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• The establishment of Circuit Courts significantly enhances corporate TFP. • The establishment of corporate improves the macro-level market competition environment, legal environment, and contractual environment, enhances micro-level resource allocation efficiency, strengthens innovation capacity, reduces bribery expenses, eases financing constraints, and promotes specialized division of labor, thereby improving corporate TFP. • The positive effects of Circuit Courts are more pronounced among firms in regions with higher levels of local protection and administrative intervention, lower levels of intellectual property judicial protection, weaker product market competition intensity, and among non-state-owned enterprises without political connectio. The strategic importance of total factor productivity (TFP) in the high-quality development phase of enterprises is increasingly prominent, and understanding the impact of regional judicial capacity on corporate TFP is crucial. We treat the establishment of Circuit Courts as a quasi-natural experiment for regional judicial capacity and construct the staggered difference-in-differences model to examine how regional judicial capacity affects corporate TFP. We find that the establishment of Circuit Courts significantly enhances corporate TFP. Mechanism tests show that the establishment of Circuit Courts improves the macro-level market competition environment, legal environment, and contractual environment, enhances micro-level resource allocation efficiency, strengthens innovation capacity, reduces bribery expenses, eases financing constraints, and promotes specialized division of labor, thereby improving corporate TFP. The positive effects of Circuit Courts are more pronounced among firms in regions with higher levels of local protection and administrative intervention, lower levels of intellectual property judicial protection, weaker product market competition intensity, and among non-state-owned enterprises without political connections. Our results remain robust after a series of robustness and endogenous tests. Overall, this study not only reveals the important role of judicial capacity enhancement on enterprise development, but also provides evidence support for deepening the reform of the judicial system and improving the Circuit Courts system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Focuses on the role of digital finance in the TFP of manufacturing enterprises. • Tests the mediating role of financing constraints, human capital, and risk-taking. • Analyzes digital finance's dynamic impact on firm productivity through entry/exit. The development of digital finance offers numerous development opportunities, particularly in the accessing of funds for enterprises that traditionally face financial constraints. The economic downturn globally and especially in China requires new policies for stimulating economic growth. The manufacturing industry in particular is apt for this kind of intervention. Although studies have examined these topics, several gaps exist in the literature, specifically in the area of the effect mechanism. Therefore, this study examines the direct relationship between digital finance and the total factor productivity (TFP) of manufacturing enterprises and discusses the mechanism of action between the two from the intermediary and entry/exit perspectives. The findings show that digital finance affects manufacturing TFP positively and significantly. The promotion effect of digital finance is more evident from the enterprise heterogeneity analysis, particularly for small- and medium-sized private and manufacturing enterprises with better growth. The effect mechanism analysis shows that digital finance affects manufacturing TFP positively by reducing financing constraints, improving the level of human capital, and enhancing enterprise risk-taking ability. From the perspective of enterprise entry and exit, the entry of high-productivity enterprises enhances market competition and is an important way that digital finance promotes the improvement of industry TFP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban agglomeration development planning policy (referred to as planning policy in this paper) played a significant role in promoting regional economic development. However, an important issue is whether this planning policy promotes the efficiency of urban economic development. Therefore, based on panel data sets that cover 283 cities from 2007 to 2019, this paper used the planning policy that was approved by the China State Council as a quasi-natural experiment to investigate the effect of this planning policy on the efficiency of urban economic development. The results primarily found that the effect mechanisms of this planning policy on the efficiency of urban economic development contained two paths, which included the intermediary effects of industrial agglomeration and government action. In addition, the results showed that this planning policy played a leading role in influencing the efficiency of urban economic development with the concentration of secondary industries; however, implementing this planning policy did not improve the efficiency of urban economic development. In addition, the results show that the gap in economic development efficiency between cities was narrowing, and implementing this planning policy would facilitate the narrowing trend. Finally, to promote the high-quality development of the urban economy, this paper provides the targeted policy implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to provide new insights into the relationship between fiscal policy and total factor productivity (TFP) while accounting for several economic and econometric issues of the phenomenon like non-stationarity, fiscal feedback effects, persistence in productivity, country heterogeneity and unobserved global shocks and local spillovers affecting heterogeneously the countries in the sample. Design/methodology/approach: The paper is empirical. It builds an Error Correction Model (ECM) specification within a dynamic heterogeneous framework with common correlated effects and models both reverse causality and feedback effects. Findings: The results of this study highlight some new findings relative to the existing related literature. The outcomes suggest some relevant evidence at both the academic and policy levels: (1) the causal effects going from fiscal deficit/surplus to TFP are heterogeneous across countries; (2) the effects depend on the time horizon considered; (3) the long-run dynamics of TFP are positively impacted by improvements in fiscal budget, but only if the austerity measures do not exert slowdowns in aggregate growth. Originality/value: The main originality of this study is methodological, with possible extensions to related phenomena. Relative to the existing literature, the gains of this study rely on the way econometric techniques, recently proposed in the literature, are adapted to the economic relationship of interest. The endogeneity due to the existence of reverse causality is modelled without implying relevant performance losses of the models. Moreover, this is the first article that questions whether the effects of fiscal budget on productivity depend on the impact of the former on aggregate output growth, thus emphasising the importance of the quality of fiscal adjustments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The economic consequences of water efficiency that results from water policies remains controversial. Studies on how water rights trading (WRT), which allocates water resources in and across industries, influences corporate efficiency can reveal the behavioral response of market participants to increase water efficiency. Considering