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Firm productivity and performance
Motu studies the sources of productivity improvement and examines performance in business organisations. We are currently focused on examining the determinants of variations in firm performance.
We have been funded for this work under the “Productivity Hub” (Productivity Commission, Treasury, MBIE and Statistics NZ) for a research partnership using the Longitudinal Business Database, looking at the relationships among R&D, innovation, market power and firm performance. Work under the auspices of Te Pūnaha Matatini examines patterns of firm productivity across geographic regions.
Our research focus
Motu’s current and recent research in firm productivity and performance includes:
- Patterns of productivity across different kinds of construction firms in New Zealand.
- Examining how firm productivity varies within and between New Zealand regions.
- Mapping the innovation system of New Zealand using methods from network analysis, and testing how the properties of the NZ innovation network affect the performance of firms and people in New Zealand.
Publications
Still medalling: Productivity gets a bronze (data source)
Author: Richard Fabling
Working Paper
Productivity data is missing from the Longitudinal Business Database (LBD) for over a third of firm-year observations in “measured sector” industries, equating to a fifth of total labour in those industries.
We develop a method to…
Of interest? Estimating the average interest rate on debt across firms and over time
Author: Richard Fabling
Working Paper
Our research shows firms that self-report being finance constrained face higher average interest rates than unconstrained firms. These differences in interest costs are, at least in part, due to constrained firms undertaking higher risk activities…
Living on the edge: An anatomy of New Zealand’s most productive firms
Author: Richard Fabling
Working Paper
We investigate the characteristics and performance of New Zealand’s frontier firms from 2005 to 2018, using the rich microdata in the Longitudinal Business Database (LBD). This paper draws on the labour and productivity datasets available…
Competition and productivity: Do commonly used metrics suggest a relationship?
Authors: Dave Maré | Richard Fabling
Working Paper
More competition
to lift productivity
(Where) can we see that?
We demonstrate the power of recently redeveloped productivity microdata to produce a range of meaningful competition indicators highlighting different aspects of industry competitiveness. Combining these competition metrics into…
Improved productivity measurement in New Zealand's Longitudinal Business Database
Authors: Dave Maré | Richard Fabling
Working Paper
Tax data changes.
Experience tree bears fruit.
Measurement improves.
Accounts information that businesses supply to Inland Revenue for tax purposes provide over 96% of the observations in the productivity dataset in the Longitudinal Business Database.…
Worker flows, entry, and productivity in New Zealand’s construction industry
Authors: Adam Jaffe | Nathan Chappell
Working Paper
Workers come and go.
Good for productivity.
Entry also helps.
We use administrative data on the population of New Zealand construction firms from 2001-2012, along with linked data on their employees and working…
Absorptive capacity in New Zealand firms: Measurement and importance
Authors: Trinh Le | Richard Harris
Working Paper
Internalising
knowledge from outside the firm
is key to success.
To the best of our knowledge, this paper reports the first set of nationally representative results on the importance of ‘absorptive capacity’. Absorptive capacity is generally…
New jobs, old jobs: the evolution of work in New Zealand’s cities and towns
Authors: Dave Maré | Andrew Coleman | Guanyu Zheng
Other
This paper for the Productivity Commission of New Zealand uses census data to document and analyse the changing nature of jobs in regional New Zealand between 1976 and 2013. While the material is largely descriptive,…
The impacts of job displacement on workers by education level
Author: Dean Hyslop
Other
Workers with degrees
suffer more financially
when made unemployed.
This research note extends previous research by Hyslop and Townsend (2017; 2019) on the longer term impacts of job displacement on workers labour market…
Cyclical labour market adjustment in New Zealand: The response of firms to the global financial crisis and its implications for workers
Authors: Dave Maré | Richard Fabling
Article
This publication focuses on business dynamics across eight countries (Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, United Kingdom) and over time, building upon the evidence collected in the framework of the OECD DynEmp…
Why firm size matters: investigating the drivers of innovation and economic performance in New Zealand using the Business Operations Survey
Authors: Trinh Le | Les Oxley | Philip McCann
Article
The performance of the New Zealand (NZ) economy is something of an enigma. Although ranked one (of 144 countries) for four important ‘growth fundamentals’ NZ is ‘middle of the pack’ when it comes to economic…
The impact of R&D subsidy on innovation: evidence from New Zealand firms
Authors: Adam Jaffe | Trinh Le
Article
This study examines the impact of government subsidy through R&D grants on innovation output for firms in New Zealand. Using a large database that links administrative and tax data with survey data, we find that…
Business Dynamics and Productivity
Authors: Dave Maré | Richard Fabling
Article
This publication focuses on business dynamics across eight countries (Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, United Kingdom) and over time, building upon the evidence collected in the framework of the OECD DynEmp…
Picking up speed: Does ultrafast broadband increase firm productivity?
