japanese firms

This paper compares the performances of firms - such as affiliates of U.S. firms, affiliates of other foreign firms, affiliates of Japanese firms, Japanese multinational firms, and stand-alone Japanese firms - by their ownership structure and how they positively contribute to productivity growth and employment in industry as a whole, using the firm level data of the Basic Survey of Japanese Business Structure and Activities for the period 2000-2005. We show that the productivity level, the average wage, and the export intensity of the affiliates of U.S. firms and other foreign firms are higher than for Japanese firms, whereas their capital-labor ratio and R&D intensity are not significantly different from those of Japanese firms. Affiliates of U.S. firms, in particular, show best performance in their TFP level. We also confirm that the contribution of the foreign affiliates in both productivity growth and employment growth in each industry is positive.