the WRT pilot implemented in 2014 as a quasi‐natural experiment, we adopt the difference‐in‐difference‐in‐differences method to evaluate its impact on corporate total factor productivity (TFP). Our findings show that WRT significantly stimulates the TFP of firms with high water costs. This effect is achieved by promoting water‐related green innovation and optimizing resource allocation instead of alleviating corporate risks. Furthermore, the impact of WRT is more pronounced in areas with lower levels of water endowment and market development. The research findings have strikingly important policy implications regarding water management in China through WRT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What types of agricultural enterprises should be supported by finance to improve the economic effect? The paper applies the panel data from Chinese agricultural enterprises from 2014 to 2019, and uses the Heckman two-stage method and fixed effects model to test the relationship between financial support and the economic effects of agricultural enterprises (AEs) from the perspectives of 'who was supported' and 'who benefited'. The results showed that finance tended to support agricultural enterprises with large scale and low productivity; agricultural enterprises with specialized R&D institutions, state-owned and export enterprises are easier to receive financial support and the larger scale of financial support. Financial support improved the economic effect of agricultural enterprises. Heterogeneity analysis showed that financial support has a significant positive impact on agricultural enterprises sales revenue and total factor productivity in western, grain and private enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Limiting fossil fuel usage is seen as essential to combat climate change; however, nitrogen fertilizers (or N-fertilizers) heavily rely on fossil fuels. Disruptions in fossil fuel supply are likely to negatively impact N-fertilizer production, worsening food crises and poverty in underdeveloped regions. In this study, we revisit the Coal Resource Consolidation Campaign (CRCC), an industrial reform campaign that aimed at increasing the mechanization and recovery rates to enhance the Chinese coal industry's competitiveness but resulted in a shortage of anthracite lump coal supply, the primary feedstock for Chinese N-fertilizer firms at that time. We examine CRCC's impact on the total factor productivity (TFP) of Chinese coal-based N-fertilizer firms during 2008–2013 using a difference-in-differences model. TFP is decomposed into capacity utilization (CU) and pure TFP. Our findings indicate a significant 33.4–34.2% decline in TFP due to CRCC. Further analysis reveals that a 6.3% decline in CU, not pure TFP, was the primary driver of the TFP loss from 2011 to 2013. We recommend that policymakers should assess the impact of climate change policies comprehensively, and the government should support the adaptation and innovation of feedstock in the N-fertilizer industry to avoid feedstock supply disruptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study introduces the DUS Topp–Leone family of distributions, a novel extension of the Topp–Leone distribution enhanced by the DUS transformer. We derive the cumulative distribution function (CDF) and probability density function (PDF), demonstrating the distribution's flexibility in modeling various lifetime phenomena. The DUS-TL exponential distribution was studied as a sub-model, with analytical and graphical evidence revealing that it exhibits a unique unimodal shape, along with fat-tail characteristics, making it suitable for time-to-event data analysis. We evaluate parameter estimation methods, revealing that non-Bayesian approaches, particularly Maximum Likelihood and Least Squares, outperform Bayesian techniques in terms of bias and root mean square error. Additionally, the distribution effectively models datasets with varying skewness and kurtosis values, as illustrated by its application to total factor productivity data across African countries and the mortality rate of people who injected drugs. Overall, the DUS Topp–Leone family represents a significant advancement in statistical modeling, offering robust tools for researchers in diverse fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing from neoclassical growth theories, this study explores the interplay between financial development, gender‐specific human capital, and total factor productivity (TFP) growth in India, addressing a gap in prior literature by examining their interactive effects on emerging economies' productivity trajectories. Employing the ARDL Bound test model, we estimate the productivity growth equation using annual data from 1980 to 2019. Variables such as government spending on education and foreign direct investment serve as crucial control variables in the TFP growth framework. Our findings reveal nuanced dynamics: while financial development enhances productivity growth in the absence of gender‐specific human capital considerations, its impact varies significantly with the inclusion of male and female education levels. Notably, financial development positively influences productivity growth when male education levels are high. Surprisingly, financial development hampers productivity growth when female education level is high. These insights underscore the disproportionate influence of male education on productivity growth vis‐à‐vis female education in India. This study contributes to the literature by highlighting the differential impacts of financial development on India's productivity growth in the presence of gender‐specific human capital. This analysis emphasizes the role of gender dynamics in educational attainment for policymakers aiming to leverage financial development as a catalyst for productivity growth. In addition, the policymakers in India are urged not to downplay the significance of male education in fostering financial development and augmenting productivity growth. Furthermore, the policymakers are advised to scrutinize the adverse repercussions of financial development on productivity growth within the context of female education at higher levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The digital technology has injected new vitality into the development of enterprises, which is conducive to promoting the development of enterprises to improve quality and efficiency. Based on measuring the comprehensive index of enterprise digitisation and enterprise vitality, this paper discusses the influence and mechanism of digital transformation on enterprise vitality. It is found that digital transformation has a positive promoting effect on enterprise vitality, and with the improvement of the level of development vitality, it shows a marginal increasing trend, but with the evolution of the enterprise life cycle, it shows a marginal decreasing trend. Mechanism analysis shows that digital transformation promotes the vitality of enterprises mainly by improving productivity, alleviating information asymmetry and improving resource allocation. With the improvement of regional market integration, institutional quality, scientific and educational resources and industrial upgrading, digital transformation plays a more important role in promoting the vitality of enterprises. There exists obvious industry concentration, executive background and property right nature heterogeneity. The conclusion of this paper provides a series of empirical evidence for enterprises to digitally release their vitality and promote the high-quality development of enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Nankai Business Review is the property of Nankai Business Review Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Using a panel regression