Productivity Growth Across the World, 1991-2003

We apply a stochastic frontier production model to data from 53 countries during 1991-2003 to estimate total factor productivity growth, and decompose it into technical efficiency change and technical progress. Our empirical results indicate that world productivity growth was led by fast-growing newly emerging economies, whereas most developed countries experienced a decrease in productivity growth. Technical efficiency change significantly contributed to economic growth for many fast-growing countries, even though emerging economies still lag far behind developed countries in terms of technical efficiency