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Productivity Growth in Small Enterprises - Role of Inputs, Technological Progress and 'Learning By Doing'

Author

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  • Majumder, Rajarshi
Abstract
Small Manufacturing Enterprises (SMEs) in an overpopulated developing economy serve the dual role of job-creation and shifting the occupational structure. However, their contribution to the overall health of the economy are being questioned on grounds of low productivity and economic viability. Sustainability of SMEs is argued to depend on improving labour productivity (LP) through technological upgradation. In a developing economy this may be a costly proposition due to capital scarcity. So, the effect of technological changes on productivity levels has to be estimated before taking such policies. This effect is generally measured by Total Factor Productivity Growth (TFPG) which is also a measure of Technological Progress (TP). A positive TFPG implies outward expansion of the production frontier leading to more than proportionate output growth compared to input growth whereby it may be concluded that TP is leading to productivity rise. However, TFPG in the growth accounting approach is a residual measure and encompasses the effect of not only TP, but is a combination of improved technology and the skill with which known technology is applied, i.e. Technological Diffusion or Technological Efficiency (TE). The SMEs rely on indigenous resources, adaptive technology, 'on-job' skill acquisition, and, go on experimenting till they achieve the optimum mix of technology, resource, skill and organisation. Consequently, technological diffusion is more important to them rather than the 'modernity' of the technology itself. This paper seeks to disassociate the effects of pure TP from those of TEC in few selected industries within the SMEs to examine the relative importance of them in improving the health of the SMEs. We use the NSSO database on Unorganised Manufacturing sector. The reference periods are 1994-95 and 2000-01, as defined by the two latest NSSO surveys and concentrate on Food product, Textiles, Leather product, and Non-electrical & electrical equipment sectors. Mean contribution of input growth is found to be 3.17 percent p.a. while that of TFPG has been only 1.10 percent p.a. Contribution of input growth is higher than TFPG in majority of cases, indicating that major part of VAG has been possible because of increased input use and technological upgradation has had only a moderate effect. It is observed that Efficiency levels have improved in 65 percent of cases while TP has been positive in just 35 percent cases. The quantum of TEC has been higher than TP in more number of cases. In about 70 per cent of the situations where indeed there has been some technological improvement, technological diffusion has by far outstripped the role of pure technical progress. For Food product and Equipment sectors, both TP and TEC are observed to be equally important in determining TFPG. While TP plays a dominant role in the Textiles sector, TEC plays a more vital role in the Leather products sector.This underlines the importance of diffusion for improving the conditions of the SMEs and as a policy choice, Efficiency Upgradation appears more viable, effective and lucrative compared to Technological Upgradation.

Suggested Citation

  • Majumder, Rajarshi, 2004. "Productivity Growth in Small Enterprises - Role of Inputs, Technological Progress and 'Learning By Doing'," MPRA Paper 4848, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2004.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:4848
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Mr. Bulent Unel, 2003. "Productivity Trends in India's Manufacturing Sectors in the Last Two Decades," IMF Working Papers 2003/022, International Monetary Fund.
    2. K.P. Kalirajan & M.B. Obwona & S. Zhao, 1996. "A Decomposition of Total Factor Productivity Growth: The Case of Chinese Agricultural Growth before and after Reforms," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 78(2), pages 331-338.
    3. Meeusen, Wim & van den Broeck, Julien, 1977. "Efficiency Estimation from Cobb-Douglas Production Functions with Composed Error," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 18(2), pages 435-444, June.
    4. Bauer, Paul W., 1990. "Recent developments in the econometric estimation of frontiers," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 46(1-2), pages 39-56.
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    Cited by:

    1. Zulfiqar, Salyha, 2012. "Analyzing the Input Output Relationship of Small and Medium Enterprises in Pakistan: An Econometric Approach," MPRA Paper 50069, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Padmavathi N, 2019. "Technical efficiency of unorganised food processing industry in India: A stochastic frontier analysis," Working Papers 449, Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bangalore.
    3. Fahad Khalid, 2019. "Literature Review on Social Cohesion and Economic Growth," International Journal of Science and Business, IJSAB International, vol. 3(4), pages 39-60.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Productivity; Small Manufacturing Enterprises; Technological Progress; Total Factor Productivity; Frontier Production Function;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • L60 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Manufacturing - - - General

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