approach across 13 developing Asian economies from 1996Q1 to 2019Q4, this paper examines the extent of financial development as a transmission channel for mediating the "allocation puzzle" in capital flows. This puzzle pertains to why capital seems to flow to economies with lower rather than higher productivity growth. We find that while portfolio equity and debt investment flows are negatively related to total factor productivity (TFP) in developing Asia, thereby contradicting the predictions of traditional neoclassical growth models, financial development significantly mitigates this effect. This is particularly the case at earlier stages of financial development and convergence towards a frontier. For foreign direct investment, although we find that there is no direct allocation puzzle in developing Asia, financial development can hamper the stimulatory effect of TFP for highly financially developed economies given diminishing marginal returns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The success of the carbon emissions trading scheme (ETS) in fostering a mutually beneficial outcome for both the economy and the environment depends on its ability to enhance total factor productivity (TFP). We investigate the diverse implementation of this market‐based environmental policy across Chinese provinces using a staggered Difference‐in‐Differences model. Our study delves into the mechanisms of the ETS, particularly focusing on financialization and innovation, utilizing listed companies in Chinese stock markets as our research sample spanning from 2009 to 2022. Our analysis shows several key findings: (1) ETS facilitates the growth of TFP in micro‐firms, positively influencing other listed companies within the same sector and city. However, its impact on TFP is notably weaker in regions with robust environmental information disclosure and stringent environmental regulations. (2) The ETS helps alleviate resource misallocation stemming from excessive financialization of firms, prompting them to reallocate investments from financing activities to production and operation activities, thus enhancing TFP. (3) Contrary to expectations, the ETS does not directly influence TFP through enhancing firm innovation ability; instead, it encourages directed technical innovation toward green technology over digital technology. This study highlights the effectiveness of the ETS in promoting firm development and sheds light on resource management practices within firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the global focus on climate and environmental issues, green and lowcarbon development has become an important way to promote efficiency. However, more research is needed on whether the pilot carbon emissions trading policy can promote economic development while reducing emissions. The panel data of 30 regions in China from 2005 to 2020 are used to examine the impact of carbon emission trading policy on regional total factor productivity. The findings demonstrate that, while the carbon emissions trading pilot policy can enhance total factor productivity, its impact varies across regions. Notably, the policy fosters TFP growth in Beijing and Tianjin but hampers it in Hubei and Guangdong provinces, signifying regional heterogeneity in its effects. These results remain robust even after conducting placebo tests and DID model. Furthermore, the mechanism study reveals that the carbon emissions trading pilot policy affects total factor productivity through pure technical efficiency and scale effects. Given the more stringent environmental regulations brought by the "carbon neutrality" goal, understanding the impact of carbon emissions trading policies on total factor productivity lays the groundwork for establishing a national carbon emissions trading market. This promotes sustainable economic development by helping to achieve a win-win situation between environmental protection and economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, "environment, society and governance" (ESG) has attracted widespread attention. As an investment philosophy focused on long-term value creation and non-financial performance indicators, ESG addresses internal governance challenges and fosters high-quality economic and social development. This study uses panel data analysis of 9125 observations from 1305 eligible companies to examine the relationship between ESG ratings, financing constraints, corporate research and development (R&D), and total factor productivity (TFP). It focuses on heavily polluting enterprises listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen A-shares from 2012 to 2022. The findings show that (1) ESG ratings significantly impact TFP for the better, and (2) financial limitations act as a go-between for the ESG ratings and TFP connection, and (3) corporate R&D also serves as a mediator between ESG ratings and TFP. These findings offer valuable insights for shaping corporate ESG strategies, driving green transformation, enhancing productivity, advancing sustainable development, and supporting high-level environmental protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the development of digital and green collaboration, empirically examining both the linear and nonlinear impacts of the convergence of digital and green technologies on regional total factor productivity (TFP). Using data from 30 provinces and cities in China from 2010 to 2022, the study constructs a panel threshold model with business environment and intellectual property protection as threshold variables to investigate their roles in mediating the effects of digital–green technology convergence on regional TFP. The key findings are as follows: (1) The linear analysis reveals that the convergence of digital and green technologies significantly enhances regional TFP. (2) The nonlinear analysis demonstrates a nonlinear relationship between the convergence of these technologies and regional TFP. (3) The threshold effect test identifies a single-threshold effect for the business environment, showing that once the threshold is surpassed, the positive influence of the convergence of digital and green technologies on TFP increases. Additionally, a double-threshold effect is found with intellectual property protection; as intellectual property protection surpasses the first and second thresholds, the positive impact initially strengthens but then weakens. (4) A heterogeneity analysis shows that the convergence of digital and green technologies significantly contributes to TFP in the eastern regions, while the effects in central and western regions are not significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the impact of agglomeration effects on firms' total factor productivity (TFP) for industry groups defined by technology intensity. This allows for non-uniform effects on firms depending on their technological level. We find that urban economies have the largest impact on firm productivity in high-technology industries, while they have no effect in low-technology industries. For firms in the latter industries, the diversity of the local economic structure is relevant. Localisation effects have a consistently positive and significant impact on TFP, with the effect increasing with the technology intensity of the industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents a unified framework for analyzing the impact of corporate taxation on R&D and exporting, considering firm productivity heterogeneity and sunk costs. We empirically examine three hypotheses using data from 7819 European firms spanning 2001–2014. We propose that: (a) an increase in corporate tax reduces the likelihood of innovation, (b) an increase in corporate tax reduces the likelihood of exporting, and (c) firms that innovate are more likely to enter foreign markets. On