A Proposal to Improve Country-Level Data on Total Factor Productivity Growth
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Summary:
The assumption behind popular data on national capital stocks, and therefore total factor productivity, is that countries were in a steady state in the first year that investment data became available. This paper argues that this assumption is highly implausible and is necessarily responsible for implausible data on the ratio of capital to output and productivity growth. It is not credible that countries with similar incomes had huge differences in their capital stocks. This paper claims, with evidence, that implausible features of the data can be greatly reduced by using data on electricity usage or national stocks of road vehicles.
Series:
Working Paper No. 2024/067
Subject:
Capital adequacy requirements Capital productivity Commodities Electricity Financial institutions Financial regulation and supervision Production Stocks Total factor productivity
Frequency:
regular
English
Publication Date:
March 22, 2024
ISBN/ISSN:
9798400269011/1018-5941
Stock No:
WPIEA2024067
Format:
Paper
Pages:
39
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