TFP gains

  • 详情 Misallocation under Heterogeneous Markups and Non-Constant Returns to Scale
    Predicted TFP gains under Hsieh and Klenow (2009)’s framework are sensitive to demand elasticities and returns to scale, but simultaneously estimating them is difficult. We solve this problem by developing a framework allowing for an arbitrary distribution of firm-level markups and use microdata to estimate industry-specific production elasticities, within-industry type-specific demand elasticities when types are not observed, and firm-specific distortions. We apply our model to 2005 Chinese firm-level data and find that the predicted Total Factor Productivity (TFP) gains are 44% which is half of the previous findings. While the variation in markups does not affect predicted TFP gains, it lowers the predicted increase in labor income share by one-third, suggesting lower gains to average workers due to heterogeneous markups.