average, a high Effective Average Tax Rate (EATR) lowers the probability of investing in R&D and exporting by 2.3% and 1.41%, respectively. For firms with low Total Factor Productivity (TFP), the adverse effect of taxation on R&D investment ranges from 3.71% in our baseline analysis to 12.9% in our sensitivity analysis. Interestingly, while EATR positively influences the export decisions of high‐TFP firms, a higher EATR can reduce the export probability by up to 25.5% for firms at the lower end of the TFP distribution. Our findings demonstrate a causal relationship between firm heterogeneity and their capacity to mitigate the distortions caused by higher taxes. From a policy perspective, our results suggest that fostering innovation is essential for firms aiming to expand into international markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Against the backdrop of frequent global trade conflicts and accelerated competition in the digital economy, we investigated how trade friction shocks affect firms' total factor productivity (TFP), with a focus on the role of digital transformation. We employed a statistical analysis method based on the multi-period difference-in-differences model with anti-dumping and countervailing measures as quasi-natural experiments to analyze firm-level panel data for Chinese exporters from 2003 to 2016. The results indicate that trade frictions compel export firms to enhance their TFP, while digital transformation further promotes this growth. This main conclusion still holds after a series of tests such as parallel trend checks, placebo tests, and variations in primary variables. The mechanism analysis shows that, in response to trade friction shocks, firms aiming to boost productivity have strategically reallocated internal resources by increasing exports of alternative products and expanding into overseas markets rather than solely relying on innovation. Additionally, digital transformation mitigates the negative effects of trade friction on firm innovation and facilitates faster internal resource reallocation during such challenges. The heterogeneity analysis reveals that digital transformation proves more beneficial for firms that are multi-product, non-state-owned, engaged in general trade, and operating in highly competitive industries. This paper contributes to the understanding of trade friction and productivity at the micro level, offering valuable insights into digital transformation strategies for firms navigating these challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the development quality of digital economy, the factor misallocation shall be reduced effectively in the post-epidemic era. This study discussed the impact mechanism of how the labour and capital misallocation affect heterogeneously the epidemic’s effect on the efficiency of digital enterprises. The epidemic outbreak was considered a quasi-natural experiment to set a PSM-DID model and an intermediary effect model. Empirical research was carried out using the data of 1752 digital and non-digital high-tech enterprises from the fourth quarter of 2017 to the first quarter of 2022. The results show that: (1) The epidemic improved digital enterprises’ efficiency, mainly from the positive effect on technological efficiency and scale efficiency. (2) The epidemic worsened the labour misallocation but improved capital allocation. (3) Through the factor misallocation, the epidemic improved the efficiency of digital enterprises, contributing to the worsening technical progress. Through the capital misallocation, the epidemic improved the TFP of the digital enterprises but there is no significant evidence of its source. While through the labour misallocation, the epidemic improved the digital enterprises’ TFP because of its positive effect on the technological efficiency and pure efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The digital economy, which boasts general technology, intense penetration, platform ecology, and low marginal cost, is a product of advanced digital technology. This new engine has become a driving force for high-quality economic development. From the three aspects of development momentum, efficiency, and structure, this paper profoundly explores internal mechanisms to lead the high-quality growth of the regional economy. By constructing an econometric model, the influence effect and means of the digital economy on the high-quality development of the regional economy are empirically tested. The digital economy and its three sub-dimensions can significantly promote the high-quality development of the regional economy. However, industrial digitalization has the most vital role in promoting it. The digital economy has shown a more vital promotion role in the central and western regions and provinces with low total factor productivity, and it can indirectly impact high-quality economic development by promoting dynamic, efficient, and structural changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovation is a key driver of productivity growth. This paper proposes a novel methodology in order to explore the impact of farm-level innovations on farm productivity and its components (i.e. technology, efficiency and scale) using representative data from Irish dairy farms. We measure innovation by an index based on employed production practices, continuous innovation activity and knowledge weighted by expert opinions. The results suggest that more innovative Irish dairy farmers are more productive. Specifically, all farmers improve their production technology and efficiency through their use of innovations, but farmers at specific levels of innovativeness may experience a decrease in productivity due to the small scale at which they operate. This indicates that innovation has a non-linear effect on productivity. We discuss the policy implications for reducing the unequal gains of innovation across farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The limited transferability of knowledge is pivotal to the shaping and defining of the positive effects on total factor productivity of the limited appropriability of knowledge. Access to and use of knowledge spillovers entail relevant absorption costs and exhibit substantial variance across firms, regions, industries, and countries and thus, have a significant influence on actual knowledge cost levels. The analysis in this paper overcomes the limits of current growth theory and highlights the significant variance in levels of pecuniary knowledge externalities which has strong implications for total factor productivity growth. The benefits of knowledge spillovers become evident only if we account for the absorption costs related to the limited transferability of knowledge. A reduction in these costs translates into greater total factor productivity increases. Building on the hypothesis that European integration has led to a reduction in appropriability levels while simultaneously favoring knowledge transfer, we test whether the associated decline in knowledge costs has had a direct effect on levels and growth of total factor productivity. The empirical analysis uses panel ordinary least squares and an original instrumental variables strategy and is applied to a sample of 12 large European countries and 20 industries over the years 1997 through 2018. It confirms that lower costs and faster reductions in the costs of knowledge result in higher levels and higher rates of growth of total factor productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Engineering Management / Gongcheng Guanli Xuebao is the property of Journal of Engineering Management Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Food Science & Technology & Economy is the property of Grain Science & Technology & Economy Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Using a hand-collected data set of Chinese A-share non-financial listed companies spanning years 2005–2020, this study examines whether directors’ information technology expertise influences firms’ total factor productivity. Our findings indicate a significant and positive effect. The positive effect is more salient for firms with lower capital intensity and firms in non-competitive product markets. Furthermore, two mechanisms through which directors’ information technology expertise improves total factor productivity have been identified: one is the increase in information technology investments; the other one is the enhancement in operating efficiency of fixed assets. Our study not only sheds new lights on the effects of directors’ information technology expertise, but also provides convergent evidence on the determinants of firm-level total factor productivity.

