Using firm-level survey data for a large cross section of countries, the paper assesses the gap in labor productivity … impact of competition from informal firms on the labor productivity of formal firms. The results show that on average, the … labor productivity of informal firms is about one-fourth that of formal firms. Moreover, the labor productivity of formal …

, Brazil, in order to test which government actions work in getting informal firms to register. Firms were randomized to a …

Food price inflation in Brazil in the twelve months to June 2008 was 18 percent, while overall inflation was seven … welfare consequences of these food price increases, and their distribution across households. Because Brazil is a large food … increases in two large social assistance benefits, the overall impact of higher food prices in Brazil was U-shaped, with middle …

: current and future total factor productivity and the capital stock per capita. These variables suffice to calculate welfare … production technology and the degree of market competition. It applies to open economies as well, if total factor productivity is … factor productivity be constructed with prices and quantities as perceived by consumers, not firms. Thus, factor shares need …

A considerable literature has focused on the determinants of total factor productivity (TFP), prompted by the empirical … representative consumer is summarized by current and anticipated future Solow productivity residuals. The equivalence holds for any … parametrically. This result justifies total factor productivity as the right summary measure of welfare, even in situations where it …