IKEA is often cited as an example of a “global” retailer which pursues a similar “standardized” approach in every market. This paper systematically assesses the degree of standardization (and adaptation) of four commonly identified retail marketing mix activities – merchandise,...

The empirical finding that exporting firms are more productive on average than non-exporters has provoked a large theoretical literature based on models such as Melitz (2003), where more productive firms are more likely to overcome costs associated with trade. This paper provides a systematic...

Most post-communist economies are characterized by an initial collapse inaggregate output. Blanchard and Kremer (1997) and Roland and Verdier (1997)have recently modelled supply-side distortions — disorganization in the links of production — that can lead to a short-term output contraction...

This paper uses panel data on british manufacturing industries between 1973 and 1985 to examine the relationship between productivity and labour organization. It is shown that the relationship between unions and productivity levels is sensitive to the econometric specification. The evidence...

Despite the widespread popularity of the Solow growth model, much of the recent empirical work based on the classic framework misrepresents a crucial feature of the model. Namely, the growth rate of technological progress, assumed to be exogenous in the Solow model, is often identified as being...

This paper develops a new technique for measuring the effect of computer usage on U.S. productivity growth. Standard National Income and Product Accounts (NIPA) measures of the computer capital stock, which are constructed by weighting past investments according to a schedule for economic...