Gilbert Cette | Aix-marseille school of economics (original) (raw)
Papers by Gilbert Cette
Economie et statistique, 1990
[fre] En Comptabilité Nationale, la mesure de la productivité apparente du capital, et en particu... more [fre] En Comptabilité Nationale, la mesure de la productivité apparente du capital, et en particulier du stock de capital productif, repose sur une série de conventions statistiques supposant notamment une durée de vie constante des équipements. En quoi l'évaluation de cette productivité est-elle sensible à ces conventions ? La productivité apparente du capital baisse depuis vingt ans et cette baisse s'accélère dans les cinq dernières années. Mais si les équipements avaient été déclassés plus tôt que ne le suppose la Comptabilité Nationale, cette productivité aurait pu ne pas se réduire après 1985. A côté de cette incertitude liée à l'évolution de la durée de vie des équipements, une autre incertitude apparaît correspondant au niveau moyen de cette durée de vie. Sous l'hypothèse d'une durée de vie constante dans le temps, mais plus courte que celle retenue par les comptables nationaux et cohérente avec celle d'un échantillon d'entreprises, la baisse de la productivité après 1985 persisterait mais serait d'une ampleur moindre. Cependant, elle redevient plus forte si l'on intègre l'effet qualité du progrès technique incorporé aux équipements, même si la rentabilité du capital investi demeure inchangée. [eng] The Drop in Capital Productivity in the Manufacturing Industry - In National Accounting, the measurement of apparent capital productivity, and, in particular, that of the stock of productive capital, rests on a series of statistical conventions which postulate a constant lifespan for equipment. How sensitive is the evaluation of apparent capital productivity to these conventions? . Apparent capital productivity has been dropping for twenty years and this decrease has accelerated in the last five years. But if equipment had been downgraded earlier than is assumed by the National Accounting, this type of productivity might not have dropped after 1985. This uncertainty concerning the changing trend in the lifespan of equipment is accompanied by another uncertainty, that of the average lifespan of this equipment. In the hypothesis of a constant equipment lifespan over time, but one shorter than that established by the National Accountants and consistent with that of a sample of firms, the drop in productivity after 1985 would persist but would be of a lesser scope. However, it would become higher if the quality of technological progress incorporated into the equipment were integrated, even if the return on invested capital remained unchanged. [spa] Algunos aspectos vinculados con la baja de la productividad del capital en la industria manufacturera - En el marco de la Contabilidad National la medida de la productividad aparente del capital y particularmente del stock de capital productivo reposa sobre una série de convenciones estadisticas que suponen una duración de vida constante de los equipos. Ahora bien, ¿ en que aspectos la evaluación de esta productividad es sensible a taies convenciones? . La productividad aparente del capital se encuentra en baja desde hace veinte años, habiéndose acelerado esa merma durante los tiltimos cinco años. Aún cuando los equipos hubieran sido retirados de su esfera de utilización más rapidamente de lo que prevé la Contabilidad Nacional, la productividad no hubiera posido reducirse después de 1985. Paralelamente a esta incertidumbre ligada a la evolución de la duración de vida de los equipos surge otra que corresponde al nivel medio de dicha duración. Considerando la hipótesis de una duración de vida constante en el tiempo pero más corta de la que proponen las estimaciones de la Contabilidad Nacional y por otra parte coherente con la de una muestra de empresas, la baja de la productividad después de 1985 persistiría pero su importancia seria minima. No obstante, vuelve a ser más fuerte si se integra el efecto calidad de progreso tecnico incorporado a los equipos, aún si la rentabilidad del capital invertido sigue siendo la misma.
