In this paper we investigate a ‘global’ production function for agriculture, using FAO data for 128 countries from 1961-2002. Our review of the empirical literature in this field highlights that existing cross-country studies largely neglect variable time-series properties, parameter...

In this paper we ask how technological differences in manufacturing across countries can best be modeled when using a standard production function approach. We show that it is important to allow for differences in technology as measured by differences in parameters. Of similar importance are...

Since the seminal contribution of Gregory Mankiw, David Romer and David Weil (1992), the growth empirics literature has used increasingly sophisticated methods to select relevant growth determinants in estimating cross-section growth regressions. The vast majority of empirical approaches however...

The cross-country growth literature commonly uses aggregate economy datasets such as the Penn World Table (PWT) to estimate homogeneous production function or convergence regression models. Against the background of a dual economy framework this paper investigates the potential bias arising when...

This paper analyses characteristics and determinants of the recent explosion of patent filings by Chinese firms both in China and the United States. We construct a firm-level dataset by matching USPTO and SIPO patents to Chinese manufacturing census data for the period 1999-2006. Using this...

This paper provides micro-level evidence that drug advertising regulations and inspections in China are used by local governments to discriminate against firms from outside the province. Furthermore, the degree of discrimination varies across firms in that drug manufacturers which have closer...

Using data for 128 countries we document low (high) elasticities of agricultural output with respect to labor in economies within temperate (tropical/highland) climate zones. Adopting a standard model of structural change we show that this technology heterogeneity determines the speed of...