Research Article

Productivity and Resource Misallocation: Empirical Findings from Firms in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region and Turkey

Volume: 9 Number: 1 January 27, 2022
TR EN

Productivity and Resource Misallocation: Empirical Findings from Firms in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region and Turkey

Abstract

State-Business relations (SBRs) are reflected in business and investment climate indicators and may take the form of formal, regular, and informal interactions. The creation of an institutional environment in which the state provides high-quality public goods, such as infrastructure, political stability, elimination of corruption, and effective public administration, is important because it can improve productivity and lead to higher rates of growth. Resource reallocation from low to high productivity firms can generate large aggregate productivity gains with further potential benefits to economic growth. This study examines the relationship between productivity and resource misallocation in a sample of countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, and Turkey. The analysis relies on data from the World Bank Enterprise Surveys over 2008-2016 of firms in Egypt, Turkey, and Yemen. In the analysis, we control various firm characteristics. Furthermore, we explore major state-business relations (SBRs) and their association to resource misallocation. The results are mixed, wherein in Egypt and Turkey, female ownership and international quality certification are positively associated with productivity and allocation efficiency. Moreover, obstacles in SBRs present a negative and significant correlation with the firms’ performance and productivity, increasing dispersions in the resource allocation, output, and capital. We find that corruption, political instability, electricity supply, and high tax rates are the most critical obstacles in SBRs.

Keywords

Supporting Institution

Economics Research Forum (ERF)

Project Number

Structural Change, Resource Misallocation and Growth Dynamics in the MENA Region

Thanks

The authors are grateful for the financial support received from the ERF. The authors would like to thank Dr. Jorge Luis Rodriguez Meza, who is Program Manager at the World Bank, and the participants in the ERF-World Bank Workshop and Training on “Structural Change, Resource Misallocation and Growth Dynamics in the MENA Region” on 28th February and 1st March 2018, for their valuable comments and feedback.

References

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Economics

Journal Section

Research Article

Publication Date

January 27, 2022

Submission Date

November 9, 2021

Acceptance Date

December 24, 2021

Published in Issue

Year 2022 Volume: 9 Number: 1

APA
Gıovanıs, E., & Özdamar, Ö. (2022). Productivity and Resource Misallocation: Empirical Findings from Firms in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region and Turkey. İktisat Politikası Araştırmaları Dergisi, 9(1), 1-37. https://doi.org/10.26650/JEPR1021400
AMA
1.Gıovanıs E, Özdamar Ö. Productivity and Resource Misallocation: Empirical Findings from Firms in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region and Turkey. JEPR. 2022;9(1):1-37. doi:10.26650/JEPR1021400
Chicago
Gıovanıs, Eleftherios, and Öznur Özdamar. 2022. “Productivity and Resource Misallocation: Empirical Findings from Firms in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region and Turkey”. İktisat Politikası Araştırmaları Dergisi 9 (1): 1-37. https://doi.org/10.26650/JEPR1021400.
EndNote
Gıovanıs E, Özdamar Ö (January 1, 2022) Productivity and Resource Misallocation: Empirical Findings from Firms in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region and Turkey. İktisat Politikası Araştırmaları Dergisi 9 1 1–37.
IEEE
[1]E. Gıovanıs and Ö. Özdamar, “Productivity and Resource Misallocation: Empirical Findings from Firms in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region and Turkey”, JEPR, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 1–37, Jan. 2022, doi: 10.26650/JEPR1021400.
ISNAD
Gıovanıs, Eleftherios - Özdamar, Öznur. “Productivity and Resource Misallocation: Empirical Findings from Firms in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region and Turkey”. İktisat Politikası Araştırmaları Dergisi 9/1 (January 1, 2022): 1-37. https://doi.org/10.26650/JEPR1021400.
JAMA
1.Gıovanıs E, Özdamar Ö. Productivity and Resource Misallocation: Empirical Findings from Firms in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region and Turkey. JEPR. 2022;9:1–37.
MLA
Gıovanıs, Eleftherios, and Öznur Özdamar. “Productivity and Resource Misallocation: Empirical Findings from Firms in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region and Turkey”. İktisat Politikası Araştırmaları Dergisi, vol. 9, no. 1, Jan. 2022, pp. 1-37, doi:10.26650/JEPR1021400.
Vancouver
1.Eleftherios Gıovanıs, Öznur Özdamar. Productivity and Resource Misallocation: Empirical Findings from Firms in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region and Turkey. JEPR. 2022 Jan. 1;9(1):1-37. doi:10.26650/JEPR1021400