Futuribles, 2009
ABSTRACT France has been in recession for some months now, following the economic crisis that bro... more ABSTRACT France has been in recession for some months now, following the economic crisis that broke in 2008 and the prospects for many employees are not very bright over the coming months or even years. This is not likely to improve the already prevalent impression in public opinion that purchasing power is stagnating and that the fruits of economic growth have been distributed unfairly.However, as Gilbert Cette and Arnaud Sylvain demonstrate in this article, the shares of added value going to profit and salaries respectively have remained more or less stable in France over the last two decades. Company profit margins are lower in France than in the great majority of industrialized countries and their development over time gives no grounds for concluding that the fruits of growth have been distributed unfairly in recent years. By contrast, the spread of salaries has changed a great deal over the past decade with increased salary differentials due to very high rises in top salaries on the one hand and substantial readjustments to the minimum wage on the other. Alongside the overall stability of the share of added value going to incomes and salaries, there has, since the mid-1990s, been a relative fall in the incomes of the very large majority of wage-earners. The median salary is being far outstripped by the highest incomes, while the lowest are catching up; this, argue Cette and Sylvain, may explain the impression among many wage-earners that they are not getting their fair share of the fruits of growth. Lastly, the savings rates and self-financing ratios of French non-financial companies have fallen appreciably since 1998. The level reached in 2008 by each of these two indicators is historically quite weak; it is among the lowest in the major industrialized countries. We should also expect a marked fall in profit margins in 2009, which could continue into 2010, posing increased difficulties for the internal financing of investment and most probably leading to more frequent company failures. In a context like this, the prospects of increased purchasing power for those on average salaries seem rather gloomy in the next few years, unless the state were to engage in a form of large-scale redistribution that might well prove difficult to finance. La France est en récession depuis quelques mois, suite à la crise économique qui a éclaté en 2008, et les perspectives, pour de nombreux salariés, ne sont guère encourageantes pour les mois sinon les années à venir. Cela ne devrait pas améliorer le sentiment déjà largement dominant, dans l'opinion, d'une stagnation du pouvoir d'achat et d'une répartition inéquitable des fruits de la croissance économique. Pourtant, comme le montrent ici Gilbert Cette et Arnaud Sylvain, les parts, dans la valeur ajoutée, des profits et de la rémunération du travail sont demeurées à peu près stables en France ces deux dernières décennies. Le taux de marge des entreprises y est plus bas que dans la très grande majorité des autres pays industrialisés et son évolution ne permet pas de conclure à un partage inéquitable des fruits de la croissance sur les dernières années. En revanche, la dispersion des salaires a beaucoup évolué sur la décennie écoulée, avec d'un côté l'augmentation des inégalités salariales liée à la très forte progression des hauts salaires, et de l'autre les fortes revalorisations du salaire minimum. La stabilité globale de la part du travail dans la valeur ajoutée s'est donc accompagnée, depuis le milieu des années 1990, d'une baisse relative de la part de la rémunération de la très grande majorité des salariés. Le salarié médian est à la fois distancé par les hauts salaires et rattrapé par les bas salaires, ce qui, selon les auteurs, peut expliquer le sentiment de nombreux salariés de ne pas bénéficier équitablement des fruits de la croissance. Enfin, le taux d'épargne et le taux d'autofinancement des sociétés non financières françaises se sont nettement dégradés depuis 1998 ; le niveau atteint en 2008 par chacun de ces deux indicateurs est historiquement assez faible et parmi les plus bas des principaux pays industrialisés. Il faut aussi s'attendre à une forte baisse du taux de marge en 2009, qui pourrait se prolonger en 2010, renforçant les difficultés de financement interne de l'investissement et, très probablement, la fréquence des défaillances d'entreprises. Dans un tel contexte, les perspectives de gains de pouvoir d'achat des salariés moyens paraissent plutôt sombres sur les prochaines années, à moins d'un effort redistributif important de la part de l'État, dont le financement risque de poser problème.
Economics Letters, 2007
This note investigates the effects of the education level, product market rigidities and employme... more This note investigates the effects of the education level, product market rigidities and employment protection legislation on growth. It exploits macro-panel data for OECD countries. For countries close to the technological frontier, education and rigidities are significantly related to TFP growth. The contribution of the interaction between product market regulation and labour market rigidity seems particularly substantial.