Authors: Arthur Grimes | Richard Fabling
Working Paper
UFB alone
is not the path to success.
Organise, you must.
We estimate whether there are productivity gains from ultrafast broadband (UFB) adoption and whether any gains are higher when firms undertake…
Firm productivity growth and skill
Authors: Dave Maré | Dean Hyslop | Richard Fabling
Article
This paper examines firm multifactor productivity (mfp) growth and changing skill levels of labour in New Zealand, using NZ microdata for 2001–2012. Strong employment growth for lower skilled workers lowered average skill by 1.8% over…
Low quality patents in the eye of the beholder: Evidence from multiple examiners
Authors: Adam Jaffe | Gatan de Rassenfosse
Article
Low-quality patents are of considerable concern to businesses operating in patent-dense markets. There are two pathways by which low-quality patents may be issued: the patent office may apply systematically a standard that is too lenient (low inventive…
Productivity distribution and drivers of productivity growth in the construction industry
Authors: Adam Jaffe | Trinh Le | Nathan Chappell
Working Paper
Productivity
has risen. Thank entry and
reallocation.
The construction industry contributes a large and growing share of the New Zealand economy, with total employment rising to almost 10% and value added (GDP contribution)…
The ‘Suite’ Smell of Success: Personnel Practices and Firm Performance
Authors: Arthur Grimes | Richard Fabling
Article
Throughout the world, we see firms in the same industry in the same country having very different productivity outcomes. We have long been fascinated in why this is the case, and whether management can do…
A Rough Guide to New Zealand's Longitudinal Business Database (2nd edition)
Authors: Lynda Sanderson | Richard Fabling
Working Paper
The LBD shines
But how to harness the light?
Answers lie within.
New Zealand's Longitudinal Business Database is a rich resource for understanding the behaviour of New Zealand firms. This paper provides an introductory guide to…
Productivity distributions in New Zealand: The dangers of international comparison
Authors: Lynda Sanderson | Richard Fabling
Working Paper
Recent discussions of New Zealand's relative economic performance have drawn a link between firm-level productivity dispersion and a lack of competitive pressure. This note describes a simple example using New Zealand firm-level data which casts…
Productivity spillovers from foreign direct investment in New Zealand
Authors: Dave Maré | Tinh Doan | Kris Iyer
Article
This paper examines whether foreign direct investment (FDI) has spillover effects on the productivity of domestic firms. Three types of potential spillovers are considered: horizontal (within industry), backward (foreign-owned customers) and forward (foreign-owned suppliers).
The study…
Bibliography of research using the New Zealand Longitudinal Business Database
Author: Eyal Apatov
Other
This list provides an overview of research using firm-level data from the New Zealand Longitudinal Business Database (LBD). It is a compilation of studies that use firm-level data from the Longitudinal Business Database (LBD).
The list…
Addressing the absence of hours information in linked employer-employee data
Authors: Dave Maré | Richard Fabling
Working Paper
The availability of tax-based payroll data has proved a blessing to labour and business economists wishing to understand workers, their jobs and their employers. Unfortunately, administrative data do not always include key variables of interest.…
Production function estimation using New Zealand’s Longitudinal Business Database
Authors: Dave Maré | Richard Fabling
Working Paper
This paper is intended as a resource for researchers using the New Zealand Longitudinal Business Database (LBD) to study the productivity of New Zealand firms.
First, it documents the methods used for creating a consistent dataset…
Agricultural productivity in New Zealand: First estimates from the Longitudinal Business Database
Authors: Adam Jaffe | Eyal Apatov | Matt Thirkettle | Richard Fabling | Michele Morris
Working Paper
The agricultural sector produces 40% of New Zealand’s merchandise exports. Not only is agriculture the primary source of employment in many rural areas, its performance influences the success of urban regions and many secondary industries…
The impact of R&D subsidy on innovation: a study of New Zealand firms
Authors: Adam Jaffe | Trinh Le
Working Paper
We should fund research.
But trying to choose the best
doesn’t work too well.
