Fundamental Determinants of Output Per Worker Across Countries

Stanford Economics Working Paper No. 97-021

48 Pages Posted: 15 Mar 1998

See all articles by Charles I. Jones

Charles I. Jones

Stanford Graduate School of Business; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Robert E. Hall

Hoover Institution and Department of Economics, Stanford University; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Abstract

Output per worker varies enormously across countries. Why? Our analysis shows that differences in social infrastructure are important sources of this variation. According to our results, a high-productivity country (i) has institutions that favor production over diversion, (ii) has a low rate of government consumption, (iii) is open to international trade, (iv) has at least some private ownership, (v) speaks an international language, and (vi) is located in a temperate latitude far from the equator. A favorable social infrastructure helps a country both by stimulating the accumulation of human and physical capital and by raising its total factor productivity.

JEL Classification: E23, O47

Suggested Citation

Jones, Charles I. and Hall, Robert E., Fundamental Determinants of Output Per Worker Across Countries. Stanford Economics Working Paper No. 97-021, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=48652 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.48652

Charles I. Jones (Contact Author)

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Robert E. Hall

Hoover Institution and Department of Economics, Stanford University ( email )

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