Competition and Firm Productivity: Evidence from Firm-Level Data

35 Pages Posted: 22 Mar 2010

See all articles by Sandra Patricia Ospina

Sandra Patricia Ospina

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Marc Schiffbauer

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Date Written: March 2010

Abstract

This paper presents empirical evidence on the impact of competition on firm productivity. Using firm-level observations from the World Bank Enterprise Survey database, we find a positive and robust causal relationship between our proxies for competition and our measures of productivity. We also find that countries that implemented product-market reforms had a more pronounced increase in competition, and correspondingly, in productivity: the contribution to productivity growth due to competition spurred by product-market reforms is around 12-15 percent.

Keywords: Central Asia, Competition, Cross country analysis, Eastern Europe, Economic models, Economic reforms, Industrial sector, Markets, Production growth, Productivity

Suggested Citation

Ospina, Sandra Patricia and Schiffbauer, Marc, Competition and Firm Productivity: Evidence from Firm-Level Data (March 2010). IMF Working Paper No. 10/67, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1574617

Sandra Patricia Ospina (Contact Author)

International Monetary Fund (IMF) ( email )

700 19th Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20431
United States

Marc Schiffbauer

International Monetary Fund (IMF) ( email )

700 19th Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20431
United States