Hourly labour productivity levels in a number of European countries are thought to be very close ... more Hourly labour productivity levels in a number of European countries are thought to be very close to, or possibly even higher than the level 'observed' in the United States. At the same time, however, there are big differentials between hours worked and/or employment rates in these countries and in the United States. Frequent mention is also made of the theory
Work Patterns and Capital Utilisation, 1995
Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, 2013
This study explores the factors driving the observed movements of the profit share in several maj... more This study explores the factors driving the observed movements of the profit share in several major industrialised countries (France, Germany, United States, United Kingdom and Japan) over the period 1970-2000. Within the group of countries we study, both the level and the fluctuations of the profit share strongly depend on the self employment correction. Due to long process of adjustment
The present study contributes to the numerous other analyses of economic growth and productivity ... more The present study contributes to the numerous other analyses of economic growth and productivity by comparing France, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States over the very long run (since 1890) and the medium run (since 1980). During the past ce ntury, the United States has overtaken the United Kingdom and become the leading world economy and. D uring
SSRN Electronic Journal
In order to examine innovation diffusion and convergence processes, we study productivity trends,... more In order to examine innovation diffusion and convergence processes, we study productivity trends, trend breaks and levels for 13 advanced countries over 1890-2012. We highlight two productivity waves, a big one following the second industrial revolution and a small one following the ICT revolution. The first big wave was staggered across countries, hitting the US first in the Interwar years and the rest of the world after World War II. It came long after the actual innovation could be implemented, emphasizing a long diffusion process. The productivity leader changed during the period under study, the Australian and UK leadership becoming a US one during the first part of the XXth century and, for very particular reasons, also a Norwegian, Dutch and French one at least for some years at the end of the XXth century. The convergence process has been erratic, halted by inappropriate institutions, technology shocks, financial crises but above all by wars, which led to major productivity ...
SSRN Electronic Journal
Competition –and policies affecting it– has been found to be an important determinant of producti... more Competition –and policies affecting it– has been found to be an important determinant of productivity growth in recent empirical research. Most empirical studies of the competition-growth link focused on competitive conditions within each sector (or market) as drivers of firm or industry-level productivity enhancements. However, Bourlès et al. (2010) focus on the influence of competition on sectors producing intermediate inputs (called upstream sectors) for productivity outcomes in sectors using these inputs (called downstream sectors). They find clear evidence that anti-competitive regulations in upstream sectors curb MFP growth downstream. Our empirical investigation goes one step further. According to the endogenous growth theory, competition influence MFP through efficiency improvement incentives. Therefore, upstream regulations should influence R&D and ICT investments. In order to check this proposition, we investigate the impact of upstream regulations on ICT and R&D capital a...
SSRN Electronic Journal
We study production factor adjustment taking into account factor utilization in multiple dimensio... more We study production factor adjustment taking into account factor utilization in multiple dimensions (labor and capital working time, capital capacity utilization) through a unique survey among French manufacturing firms. This survey also allows us to examine the impact of obstacles to increasing capital operating time on this adjustment path. This survey, merged with balanced sheet and profit and loss accounts from fiscal reports, yields an unbalanced panel of 6,066 observations over 1993-2010. Factor utilization adjusts the most rapidly, first through capital capacity utilization and the capital workweek and then labor working time. The adjustment is slow for the number of employees and even slower for the capital stock. In case of a change in factor volume targets, the three factor utilization degrees adjust to offset the very slow reaction of factor volumes. Obstacles to increasing the capital operating time lead to a slower adjustment of capital operating time, offset by a stron...
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000
La présente étude a pour objet de caractériser les effets des revalorisations du SMIC sur le sala... more La présente étude a pour objet de caractériser les effets des revalorisations du SMIC sur le salaire moyen. Deux indicateurs du salaire moyen sont considérés : le salaire horaire de base des ouvriers (SHBO) et le salaire mensuel par tête (SMPT). L'étude mobilise pour cela des données agrégées se rapportant à l'ensemble de l'économie française sur les quatre décennies 1970-2009 allant de la création du SMIC (en 1970) jusqu'au changement de calendrier des revalorisations annuelles légales du SMIC (en 2009), ces revalorisations annuelles légales ayant été transférées du 1 er juillet au 1 er janvier de l'année par la loi du 3 décembre 2008. Par rapport à la littérature existante, l'étude présente trois originalités. Tout d'abord, elle est réalisée sur une période beaucoup plus longue et bénéficie donc d'une information plus importante. Ensuite, les formalisations privilégiées prennent en compte la possibilité d'un impact très progressif du SMIC sur le salaire moyen, alors que les études antérieures supposaient généralement un impact plus immédiat. Enfin, elle différencie les possibles effets sur le salaire moyen des revalorisations du SMIC selon que ces dernières ont pour origine chacune des trois causes des revalorisations. Les résultats obtenus confirment l'intérêt de cette approche.
