Technology shape, distance to frontier, or frontier shift? Modeling the determinants of TFP growth

We investigate the determinants of TFP growth of Italian manufacturing firms. Using stochastic frontier techniques, we consider three approaches to take into account the influence of external factors, i.e., the determinants of growth. First, external factors may affect the shape of the technology. Second, they may influence the distance from the frontier. Third, in a novel approach, the external factors influence the technological progress, that is the shift of the frontier. Using a sample of manufacturing firms in 1998-2003, we find that the exports, technological investments and spillovers, public infrastructures, and banking efficiency all have a positive effect on TFP growth. We also find that the first model best fits the data.TFP, growth accounting, stochastic frontiers, R&D spillovers, banking efficiency, infrastructures

La parodia dell’Andromeda euripidea nelle Tesmoforiazuse di Aristofane

Sulla base di una puntuale analisi dei vv. 1009-1135 delle Tesmoforiazuse, in cui viene parodiata l’Andromeda di Euripide, questo contributo mostra che la parodia aristofanea consisteva nella ripresa e nello stravolgimento comico di lingua, metrica, musica e scena del modello tragico.On the ground of a detailed analysis of Thesmophoriazusae 1009-11135, where Euripides’ Andromeda is parodied, this paper shows that Aristophanes’ parody consisted in comic recovering and twisting of tragic model’s language, metre, music and staging

Be productive or face decline. On the sources and determinants of output growth in Italian manufacturing firms

We investigate the sources and determinants of output growth of Italian manufacturing firms. Applying stochastic frontier techniques, we decompose output growth into factor accumulation and TFP growth from 1998 to 2003. TFP growth is further decomposed into technological change, efficiency change, and scale effects.We find that both input accumulation and TFP growth are important in explaining output growth. In addition, efficiency change (technological catch-up) is the most significant component of TFP growth. Finally, using a specific formulation of the asymmetric error component, we find that R&D spillovers, banking efficiency and public infrastructures have statistically significant and economically relevant effects on the technological catch-up.growth accounting, stochastic frontiers, TFP, R&D spillovers, banking efficiency, infrastructure, Italian manufacturing firms