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The present investigation utilizes a bespoke methodology to analyse and compare the productivity rates of contractors' planning engineers for concrete placing operations amongst three European construction industries, namely Germany, France and the UK. An analysis of variance (anova) was used to investigate differences between the productivity rates. Based on such rates, the analysis shows that German contractors achieve the most efficient levels of labour productivity for this particular operation, whilst amongst the sample surveyed, British contractors are less productive than French and German companies. Although leading British contractors can compete with the best on the continent, the least productive companies in the UK sample were inferior to the least productive in France and Germany. Using national all‐in rates for labour, actual (labour) costs for this concrete operation were calculated to be lowest in France despite French wage rates being marginally higher than in the UK. This was because of the superior labour output of French contractors. The apparent lower productivity of British firms sampled in the present research concurs with the findings of two other international studies, indicating that the methodology utilized can provide meaningful and accurate productivity information.

A contrast of site productivity levels for an in situ concrete operation (reinforcement fixing) on a high‐rise project amongst construction contractors from Germany, France and the UK is given. The productivity rates provided by contractors' planning engineers for a model construction project form the basis of this evaluation. Conclusions drawn, based on relatively small samples, are considered approximations of the actual productivity levels in each international location. An analysis of variance based on international origin indicates significant differences between these productivity rates. Generally, amongst the sample surveyed, UK and German contractors exhibit the most efficient levels of labour productivity for the operations observed, whilst French contractors are by far the least productive. For the model building, UK contractors are the most productive, requiring less labour input than those from Germany and France. The UK contractors also demonstrate a high degree of performance variation. Leading on from these analyses, a construction (labour) cost comparison indicates the UK to be the most economic location. A comparison with previous research indicates contrasting findings. It is concluded that the performance ranking of French, German and UK contractors will vary depending upon the construction operations concerned, and therefore, assumptions regarding national contracting industries should not be based on individual operations. Contractors could benefit from developing closer links with their international counterparts since this would facilitate dissemination of European ‘best practice’.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a quantitative assessment of the factors contributing to India's growth acceleration since 1970, based on the neoclassical growth model.

A feature of neoclassical growth models is that capital accumulation is induced by both productivity growth and increases in investment rates. The paper uses a growth decomposition method based on that of Robertson. The method reconstructs India's actual growth path exactly, then decomposes the growth using counterfactual simulations, holding investment rates constant and productivity growth constant. The role of human capital is also discussed.

An increase in the productivity growth rate from 1970 accounts for 68per cent of India's post 1970s growth and the rise in the investment rate accounts for 30 per cent. Hence an upward trend in productivity growth has been more than twice as important as the doubling of the investment rate. A similar conclusion applies for the post 2000 era, where a rise in investment from 25 per cent to 37 per cent of GDP, only adds about 0.7 percentage points of growth to the 4.5 per cent annual growth rate over this period.

The paper provides quantitative estimates of the role of investment and productivity to India's growth based on the neoclassical growth model. It thus improves upon existing growth accounting studies by allowing for the induced effect of productivity growth on capital accumulation. It also improves upon existing development accounting techniques that rely on steady state restrictions, and which would therefore be inappropriate for evaluating India's recent transitional growth.

The purpose of this paper is to contextualize a productivity contest between a local manufacturer versus a foreign one, both of whom sell an identical product in the local market, within the two companies' respective economies. The intent is to delineate the conditions under which one firm gains a competitive advantage over the other.

The purchasing power parity model is reformulated to account for differential rates of macroeconomic productivity gain in the two countries. The implications of these differential rates vis‐à‐vis the productivity contest between the local and foreign manufacturer are then explored.

To gain a competitive advantage over its foreign rival, the local firm must achieve a net productivity improvement relative to its (local) economy that surpasses the net productivity improvement of the foreign rival relative to its (foreign) economy. Thus, the local firm stands in a rivalrous relationship not solely with its foreign competitor but also with the average firm in its very own (local) economy and in a complementary relationship with the average firm in the foreign economy. The foregoing is shown to be a generalization of the Dutch disease phenomenon and to imply that national efforts to attain competitive advantage are self‐contradictory.

In its productivity contest with its foreign rival, the local firm's management should not focus myopically on a comparison of the two firms' rates of net productivity improvement. Rather, the focus should be on the two firms' differential rates of net productivity improvement relative to their respective economies.

The main conclusions of this paper, which derive from the effect of productivity changes on exchange rates, are both stark and original. A firm is engaged in a productivity contest with the average firm in its own economy. Thus, national efforts to enhance productivity are counter productive to a firm whose productivity improvement lags behind that of the average domestic firm.