Information technology is a critical driver of productivity growth in modern economies. However, there has been no convincing explanation for the observed discrepancy in the literature, increasing suspicion on whether IT can improve institutional performance in contemporary banking markets. The fallacy of productivity adds credence to Robert Solow’s dictum, “You can see the computer age everywhere except in productivity statistics”. We employ two extensive bank-level datasets of 5,794 institutions across 37 nations to estimate the total factor productivity (TFP) payoffs from IT in BRICS and European markets. A DEA-based, Malmquist productivity index quantifies TFP change and its respective components. Findings provide evidence against the paradox as both regions experience IT-fueled productivity growth. Nevertheless, such associations vary across banking sector development, rationalizing how IT spending can explain productivity differences across nations. For BRICS banks, a significant proportion of TFP growth originates from frontier expansion instead of frontier progression, signaling a widening of technology gap. Contrastingly, IT has diminished the technology gap between European banks. Intra-country comparisons suggest that if IT-driven productivity growth is regarded as a nation’s long-term goal, industry characteristics should govern the distribution of knowledge capital.

Copyright of Contaduría y Administración is the property of Facultad de Contaduria y Administracion-Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Abstract Background When considering new technologies that are not widely known such as agricultural smartphone apps, exposure plays a significant role in facilitating farmers’ decision to use the agricultural smartphone apps. In this study, we examine the role of exposure to agricultural smartphone apps on adoption of agricultural smartphone apps among smallholder farmers in Southwest, Nigeria and also evaluates the effect of use of agricultural smartphone apps on total factor productivity and technical efficiency of farmers. Through counterfactual framework evaluation approach, we used a multistage sampling procedure to select 380 farmers in Southwest, Nigeria through well-structure questionnaire. Results We found that the agricultural smartphone apps user rate in 2022 for the sub-sample of the exposed farmers was higher in both Oyo and Osun State, indicating that exposure to agricultural smartphone apps played an important and significant role in increasing the adoption and use of agricultural smartphone apps in Nigeria. We also found that the mean TFPI and TE of the treated (users of agricultural smartphone apps) is higher than the non-treated and control group (non-users) implying that the users of agricultural smartphone apps have higher productivity margin than the non-users. Conclusion Based on the result of the study, it was concluded that exposure to the technology has a higher chances of increasing the use of agricultural smartphone apps across farmers populations in Southwest, Nigeria.

Artificial intelligence (AI) empowers the real economy, promotes intelligent transformation, and upgrades enterprises. However, whether AI applications improve enterprises' total factor productivity (TFP) in developing countries remains unknown. Based on a textual analysis of the annual reports of Chinese A-share listed companies, we constructed indicators to measure AI applications in companies. Furthermore, the development status and influencing factors of AI applications in Chinese enterprises were explored, and the influence of AI applications on TFP was examined. The results reveal that the probability of AI application varies across enterprises. Large enterprises with a low proportion of fixed assets and high profitability are located in highly market-oriented regions and those operating in strongly competitive industries are more likely to apply AI. AI applications can significantly increase TFP, which holds true after a series of robustness tests. This influence is heterogeneous across industries and enterprises, and the positive effects are more pronounced for producer services and high-tech manufacturing, as well as state-owned, large, and labour-intensive enterprises. AI applications increase TFP mainly through technological innovation and by replacing low-end labour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The downstream concentration of agricultural products markets under the asymmetric competition pattern of the supply chain has a profound impact on upstream agricultural production. Is this centralized market structure sustainable and efficient? The study examines the effects and mechanisms of agricultural product downstream concentration on the high-quality development of agriculture using the dairy industry as an example. Panel data from 10 provinces in China from 2004 to 2021 were selected for analysis. Using Malmquist index, fixed effects model and other methods, the research results prove that: (1) Downstream dairy market concentration is unfavorable to upstream raw milk total factor productivity growth. However, there is scale heterogeneity in this negative effect, with a positive impact for small-scale farming and a negative impact on medium-scale and large-scale farming. (2) Downstream market concentration drives upstream raw milk total factor productivity growth through technical efficiency improvements and market demand expansion, but it also inhibits raw milk total factor productivity growth through mechanisms that squeeze production margins and impede technological progress. Negative mechanisms are the main effect. (3) Higher wages, higher raw milk prices and an improved ratio of concentrate to crude are all helping to mitigate the negative effects of downstream concentration to some extent, but net profit retention and a high proportion of fixed assets will further exacerbate the negative effects. To better address the challenges brought by the trend of downstream market concentration and promote high-quality agricultural development, this paper proposes three suggestions: enhancing the market position of dairy farmers, regulating monopolistic behavior of oligopolies, and building a mechanism for linking interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An ambitious per capita GDP target has been envisioned by the Chinese government since 2020 to project its sustainable economic growth rate by 2035. Can China fully achieve its goal? This is a question worth investigating. By inserting relevant TABLO modules of the final goods trade, the intermediate goods trade, and factor-strengthening technology spillovers, along with technology absorption thresholds effects of the global value chain, this study builds a global recursive dynamic computational general equilibrium (CGE) model on the basis of GTAP-RD. This approach enables us to consider total factor productivity (TFP) development through the "dual circulation" system, which was pointed out by the Chinese government as the only way for further growth. We simulate China's technological progress under eight scenarios and use the latest GTAP Version 11 production and trade data (released in April 2023) for 141 countries and regions. