A Survey of Research on Productivity Analysis Using Microdata - Impact of Entry, Exit, Economic Globalization, Innovation and Systemic Reform

This paper examines productivity analysis - using firm and business level data, which has rapidly become popular in recent years - from the perspective of three influential factors, namely, entry and exit, globalization, and innovation and systemic reform. It also examines technical aspects, such as the methods for estimating productivity and the availability of data, and summarizes issues for future research, in light of past research developments. It specifically identifies four points as issues for future research: (1) The need for research into the impact of systemic reforms, such as regulatory reform and the liberalization of imports, on entry, exit, and productivity; (2) Improvements in research into the impact of direct inward investment in Japan; (3) Research into the impact on cross-industrial regulations; and (4) Improvements in the environment for the availability of data about companies and businesses.