Productivity and Resource Misallocation: Empirical Findings from Firms in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region and Turkey

State-Business relations (SBRs) are reflected in business and investment climate indicators and may take the form of formal, regular, and informal interactions. The creation of an institutional environment in which the state provides high-quality public goods, such as infrastructure, political stabi...

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Main Authors: Eleftherios Giovanis, Öznur Özdamar Giovanis
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Istanbul University Press 2022-01-01
Series:İktisat Politikası Araştırmaları Dergisi
Subjects:
Online Access:https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/7E1DC49AD1FE4588937E24099517802A
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author Eleftherios Giovanis
Öznur Özdamar Giovanis
author_facet Eleftherios Giovanis
Öznur Özdamar Giovanis
author_sort Eleftherios Giovanis
collection DOAJ
description State-Business relations (SBRs) are reflected in business and investment climate indicators and may take the form of formal, regular, and informal interactions. The creation of an institutional environment in which the state provides high-quality public goods, such as infrastructure, political stability, elimination of corruption, and effective public administration, is important because it can improve productivity and lead to higher rates of growth. Resource reallocation from low to high productivity firms can generate large aggregate productivity gains with further potential benefits to economic growth. This study examines the relationship between productivity and resource misallocation in a sample of countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, and Turkey. The analysis relies on data from the World Bank Enterprise Surveys over 2008-2016 of firms in Egypt, Turkey, and Yemen. In the analysis, we control various firm characteristics. Furthermore, we explore major state-business relations (SBRs) and their association to resource misallocation. The results are mixed, wherein in Egypt and Turkey, female ownership and international quality certification are positively associated with productivity and allocation efficiency. Moreover, obstacles in SBRs present a negative and significant correlation with the firms’ performance and productivity, increasing dispersions in the resource allocation, output, and capital. We find that corruption, political instability, electricity supply, and high tax rates are the most critical obstacles in SBRs.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2148-3876
language English
publishDate 2022-01-01
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series İktisat Politikası Araştırmaları Dergisi
spelling doaj-art-40468c18414e43cb8f8e3f18832e7c342025-08-20T03:52:48ZengIstanbul University Pressİktisat Politikası Araştırmaları Dergisi2148-38762022-01-019113710.26650/JEPR1021400123456Productivity and Resource Misallocation: Empirical Findings from Firms in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region and TurkeyEleftherios Giovanis0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7492-7461Öznur Özdamar Giovanis1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2188-3733İzmir Bakırçay Üniversitesi, Izmir, Turkiyeİzmir Bakırçay Üniversitesi, Izmir, TurkiyeState-Business relations (SBRs) are reflected in business and investment climate indicators and may take the form of formal, regular, and informal interactions. The creation of an institutional environment in which the state provides high-quality public goods, such as infrastructure, political stability, elimination of corruption, and effective public administration, is important because it can improve productivity and lead to higher rates of growth. Resource reallocation from low to high productivity firms can generate large aggregate productivity gains with further potential benefits to economic growth. This study examines the relationship between productivity and resource misallocation in a sample of countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, and Turkey. The analysis relies on data from the World Bank Enterprise Surveys over 2008-2016 of firms in Egypt, Turkey, and Yemen. In the analysis, we control various firm characteristics. Furthermore, we explore major state-business relations (SBRs) and their association to resource misallocation. The results are mixed, wherein in Egypt and Turkey, female ownership and international quality certification are positively associated with productivity and allocation efficiency. Moreover, obstacles in SBRs present a negative and significant correlation with the firms’ performance and productivity, increasing dispersions in the resource allocation, output, and capital. We find that corruption, political instability, electricity supply, and high tax rates are the most critical obstacles in SBRs.https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/7E1DC49AD1FE4588937E24099517802Afirm-level datafirm characteristicproductivityresource misallocationstate-business relations
spellingShingle Eleftherios Giovanis
Öznur Özdamar Giovanis
Productivity and Resource Misallocation: Empirical Findings from Firms in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region and Turkey
İktisat Politikası Araştırmaları Dergisi
firm-level data
firm characteristic
productivity
resource misallocation
state-business relations
title Productivity and Resource Misallocation: Empirical Findings from Firms in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region and Turkey
title_full Productivity and Resource Misallocation: Empirical Findings from Firms in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region and Turkey
title_fullStr Productivity and Resource Misallocation: Empirical Findings from Firms in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region and Turkey
title_full_unstemmed Productivity and Resource Misallocation: Empirical Findings from Firms in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region and Turkey
title_short Productivity and Resource Misallocation: Empirical Findings from Firms in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region and Turkey
title_sort productivity and resource misallocation empirical findings from firms in the middle east and north africa mena region and turkey
topic firm-level data
firm characteristic
productivity
resource misallocation
state-business relations
url https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/7E1DC49AD1FE4588937E24099517802A
work_keys_str_mv AT eleftheriosgiovanis productivityandresourcemisallocationempiricalfindingsfromfirmsinthemiddleeastandnorthafricamenaregionandturkey
AT oznurozdamargiovanis productivityandresourcemisallocationempiricalfindingsfromfirmsinthemiddleeastandnorthafricamenaregionandturkey