Contributions to Economics, 2009
ABSTRACT This volume is the second book based on comparative and comprehensive data from the 2003... more ABSTRACT This volume is the second book based on comparative and comprehensive data from the 2003 representative European Union Company survey of Operating hours, Working times and Employment (EUCOWE) in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom. This publication complements and builds on the first book published in 2007 in which the methodology and the descriptive national findings, as well as some first comparative analytical results, of the EUCOWE project were presented.1 In several of the countries studied the survey represented one of the first dedicated studies on the operating time. The EUCOWE survey was the first attempt to collect cross-national comparative data on operating hours and opening times and as such represents an innovative source of information of working patterns, establishment behaviour and competitiveness in the EU. At the firm and industry level, as well as the macroeconomic level, operating hours are one of the essential determinants of productivity and competitiveness not to mention the standard of living of the wider population.2 In essence operating hours, opening times and service hours can be considered as central to the behaviour of establishments in relation to their clients and, as a result, the organisation of employment and working time of their employees. The extent to which organisations are required to serve clients within and outside “normal” working hours will also help shape the duration and intensity of utilisation of capital. While establishments will have some freedom in determining how they deal with their specific operating time requirements, and any fluctuations within those hours, they will also be subject to regulation and policy at the national and pan-national level. Thus operating hours are central to policy debates at both the European and national level. Concerns over the competitiveness of European firms and the reconciliation of work and family life are all impacted upon by operating hours of the establishments where employees work.
Contributions to Economics, 2009
This volume is the second book based on comparative and comprehensive data from the 2003 represen... more This volume is the second book based on comparative and comprehensive data from the 2003 representative European Union Company survey of Operating hours, Working times and Employment (EUCOWE) in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom. The EUCOWE project is the first representative and standardised European company survey which covers all categories of firm sizes and all sectors of the economy. This volume complements and builds on the first book published in 2007, in which the methodology and the descriptive national findings as well as some first comparative analytical results were presented. In this second book the EUCOWE research team presents in-depth cross-country analyses of the relationship between operating hours, working times and employment in the European Union. Six empirical chapters of this volume provide detailed comparative analyses of the determinants and consequences of the duration and flexibility of opening hours and operating times.
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000
In order to examine innovation diffusion and convergence processes, we study productivity trends,... more In order to examine innovation diffusion and convergence processes, we study productivity trends, trend breaks and levels for 13 advanced countries over 1890-2012. We highlight two productivity waves, a big one following the second industrial revolution and a small one following the ICT revolution. The first big wave was staggered across countries, hitting the US first in the Interwar years and the rest of the world after World War II. It came long after the actual innovation could be implemented, emphasizing a long diffusion process. The productivity leader changed during the period under study, the Australian and UK leadership becoming a US one during the first part of the XX th century and, for very particular reasons, also a Norwegian, Dutch and French one at least for some years at the end of the XX th century. The convergence process has been erratic, halted by inappropriate institutions, technology shocks, financial crises but above all by wars, which led to major productivity level leaps, downwards for countries experiencing war on their soil, upwards for other countries. Productivity trend breaks are detected following wars, global financial crises, global supply shocks (such as the oil price shocks) and major policy changes (such as structural reforms in Canada or Sweden). The upward trend break for the US in the mid-1990s is confirmed, as well as the downward trend break for the Euro Area in the same period. The downward trend break observed as early as the mid-2000s for the US leads one to question the future contribution of the ICT revolution to productivity enhancement.