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) If China maintains its trade opening policy, the 2035 vision goal can be achieved, with external circulation being more important than internal circulation. (2) The economic growth impacts of external and internal circulation function relatively independently. FDI offers a somewhat stronger synergistic effect on intermediate goods trade compared to final goods trade and consumption. (3) We find that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership is the most important strategic partner for China. (4) FDI is not an effective way to lift the productive services sector's TFP, and it is more realistic for China to open up the productive services market more widely. (5) China–US decoupling has an enormous global impact, and the United States is always the country that loses the most, with Europe being the group of countries that benefits when there is a large increase in TFP in the US. This study is entirely original in terms of its model structure, simulations, scenarios, and shocks. It aims to fill the gap of extending the application of the CGE model to specific issues, thereby making contributions and supplements to the three theories discussed in the article too. The limitation of this paper lies in the CGE linear description feature, which is concise and elegant and has the characteristics of extrapolation and long-term absorption of disturbances. However, it tends to overlook the randomness, non-convergence, and significant structural disturbances that may occur in future reality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, China's environmental policies have continued to promote sustainable development, and listed companies have increased their environmental investment and strengthened their environmental social responsibility. Although there has been much research on the relationship between environmental performance and total factor productivity of listed companies, the impact of environmental social responsibility on total factor productivity has not yet been fully examined. In this paper, we use panel data regression to investigate the linear and non-linear relationships between environmental social responsibility and total factor productivity. These relationships are tested for robustness, analyzed for between-group differences, and validated by a machine learning model. Firstly, we find that environmental social responsibility can significantly contribute to companies' total factor productivity within a certain range, but it varies across different categories of firms. Secondly, there is an inverted U-shape relationship between environmental social responsibility and total factor productivity, where total factor productivity initially increases with environmental social responsibility but decreases after reaching a certain threshold. Finally, we conclude that environmental social responsibility promotes total factor productivity in the early stages, but when environmental social responsibility reaches a certain threshold, it begins to exert an inhibitory effect on the development of total factor productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From around the 2008 crisis there has been a marked slowdown in UK productivity. This has been referred to as a productivity puzzle as there is no consensus on the key explanations for this slowdown. Using data for all the 168 International Territorial Level 3 areas in Great Britain (2004–2020), we make two empirical contributions to the literature on this puzzle. First, we are the first to analyze this productivity puzzle using a stochastic frontier model to account for technical inefficiency. Second, to aid policymakers we uncover the areas that represent spatial total factor productivity (TFP) growth hubs, spokes, leaders and followers. Of the components of TFP growth (growth rates of technical change, returns to scale and efficiency), we find that Britain's productivity slowdown can be more specifically described as a rise in inefficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The productivity and efficiency of universities were analysed in this study. The data and results of the Entrepreneurial and Innovative University Index-EIUI, which is calculated by TÜBITAK every year by considering various information for universities, were used. The study aimed to discuss the index, productivity, and efficiency results comparatively. Four-year data (2019-2022) and the index values were used. Balanced panel data analysis was performed on universities consistently included in the list each year. In the calculation of the index, a weighted sum of values standardized by the min-max method was taken into account. This is available in the calculation methodology of the index. Total factor productivity and stochastic frontier model methods were used for the analysis of productivity and efficiency, respectively. Universities that enter the index list every year and are at the top are effective, but they could not increase their productivity in the previous years. Universities established before 1992 may have approached the saturation level in terms of the input-output relationship, but it can be said that they can maintain their effectiveness. Some public and private universities that were established in 1992 and later have raised their productivity and efficiency. Although the index value and efficiency values overlapped to a certain extent, the significant differences in productivity were remarkable. While the studies in the literature focused on the meta-analysis of the index and the efficiency analysis of universities with various methods, this study presented an inclusive and comparative analysis in terms of index, productivity, and efficiency with panel data analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The digital economy (DE) is a new driver for enhancing total factor productivity (TFP). Using panel data from 30 provinces in China between 2011 and 2022, this study measures DE and TFP using the entropy-weighted TOPSIS method and the Global Malmquist–Luenberger method and further examines the impact of DE on the TFP of industries. The main findings are as follows: (1) DE can significantly improve TFP, though the extent of improvement varies. DE has the greatest impact on the TFP of the service industry, followed by the manufacturing industry, with the weakest effect on the agricultural industry. (2) The enhancement effect of DE on agriculture and the service industry is more pronounced in the central and western regions, while the improvement effect on manufacturing is more evident in the eastern region. (3) DE has facilitated the improvement of TFP in manufacturing industries such as textiles and special equipment manufacturing, as well as in service industries like wholesale and retail. However, it has not had a significant impact on the TFP of industries such as pharmaceutical manufacturing and real estate. This study has significant theoretical value and policy implications for China and other developing countries in exploring DE and achieving high-quality industrial development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2015, the United Nations (UN) proposed the 2030 Agenda, a resolution that outlines the global goals for sustainable development. This report focuses on promoting health and well-being, emphasizing the importance of primary healthcare (PHC). However, Brazil faces challenges in managing its healthcare system, exacerbated by fiscal policy changes