Recent attention has focused on the UK's productivity gap in the retail sector. Figure 1 shows an estimate of labour productivity in retail across countries, using output per hour worked. The UK lies well behind the US, France and Germany. Reynolds at al (2005) contribute to this debate by...

This paper analyzes the relationship between investment in information and communication technologies (ICT), non-ICT-investment, labor productivity and workplace reorganization. Firms are assumed to reorganize workplaces if the productivity gains arising from workplace reorganization exceed the...

Conventional pension systems suffer from a design defect which makes them financially unsustainable, and a source of inefficiency for the economy as a whole. The paper outlines a second-best policy which includes a public pension system made up of two parallel schemes, a Bismarckian one allowing...

Das deutsche Verarbeitende Gewerbe hat nach Norwegen das zweithöchste Lohnstückkostenniveau der Industrieländer zu verkraften. Wichtige Konkurrenzländer der Bundesrepublik wie die USA, Japan, Frankreich, Italien und die Niederlande haben einen Stückkostenvorteil von bis zu 25 Prozent. Diese...

Das deutsche Verarbeitende Gewerbe hat verglichen mit zwölf bedeutenden Industrieländern das höchste Lohnstückkostenniveau zu verkraften. Wichtige Konkurrenzländer der Bundesrepublik wie die USA, Japan, Frankreich, Italien und die Niederlande haben einen Stückkostenvorteil von bis zu 27...

A recent survey of 54 micro-econometric studies reveals that exporting firms are more productive than non-exporters. On the other hand, previous empirical studies show that exporting does not necessarily improve productivity. One possible reason for this result is that most previous studies are...

Conventional pension systems suffer from a design defect which makes them financially unsustainable, and a source of inefficiency for the economy as a whole. The paper outlines a second-best policy which includes a public pension system made up of two parallel schemes, a Bismarckian one allowing...