Economie et statistique, 1990
[fre] En Comptabilité Nationale, la mesure de la productivité apparente du capital, et en particu... more [fre] En Comptabilité Nationale, la mesure de la productivité apparente du capital, et en particulier du stock de capital productif, repose sur une série de conventions statistiques supposant notamment une durée de vie constante des équipements. En quoi l'évaluation de cette productivité est-elle sensible à ces conventions ? La productivité apparente du capital baisse depuis vingt ans et cette baisse s'accélère dans les cinq dernières années. Mais si les équipements avaient été déclassés plus tôt que ne le suppose la Comptabilité Nationale, cette productivité aurait pu ne pas se réduire après 1985. A côté de cette incertitude liée à l'évolution de la durée de vie des équipements, une autre incertitude apparaît correspondant au niveau moyen de cette durée de vie. Sous l'hypothèse d'une durée de vie constante dans le temps, mais plus courte que celle retenue par les comptables nationaux et cohérente avec celle d'un échantillon d'entreprises, la baisse de la productivité après 1985 persisterait mais serait d'une ampleur moindre. Cependant, elle redevient plus forte si l'on intègre l'effet qualité du progrès technique incorporé aux équipements, même si la rentabilité du capital investi demeure inchangée. [eng] The Drop in Capital Productivity in the Manufacturing Industry - In National Accounting, the measurement of apparent capital productivity, and, in particular, that of the stock of productive capital, rests on a series of statistical conventions which postulate a constant lifespan for equipment. How sensitive is the evaluation of apparent capital productivity to these conventions? . Apparent capital productivity has been dropping for twenty years and this decrease has accelerated in the last five years. But if equipment had been downgraded earlier than is assumed by the National Accounting, this type of productivity might not have dropped after 1985. This uncertainty concerning the changing trend in the lifespan of equipment is accompanied by another uncertainty, that of the average lifespan of this equipment. In the hypothesis of a constant equipment lifespan over time, but one shorter than that established by the National Accountants and consistent with that of a sample of firms, the drop in productivity after 1985 would persist but would be of a lesser scope. However, it would become higher if the quality of technological progress incorporated into the equipment were integrated, even if the return on invested capital remained unchanged. [spa] Algunos aspectos vinculados con la baja de la productividad del capital en la industria manufacturera - En el marco de la Contabilidad National la medida de la productividad aparente del capital y particularmente del stock de capital productivo reposa sobre una série de convenciones estadisticas que suponen una duración de vida constante de los equipos. Ahora bien, ¿ en que aspectos la evaluación de esta productividad es sensible a taies convenciones? . La productividad aparente del capital se encuentra en baja desde hace veinte años, habiéndose acelerado esa merma durante los tiltimos cinco años. Aún cuando los equipos hubieran sido retirados de su esfera de utilización más rapidamente de lo que prevé la Contabilidad Nacional, la productividad no hubiera posido reducirse después de 1985. Paralelamente a esta incertidumbre ligada a la evolución de la duración de vida de los equipos surge otra que corresponde al nivel medio de dicha duración. Considerando la hipótesis de una duración de vida constante en el tiempo pero más corta de la que proponen las estimaciones de la Contabilidad Nacional y por otra parte coherente con la de una muestra de empresas, la baja de la productividad después de 1985 persistiría pero su importancia seria minima. No obstante, vuelve a ser más fuerte si se integra el efecto calidad de progreso tecnico incorporado a los equipos, aún si la rentabilidad del capital invertido sigue siendo la misma.
