Patrick Plane

Participating in African monetary unions: An alternative evaluation

Abstract This paper, complementary to that of Devarajan and de Melo, deals with the development strategies and performances of 12 franc zone African countries, 11 of them gathered in two monetary unions, during 1960–1981. Beside the actual rate of growth, the “relative growth performance” is considered; this performance, measured as a residual of a regression on exogenous factors (factors independent of economic policy), appears to be close to the average performance of other developing countries and better than that of other African countries. The results are explained by the direct influence of the foreign exchange regime of the zone and by its impact on economic policy. Economic policies of individual countries show, however, some substantial degree of autonomy.

Technical efficiency measurement within the manufacturing sector in Cote d'Ivoire: A stochastic frontier approach

This article analyses the productive performance in four manufacturing sectors of the Ivorian economy: textiles and garments, metal products, food processing, wood and furniture. To appraise the productive performance, econometric production frontier models are estimated, illustrating the maximum output attainable from a given quantity of inputs. The frontier and firm efficiency scores are derived from stochastic production functions estimated on cross-sectional data. The stochastic specification of the models allows for the decomposition of the error term into two components, one the normal random effect and the other to account for technical inefficiency that we explain by various exogenous variables describing the economic and institutional environment. Firm size proves to be a statistically significant determinant of the productive performance. Across the four sectors, the positive impact of being large compensates the negative effect of a formal institutional status in an environment where government regulations still prevail.

Textile Manufacturing in Eight Developing Countries: Does Business Environment Matter for Firm Technical Efficiency?

Abstract Production frontiers with technical inefficiency determinants are estimated using stochastic models for textile manufacturing in eight developing countries encompassing about 800 firms. Inefficiency determinants are considered either on an individual basis, or in the form of composite indicators reflecting in-house or managerial factors and various dimensions of the external environment. Although each of these two categories of factors is statistically significant, the former proves more influential in the explanation of the difference in efficiency between firms. Simulations are then proposed to assess the efficiency levels that would occur if firms had the opportunity to produce in the most favourable productive environments.

TFP in Tunisian Manufacturing Sectors: Convergence or Catch-Up with OECD Members?

Total Factor Productivity (TFP) is analyzed for six Tunisian manufacturing sectors: food processing, electrical and metal products, chemical activities, textiles, clothing and leather, building materials and ceramics, miscellaneous products. First, sector-based TFP are calculated over a long period (1983–2002) as well as some sub-periods reflecting changes of local economic policy. Then, using an accounting framework, we decompose the industrial productivity into a reallocation effect (i.e., variation in the relative distribution of sectoral value added), and a pure productivity effect (i.e., the sectoral value-added shares being constant). Secondly, through panel data unit root tests, TFP long-term convergence with or without catch-up is examined with respect to the productive performance of OECD members. Each of the six Tunisian manufacturing sectors is benchmarked by the productive performance of OECD members. The Dickey–Fuller type test that we use allows us to take into account the potential correlation across OECD countries. The empirical analysis highlights two main findings. TFP convergence and catch-up have generally been a joint process. Moreover, the sectors where catch-up occurred were those with the best productive performance and those that succeeded in reducing the productivity gap with regard to the best OECD performers.