that have reduced public sector expenditures after 2015. This study was motivated by these recent changes in Brazil's fiscal policy. We evaluated potential fluctuations in total factor productivity (TFP) in 5,524 Brazilian municipalities' primary healthcare from 2015 to 2019. TFP, a measure of efficiency and production technology in PHC, was computed using the bootstrapping Malmquist productivity index (MPI) derived from the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) algorithm. This study focused on the economic recession and austerity measures initiated in 2015. Moreover, it's essential to highlight that the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Brazil in 2020 brought significant changes to the country's economic, social, and health dynamics. Therefore, this research intentionally concentrated on the pre-pandemic period. Our results revealed that TFP in the PHC sector in Brazil decreased between 2015 and 2019. It was possible to note that three out of every four Brazilian municipalities experienced either stagnation or a decline in the TFP of primary healthcare, with more pronounced challenges in the Midwest and Northeast regions. Looking at the TFP elements, we could see a continuous drop in technical efficiency everywhere in the country, markedly in the Midwest and Northeast. Conversely, there was a considerable uptick in Brazil's technological component. These results implied that there might have been advancements in PHC's technological infrastructure, preventing even less favorable outcomes in the TFP indicator. We concluded that the productivity of primary healthcare in Brazil declined when the 2015 fiscal ceiling was implemented. This decrease in performance was evident in the sluggish growth rate of primary healthcare inputs, a diminution in vaccination coverage indicators, and an increase in hospitalizations for preventable causes. Given that health is a crucial component of social well-being, it is vital to highlight the need for comprehensive efforts to guarantee the effective operation and advancement of primary healthcare services, even during economic downturns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Artificial intelligence (AI) plays a significant role in realizing sustainable economic development. This paper uses the textual content of annual reports of listed companies to count 73 words frequencies related to AI and construct AI indicators through precise vocabulary. It also examines how AI affects environment, social, and governance (ESG) performance at the firm level using unbalanced panel data of Chinese listed firms from 2007 to 2022. The results indicate that the development of artificial intelligence has significantly improved the ESG performance of Chinese listed companies, and the conclusion still holds after a series of robustness tests. As a moderating variable, macroeconomic policy uncertainty reinforces the positive impact of AI on ESG performance. In terms of the impact mechanism, AI enhances firms' ESG performance by increasing firms' total factor productivity and R&D expenditures. The results of heterogeneity analysis show that AI has a significant positive impact on the ESG performance of non-state-owned firms, firms with executives without overseas backgrounds, and technology and capital-intensive firms. Compared with the western region, AI in the eastern and central regions has a more significant improvement effect on ESG performance. Our study deepens the knowledge and understanding of the role played by AI in the green development process at the micro level. It provides valuable suggestions and reflections for promoting AI development at the micro-enterprise level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance has emerged as a critical aspect of responsible investing, garnering global attention within the investment community. Unlike traditional financial metrics, ESG encompasses non-financial factors such as corporate sustainability, governance practices, and ethical considerations. This paper delves into the interplay between ESG pillars, innovation intensity, financial leverage, and total factor productivity (TFP) within Chinese pharmaceutical manufacturing firms. We scrutinize the complex causal relationships among these variables by employing a hybrid methodology combining necessary condition analysis (NCA) and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). Our findings reveal that individual ESG factors, R&D investment, and financial leverage are not singularly necessary conditions for high TFP. Instead, a balanced approach that integrates social performance, financial leverage, and innovation intensity emerges as a critical driver of TFP in this industry. The study identifies specific configurations that lead to high TFP, emphasizing the multifaceted nature of productivity determinants. Our research provides actionable insights for pharmaceutical manufacturing companies. They can enhance their enterprise value by strategically allocating resources and capabilities, considering factors like ESG performance and financial leverage. Additionally, the study underscores the importance of transparency through CSR initiatives, suggesting that publishing non-financial information can bolster corporate reputation and ultimately drive TFP. This study advances theoretical understanding and offers valuable implications for practitioners seeking to optimize productivity in the pharmaceutical manufacturing sector while adhering to sustainable and socially responsible business practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge is increasingly analysed in growth models as a proxy of total factor productivity (TFP). However, the link between TFP and knowledge is strongly relevant in the theory, the empirical link is not yet clearly elucidated. This study aims to analyse some type of knowledge in order to underline the main type of knowledge able to represent the TFP in growth models. To reach that aim, we used the econometric model of Rao. As results, we noticed that technology and education act positively on economic growth while institution and innovation act negatively on economic growth in WAEMU. In case that we combine two proxies of TFP, the association of education and technology is the best choice. So, if the combination of the variables concerns three proxies, it is better to use technology, education, and institution. This study also showed that innovation affects badly labour in WAEMU. So government has to encourage technology production and importation in WAEMU in order to boost the economic growth in WAEMU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study attempts to evaluate the role of various industry-and firm-specific characteristics in determining profitability at the firm level in the Indian pharmaceutical industry. The study has utilized a balanced panel dataset of 72 listed pharmaceutical firms for the period from 1995-1996 to 2019-2020 and employed difference-GMM technique. Empirical results confirm that lagged profitability, market share, export intensity, productivity, and operating efficiency exercise a significant positive influence on firm profitability, whereas industrial concentration, imports of raw material intensity, advertising and marketing intensity, as well as leverage ratio exercise a significant negative impact. The analysis reveals that profitability in the pharmaceutical industry is driven primarily by firm-specific factors and that past profitability and market share together account for most of the variances in firm profitability. Other firm characteristics like export intensity, operating efficiency, productivity and leverage are also significant, but to a lesser extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fund investment, as a type of financial investment