This paper examines the impact of government assistance through R&D grants on innovation output for firms in New Zealand. Using a…
Are Patent Fees Effective at Weeding Out Low-Quality Patents?
Authors: Adam Jaffe | Gatan de Rassenfosse
Working Paper
The paper investigates whether patent fees are an effective mechanism to deter the filing of low-quality patent applications. The study analyzes the effect of the Patent Law Amendment Act of 1982, which resulted in a…
Innovation and the Local Workforce
Authors: Dave Maré | Richard Fabling | Steven Stillman
Article
We combine firm-level innovation data with area-level Census data to examine the relationship between local workforce characteristics, especially the presence of immigrants and local skills, and the likelihood of innovation by firms.
We examine a range…
Productivity and Local Workforce Composition
Authors: Dave Maré | Richard Fabling
Article
This chapter examines the link between firm productivity and the population composition of the areas in which firms operate. We combine annual firm-level microdata with area-level workforce characteristics obtained from population censuses.
Overall, the results confirm…
Productivity Questions for Public Sector Fast Fibre Network Financiers
Authors: Arthur Grimes | Bronwyn Howell
Article
Fast internet access is widely considered to be a productivity-enhancing factor. However, despite promises of substantial gains from its deployment, the evidence from recent empirical studies suggests that the productivity gains may not be as…
The Need for Speed: Impacts of Internet Connectivity on Firm Productivity
Authors: Arthur Grimes | Cleo Ren | Philip Stevens
Article
Broadband access is widely considered to be a productivity-enhancing factor, but there are few firm-level estimates of its benefits. We use a large micro-survey of firms linked to longitudinal firm financial data to determine the…
Practice Makes Profit: Business Practices and Firm Success
Authors: Arthur Grimes | Richard Fabling
Article
Which business practices set successful firms apart from others? We address this question using data from an official survey of almost 3000 New Zealand firms.
Questions cover:
leadership,
planning practices,
customer and supplier focus,
employee practices,
quality and process monitoring,
benchmarking,
community and…
The Employment and Retirement Transitions of New Zealanders Aged in their 60s
Authors: Dean Hyslop | Sylvia Dixon
Working Paper
This document was produced for the LEED Research Report on behalf of Statistics New Zealand.
This study describes the employment patterns and work-to-retirement transitions of New Zealanders who were who were born between 1 April 1936 and…
Productivity and Local Workforce Composition
Authors: Dave Maré | Richard Fabling
Working Paper
This chapter examines the link between firm productivity and the population composition of the areas in which firms operate.
We combine annual firm-level microdata on production, covering a large proportion of the New Zealand economy, with…
Labour Productivity in Auckland Firms
Author: Dave Maré
Working Paper
This paper examines labour productivity in Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, using microdata from Statistics New Zealand's Prototype Longitudinal Business Database.
It documents a sizeable productivity premium in Auckland, around half of which is due to…
Geographic Concentration and Firm Productivity
Authors: Dave Maré | Jason Timmins
Working Paper
Firms operating in dense labour markets are more productive, although understanding the mechanisms behind this relationship is both challenging and contentious.
This paper uses a newly assembled dataset on location and labour productivity of most New…
Concentration, Specialisation and Agglomeration of firms in New Zealand
Author: Dave Maré
Working Paper
To what extent do New Zealand firms choose to locate close to each other, and why?
This paper summarises patterns of geographic concentration of firms in New Zealand between 1987 and 2003. We present a range of…
Natural Selection: Firm Performance Following the Canterbury Earthquakes
Authors: Arthur Grimes | Levente Timar | Richard Fabling
Working Paper
The Canterbury earthquakes in September 2010 and February 2011 caused major upheaval to the people of the region. The second quake killed 185 people, forced many from their homes, and closed Christchurch"s central business district.…
The Need for Speed: Impacts of Internet Connectivity on Firm Productivity
Authors: Arthur Grimes | Cleo Ren | Philip Stevens
Working Paper
Fast internet access is widely considered to be a productivity-enhancing factor. Internet access speeds vary regionally within countries and even within cities. Despite articulate pleas for network upgrades to accelerate internet access, there is little…
Quantifying Creative Destruction Entrepreneurship and Productivity in New Zealand
Author: John McMillan
Working Paper
This paper
provides a framework for quantifying any economy's flexibility, and
reviews the evidence on New Zealand firms' birth, growth and death.
The data indicate that, by and large, the labour market and the financial market are doing…
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