Futuribles, 2009
ABSTRACT France has been in recession for some months now, following the economic crisis that bro... more ABSTRACT France has been in recession for some months now, following the economic crisis that broke in 2008 and the prospects for many employees are not very bright over the coming months or even years. This is not likely to improve the already prevalent impression in public opinion that purchasing power is stagnating and that the fruits of economic growth have been distributed unfairly.However, as Gilbert Cette and Arnaud Sylvain demonstrate in this article, the shares of added value going to profit and salaries respectively have remained more or less stable in France over the last two decades. Company profit margins are lower in France than in the great majority of industrialized countries and their development over time gives no grounds for concluding that the fruits of growth have been distributed unfairly in recent years. By contrast, the spread of salaries has changed a great deal over the past decade with increased salary differentials due to very high rises in top salaries on the one hand and substantial readjustments to the minimum wage on the other. Alongside the overall stability of the share of added value going to incomes and salaries, there has, since the mid-1990s, been a relative fall in the incomes of the very large majority of wage-earners. The median salary is being far outstripped by the highest incomes, while the lowest are catching up; this, argue Cette and Sylvain, may explain the impression among many wage-earners that they are not getting their fair share of the fruits of growth. Lastly, the savings rates and self-financing ratios of French non-financial companies have fallen appreciably since 1998. The level reached in 2008 by each of these two indicators is historically quite weak; it is among the lowest in the major industrialized countries. We should also expect a marked fall in profit margins in 2009, which could continue into 2010, posing increased difficulties for the internal financing of investment and most probably leading to more frequent company failures. In a context like this, the prospects of increased purchasing power for those on average salaries seem rather gloomy in the next few years, unless the state were to engage in a form of large-scale redistribution that might well prove difficult to finance. La France est en récession depuis quelques mois, suite à la crise économique qui a éclaté en 2008, et les perspectives, pour de nombreux salariés, ne sont guère encourageantes pour les mois sinon les années à venir. Cela ne devrait pas améliorer le sentiment déjà largement dominant, dans l'opinion, d'une stagnation du pouvoir d'achat et d'une répartition inéquitable des fruits de la croissance économique. Pourtant, comme le montrent ici Gilbert Cette et Arnaud Sylvain, les parts, dans la valeur ajoutée, des profits et de la rémunération du travail sont demeurées à peu près stables en France ces deux dernières décennies. Le taux de marge des entreprises y est plus bas que dans la très grande majorité des autres pays industrialisés et son évolution ne permet pas de conclure à un partage inéquitable des fruits de la croissance sur les dernières années. En revanche, la dispersion des salaires a beaucoup évolué sur la décennie écoulée, avec d'un côté l'augmentation des inégalités salariales liée à la très forte progression des hauts salaires, et de l'autre les fortes revalorisations du salaire minimum. La stabilité globale de la part du travail dans la valeur ajoutée s'est donc accompagnée, depuis le milieu des années 1990, d'une baisse relative de la part de la rémunération de la très grande majorité des salariés. Le salarié médian est à la fois distancé par les hauts salaires et rattrapé par les bas salaires, ce qui, selon les auteurs, peut expliquer le sentiment de nombreux salariés de ne pas bénéficier équitablement des fruits de la croissance. Enfin, le taux d'épargne et le taux d'autofinancement des sociétés non financières françaises se sont nettement dégradés depuis 1998 ; le niveau atteint en 2008 par chacun de ces deux indicateurs est historiquement assez faible et parmi les plus bas des principaux pays industrialisés. Il faut aussi s'attendre à une forte baisse du taux de marge en 2009, qui pourrait se prolonger en 2010, renforçant les difficultés de financement interne de l'investissement et, très probablement, la fréquence des défaillances d'entreprises. Dans un tel contexte, les perspectives de gains de pouvoir d'achat des salariés moyens paraissent plutôt sombres sur les prochaines années, à moins d'un effort redistributif important de la part de l'État, dont le financement risque de poser problème.
Economics Letters, 2007
This note investigates the effects of the education level, product market rigidities and employme... more This note investigates the effects of the education level, product market rigidities and employment protection legislation on growth. It exploits macro-panel data for OECD countries. For countries close to the technological frontier, education and rigidities are significantly related to TFP growth. The contribution of the interaction between product market regulation and labour market rigidity seems particularly substantial.