in the capital market, is designed to attract more social capital towards the green environmental protection sector and foster a harmonious relationship between economic development, social advancement, and ecological conservation. Therefore, as a significant policy instrument, will implementing the green credit policy impact the investment preferences of fund investors? How does it influence their participation in the market? This study utilizes microdata from Chinese Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share-listed companies from 2004 to 2020 to establish a DID model based on the Green Credit Guidelines introduced in 2012. The research delves into the effects of the green credit policy on fund investment and its underlying mechanisms. The green credit policy was found to favor the entry of fund investment, and the results are still valid after a series of robustness tests. The attraction effect of the green credit policy on investors is more evident in non-state-owned enterprises, small and micro enterprises, and non-green industries. Green credit policy can positively influence investor entry through the financing constraint effect and productivity effect. The study theoretically supplements the literature in the field of evaluating the effect of the green credit policy, and practically provides practical guidance and inspiration for strengthening the synergy of the government, banks, and enterprises in implementing green credit policy, promoting industrial transformation, and upgrading, and realizing high-quality economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The environmental tax burden on Chinese firms is continuously increasing. How do firms respond to environmental tax pressure to achieve sustainability? This study aims to investigate whether environmental tax burden affects firms' total factor productivity (TFP), an important indicator of sustainable development. Utilizing panel data of Chinese A-share listed firms from 2018–2022, we find that environmental tax burden positively impacts Chinese firms' TFP. Interestingly, the impact of environmental tax burden on TFP is mediated through fixed asset investment rather than technological innovation. This indicates that in the short term, the pressure of environmental tax on Chinese firms has not triggered the Porter Effect. Additionally, this effect is stronger in larger firms, non-state-owned firms, and sample firms with weaker financial constraints and lower transaction costs. Therefore, different firms can flexibly adopt different business strategies to achieve sustainable development when facing environmental tax burden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the effect of government subsidies on outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) by Chinese listed firms. Based on a panel dataset covering Chinese listed firms from 2009 to 2021, our findings indicate that government subsidies can promote OFDI by enhancing the production efficiency, innovation capability, and social performance of Chinese listed firms. Furthermore, the heterogeneous analyses show that non‐tax‐based subsidies significantly promote OFDI by Chinese listed firms, and government subsidies do not result in a discernible preference for greenfield investments or mergers and acquisitions. In addition, government subsidies can significantly contribute to promoting OFDI for non‐SOEs, older firms, firms in globally emerging sectors and domestically catching‐up sectors, as well as firms located in eastern China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article offers new evidence on agglomeration economies by examining the link between total factor productivity (TFP) and employment density in Italy. We investigate whether and how the TFP–density nexus contributes to explaining a relevant share of the marked productivity gap between the northern and the southern Italian regions. We estimate TFP for a large sample of manufacturing firms and then aggregate it at the level of local labour market areas. We tackle the endogeneity issues stemming from the presence of omitted covariates and reverse causation with an innovative set of diagnostic tests and an instrumental variable approach that relies on geological and historical data. Our estimate of the TFP elasticity to the spatial concentration of economic activities is about 0.045, a magnitude comparable to those measured for other developed countries. We also show that no significant heterogeneity emerges in the intensity of agglomeration economies across the country and that the positive TFP difference in favour of the firms located in the North is not due to the tougher competition taking place in those areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a panacea for solving the negative externalities of innovation, responsible innovation has attracted widespread attention from all walks of life. The prior research has studied the concepts, methods, applications, and influence factors of responsible innovation. However, few studies have investigated the driving role of innovative factor inputs in the process of enterprise responsible innovation. Our study using input and output data is based on Chinese industrial enterprises from 2011 to 2015 to measure the growth drivers of enterprise responsible innovation by building a nonparametric decomposition framework. The results are as follows: first, at the national level, the contribution of factor input to the responsible innovation of industrial enterprises is higher than that of total factor productivity. Second, at the regional level, R&D capital and personnel investment have promoted the growth of industrial enterprises responsible innovation in the eastern region, and the responsible innovation of industrial enterprises in the central and western regions mainly comes from R&D capital investment. Third, at the provincial level, the responsible innovation model of industrial enterprises in most provinces has changed from extensive to intensive. The increase in total factor productivity is the main driving force for the transformation of the industrial enterprises' responsible innovation model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the miracle of China achieving a balance between environmental governance and high economic growth has attracted the attention of many scholars, especially at the production level in various industries. To search for production activities with sustainable development potential and explore their characteristics. This study uses the panel data of 31 provinces in China from 2011 to 2020 to establish a unified analysis framework based on the division criteria of three industries. It takes the three industries' total factor productivity (TFP) as the entry point to study the impact of environmental regulation (ER) on economic growth and its potential mechanisms at the production level. The results show that ER will force the secondary industry to improve TFP but also negatively affect the TFP of the primary and tertiary industries. In addition, ER indirectly affects TFP in the three industries by affecting public environmental concerns and foreign direct investment. This results from the comprehensive effect of production cost effects, compensation effects of innovation, and compensation effects of optimizing resource allocation caused by ER. Moreover, the positive impact of ER on the TFP of the secondary industry is nonlinear. The higher the level of digital economy development, the more significant the positive impact. More importantly, there are regional differences in the impact of ER on the TFP of the primary and secondary industries. This article considers both static and dynamic panels and the results of the two models show consistency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]