Dispersion and Volatility of TFPQ in Service Industries

         
Author Name MORIKAWA Masayuki (Vice Chairman & Vice President, RIETI)
Creation Date/NO. June 2017 17-E-088
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Abstract

This study, using microdata on narrowly-defined service industries, presents empirical findings on the cross-sectional dispersion and time-series volatility of total factor productivity (TFP). The novelty of this study lies in its use of high-frequency, establishment-level panel data to compare the physical measure of productivity (TFPQ) and revenue-based productivity (TFPR) in the service industries. According to the analysis, first, TFPQ and TFPR are highly correlated with each other in terms of cross-section as well as time-series dimensions. Second, the within-industry dispersion of TFPQ is not necessarily larger than that of TFPR, which differs from past studies on the manufacturing sector. Third, TFPQ dispersion is lower when aggregated industry-level TFPQ is higher, and vice versa. Fourth, service producers with highly volatile TFP are less productive.

Published: Morikawa, Masayuki, 2019. "Dispersion and volatility of TFPQ and TFPR: Findings from three service industries," Industrial and Corporate Change, Vol. 28(6), pp. 1515-1531
https://academic.oup.com/icc/article/28/6/1515/5477841

This is the English version of the Japanese Discussion Paper (17-J-010) with some additional information and changes.