Hourly labour productivity levels in a number of European countries are thought to be very close ... more Hourly labour productivity levels in a number of European countries are thought to be very close to, or possibly even higher than the level 'observed' in the United States. At the same time, however, there are big differentials between hours worked and/or employment rates in these countries and in the United States. Frequent mention is also made of the theory
Work Patterns and Capital Utilisation, 1995
Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, 2013
This study explores the factors driving the observed movements of the profit share in several maj... more This study explores the factors driving the observed movements of the profit share in several major industrialised countries (France, Germany, United States, United Kingdom and Japan) over the period 1970-2000. Within the group of countries we study, both the level and the fluctuations of the profit share strongly depend on the self employment correction. Due to long process of adjustment
The present study contributes to the numerous other analyses of economic growth and productivity ... more The present study contributes to the numerous other analyses of economic growth and productivity by comparing France, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States over the very long run (since 1890) and the medium run (since 1980). During the past ce ntury, the United States has overtaken the United Kingdom and become the leading world economy and. D uring
SSRN Electronic Journal
In order to examine innovation diffusion and convergence processes, we study productivity trends,... more In order to examine innovation diffusion and convergence processes, we study productivity trends, trend breaks and levels for 13 advanced countries over 1890-2012. We highlight two productivity waves, a big one following the second industrial revolution and a small one following the ICT revolution. The first big wave was staggered across countries, hitting the US first in the Interwar years and the rest of the world after World War II. It came long after the actual innovation could be implemented, emphasizing a long diffusion process. The productivity leader changed during the period under study, the Australian and UK leadership becoming a US one during the first part of the XXth century and, for very particular reasons, also a Norwegian, Dutch and French one at least for some years at the end of the XXth century. The convergence process has been erratic, halted by inappropriate institutions, technology shocks, financial crises but above all by wars, which led to major productivity ...
SSRN Electronic Journal
Competition –and policies affecting it– has been found to be an important determinant of producti... more Competition –and policies affecting it– has been found to be an important determinant of productivity growth in recent empirical research. Most empirical studies of the competition-growth link focused on competitive conditions within each sector (or market) as drivers of firm or industry-level productivity enhancements. However, Bourlès et al. (2010) focus on the influence of competition on sectors producing intermediate inputs (called upstream sectors) for productivity outcomes in sectors using these inputs (called downstream sectors). They find clear evidence that anti-competitive regulations in upstream sectors curb MFP growth downstream. Our empirical investigation goes one step further. According to the endogenous growth theory, competition influence MFP through efficiency improvement incentives. Therefore, upstream regulations should influence R&D and ICT investments. In order to check this proposition, we investigate the impact of upstream regulations on ICT and R&D capital a...
SSRN Electronic Journal
We study production factor adjustment taking into account factor utilization in multiple dimensio... more We study production factor adjustment taking into account factor utilization in multiple dimensions (labor and capital working time, capital capacity utilization) through a unique survey among French manufacturing firms. This survey also allows us to examine the impact of obstacles to increasing capital operating time on this adjustment path. This survey, merged with balanced sheet and profit and loss accounts from fiscal reports, yields an unbalanced panel of 6,066 observations over 1993-2010. Factor utilization adjusts the most rapidly, first through capital capacity utilization and the capital workweek and then labor working time. The adjustment is slow for the number of employees and even slower for the capital stock. In case of a change in factor volume targets, the three factor utilization degrees adjust to offset the very slow reaction of factor volumes. Obstacles to increasing the capital operating time lead to a slower adjustment of capital operating time, offset by a stron...
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000
La présente étude a pour objet de caractériser les effets des revalorisations du SMIC sur le sala... more La présente étude a pour objet de caractériser les effets des revalorisations du SMIC sur le salaire moyen. Deux indicateurs du salaire moyen sont considérés : le salaire horaire de base des ouvriers (SHBO) et le salaire mensuel par tête (SMPT). L'étude mobilise pour cela des données agrégées se rapportant à l'ensemble de l'économie française sur les quatre décennies 1970-2009 allant de la création du SMIC (en 1970) jusqu'au changement de calendrier des revalorisations annuelles légales du SMIC (en 2009), ces revalorisations annuelles légales ayant été transférées du 1 er juillet au 1 er janvier de l'année par la loi du 3 décembre 2008. Par rapport à la littérature existante, l'étude présente trois originalités. Tout d'abord, elle est réalisée sur une période beaucoup plus longue et bénéficie donc d'une information plus importante. Ensuite, les formalisations privilégiées prennent en compte la possibilité d'un impact très progressif du SMIC sur le salaire moyen, alors que les études antérieures supposaient généralement un impact plus immédiat. Enfin, elle différencie les possibles effets sur le salaire moyen des revalorisations du SMIC selon que ces dernières ont pour origine chacune des trois causes des revalorisations. Les résultats obtenus confirment l'intérêt de cette approche.
