International Productivity and Competitiveness

by Hickman, Bert G.

• ISBN13: 9780195065152
• ISBN10: 0195065158
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1992-03-26
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

This pathbreaking volume conveys the "state of the art" of contemporary research on productivity growth and international competitiveness--arguably the most important problems facing contemporary economics. Adopting a worldwide perspective that features comparative analyses of both industrialized and developing countries, the book assembles papers from an international roster of leading scholars who cover a wide range of complementary topics and approaches. A number of the papers attempt to increase the clarity of thinking about "competitiveness" by developing formal definitions of the concept and relating it to more conventional economics concepts such as productivity. Some provide a macroeconomic perspective whereas others compare cross-sections of individual industries across countries or analyze the efficacy of industrial policies to promote competitiveness. Among the common themes, which are highlighted in the editor's overview chapter, are the measurement of labor and total factor productivity, accounting for the sources of productivity growth, the use of purchasing power parity indexes in international comparisons of productivity levels, the worldwide productivity slowdown, the extent of productivity convergence among developed economies, the primacy of exchange rate fluctuations in short-term movements of competitiveness since the early 1970's, and the causes of the apparent loss of U.S. competitiveness during the 1980's.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. v
Contributors	p. 1
International Productivity and Competitiveness: An Overview	p. 3
References	p. 30
Global Perspectives	p. 31
Restructuring of the World Economy	p. 33
References	p. 48
Aggregate Productivity and Growth in an International Comparative Setting	p. 49
Appendix 3-2	p. 66
Appendix 3-2	p. 75
Appendix 3-2	p. 78
Productivity, Competitiveness, and Export Growth in Developing Countries	p. 80
Notes	p. 94
Notes	p. 95
Productivity, Competitiveness, and the Socialist System	p. 97
Notes	p. 129
References	p. 130
Comparative Studies of Market Economies	p. 135
An International Comparison of Manufacturing Productivity and Unit Labor Cost Trends	p. 137
References	p. 157
Intercountry Changes in Productivity in the Manufacturing Sector of Five Oeced Countries, 1963-86	p. 158
Notes	p. 175
An International Comparison of the Multisectoral Production Structure of the United States, West Germany, and Japan	p. 177
Comparisons of Our Estimates with Those by Other Researchers	p. 197
Notes	p. 201
Notes	p. 202
Productivity and International Competitiveness in Japan and the United States , 1960-85	p. 203
	p. 226
Notes	p. 228
References	p. 228
International Competitiveness of U.S. and Japanese Manufacturing Industries	p. 230
Notes	p. 251
Appendix 10-2 Data	p. 251
Notes	p. 252
U.S. International Competitiveness	p. 253
Macroeconomic Policies, Competitiveness, and U.S. External Adjustment	p. 255
Notes	p. 273
Notes	p. 274
U.S. Competitiveness and the Exchange Rate: A General Equilibrium Analysis of the U.S. Economy, 1982-86	p. 276
Notes	p. 296
Notes	p. 297
Technology, Capital Formation, and U.S. Competitiveness	p. 299
References	p. 323
Country Studies	p. 327
Price and Output Adjustment in Japanese Manufacturing	p. 329
Notes	p. 343
Notes	p. 344
The Trade and Industrial Policies of Postwar Japan: A Theoretical Perspective	p. 345
References	p. 362
Notes	p. 362
Protection and International Competitiveness: A View from West Germany	p. 364
Index	p. 393
Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.