Across many sectors, research has established that management explains a notable portion of productivity differences … across organizations. A remaining question, however, is whether it is managers themselves or firm-wide management practices … this setting, managers move between stores but management practices are set by firm policy and largely fixed, allowing us …

We present a heterogeneous-firm model in which management ability increases both production efficiency and product … quality. Combining six micro-datasets on management practices, production and trade in Chinese and American firms, we find … inputs, and imported inputs from more advanced countries. The structural estimates indicate that management is important for …