Contributions to Economics, 2009
ABSTRACT This volume is the second book based on comparative and comprehensive data from the 2003... more ABSTRACT This volume is the second book based on comparative and comprehensive data from the 2003 representative European Union Company survey of Operating hours, Working times and Employment (EUCOWE) in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom. This publication complements and builds on the first book published in 2007 in which the methodology and the descriptive national findings, as well as some first comparative analytical results, of the EUCOWE project were presented.1 In several of the countries studied the survey represented one of the first dedicated studies on the operating time. The EUCOWE survey was the first attempt to collect cross-national comparative data on operating hours and opening times and as such represents an innovative source of information of working patterns, establishment behaviour and competitiveness in the EU. At the firm and industry level, as well as the macroeconomic level, operating hours are one of the essential determinants of productivity and competitiveness not to mention the standard of living of the wider population.2 In essence operating hours, opening times and service hours can be considered as central to the behaviour of establishments in relation to their clients and, as a result, the organisation of employment and working time of their employees. The extent to which organisations are required to serve clients within and outside “normal” working hours will also help shape the duration and intensity of utilisation of capital. While establishments will have some freedom in determining how they deal with their specific operating time requirements, and any fluctuations within those hours, they will also be subject to regulation and policy at the national and pan-national level. Thus operating hours are central to policy debates at both the European and national level. Concerns over the competitiveness of European firms and the reconciliation of work and family life are all impacted upon by operating hours of the establishments where employees work.
Contributions to Economics, 2009
This volume is the second book based on comparative and comprehensive data from the 2003 represen... more This volume is the second book based on comparative and comprehensive data from the 2003 representative European Union Company survey of Operating hours, Working times and Employment (EUCOWE) in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom. The EUCOWE project is the first representative and standardised European company survey which covers all categories of firm sizes and all sectors of the economy. This volume complements and builds on the first book published in 2007, in which the methodology and the descriptive national findings as well as some first comparative analytical results were presented. In this second book the EUCOWE research team presents in-depth cross-country analyses of the relationship between operating hours, working times and employment in the European Union. Six empirical chapters of this volume provide detailed comparative analyses of the determinants and consequences of the duration and flexibility of opening hours and operating times.
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000
In order to examine innovation diffusion and convergence processes, we study productivity trends,... more In order to examine innovation diffusion and convergence processes, we study productivity trends, trend breaks and levels for 13 advanced countries over 1890-2012. We highlight two productivity waves, a big one following the second industrial revolution and a small one following the ICT revolution. The first big wave was staggered across countries, hitting the US first in the Interwar years and the rest of the world after World War II. It came long after the actual innovation could be implemented, emphasizing a long diffusion process. The productivity leader changed during the period under study, the Australian and UK leadership becoming a US one during the first part of the XX th century and, for very particular reasons, also a Norwegian, Dutch and French one at least for some years at the end of the XX th century. The convergence process has been erratic, halted by inappropriate institutions, technology shocks, financial crises but above all by wars, which led to major productivity level leaps, downwards for countries experiencing war on their soil, upwards for other countries. Productivity trend breaks are detected following wars, global financial crises, global supply shocks (such as the oil price shocks) and major policy changes (such as structural reforms in Canada or Sweden). The upward trend break for the US in the mid-1990s is confirmed, as well as the downward trend break for the Euro Area in the same period. The downward trend break observed as early as the mid-2000s for the US leads one to question the future contribution of the ICT revolution to productivity enhancement.