This study aims to explore the long-run equilibrium relationship between India’s real exchange rate and sectoral productivity trends using internationally comparable KLEMS databases on productivity for India, China, Euro area, the USA, the UK and Japan.

This study uses pooled mean group estimations for panel data suggested by Pesaran et al. (1999). This method is chosen because of the presence of variables with different orders of integration.

The results find support for an “extended” Balassa–Samuelson (BS) hypothesis which allows labour market frictions that does not allow for wage equalisation between traded and non-traded sectors within a country. This mechanism continues to find some support when we separate out distribution sector that comprises wholesale and retail trade in the domestic services sector. The empirical evidence suggests that India’s real exchange rate is anchored to domestic fundamentals and is closely aligned to its fair value over a medium to long-time horizon.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, unlike the available literature, which uses aggregate per-capita income as proxy for a country’s productivity growth, this paper perhaps makes the first attempt to validate the BS hypothesis by accounting for productivity differential at the sectoral levels using KLEMS data across countries. Moreover, this study takes the country’s productivity improvement rather than using a basket of countries, a prevalent practice in the literature. While this paper uses India’s data, which witnessed a prolonged appreciation in its real effective exchange rate and rapid technological progress, the authors believe its findings and policy implications could be applicable to the similar emerging market economies.

Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some legal aspects concerning MNEs, cyberspace and e‐commerce as the means of expression of the digital economy. The whole effort of the author is focused on the examination of various aspects of MNEs and their impact upon globalisation and vice versa and how and if we are moving towards a global digital economy.

Weather is one of the main factors affecting labour productivity. Existing weather-productivity models focussed on hot and cold climates paying less attention to the tropics. Many tropical countries are expected to be the most areas affected by accelerated climate change and global warming, which may have a severe impact on labour health and productivity. The purpose of this paper is to assess whether the existing models can be used to predict labour productivity based on weather conditions in the tropics.

Five models are identified from the literature for evaluation. Using real labour productivity data of a high-rise building project in Malaysia, the actual productivity rate was compared with predicted productivity rates generated using the five models. The predicted productivity rates were generated using weather variables collected from an adjusting weather station to the project.

Compared with other models evaluated in this paper, the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) was found to be the best model to predict productivity based on the case study data. However, the result shows only a 57% accuracy level of the USACE model indicating the need to develop a new model for the tropics for more accurate prediction.

The result of this study is perhaps the first to apply meteorological variables to predict productivity rates and validate them using actual productivity data in the tropics. This study is the first step to developing a more accurate productivity model, which will be useful for project planning and more accurate productivity rate estimation.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between foreign direct investment (FDI), wages and productivity in China. The direction of causality among these variables is also to be emphasized.

The authors develop a system of equations and test the relationships based on a vector autoregressive regression (VAR) model and two‐step generalized method of moments (GMM)‐type estimation approach. They use a panel data set of China's provinces for a 20‐year time period, 1988‐2007, and also distinguish between the coastal and inland provinces.

The result confirms the cheap labor argument for China, although this particularly true for inland provinces. In the coastal provinces, FDI inflow influences the wage rates upwards. FDI also has a positive effect on productivity, particularly in the coastal provinces, but does not act as a significant determinant of FDI.

Factors other than wage rates and labor productivity are also important determinants of FDI. This paper focuses on the interplay of these three variables, while assuming other factors constant.

Cheap labor as an attraction of FDI is a short term policy. Improvements in productivity should be the focus both in the coastal and the inland provinces. A conducive business environment, a suitable education policy and incentives for greater R&D contribute toward improving labor productivity, which in turn attracts greater FDI inflow.

The paper provides empirical evidence on the direction of causality between FDI inflow, wages rates and labor productivity in one system of equations.

What causes the downward trend of real interest rates in major developed economies since the 1980s? What are the challenges of the near-zero interest and inflation rates for monetary policy? What can the policymakers learn from the latest developments in the monetary and interest rate theory? This paper aims to answer these questions by reviewing both basic principles of interest rate determination and recent academic and policy debates.

The paper critically reviews the explanations for the downward trend of real interest rates in recent decades and monetary policy options in a near-zero interest rate environment.

The decline of real interest rates is likely an outcome of multiple technological, social and economic factors including diminished productivity growth, changing demographics, elevated tail-risk concerns, time-varying convenience yields of safe assets, increased global demand for safe assets, rising wealth and income inequality, falling relative price of capital, accommodative monetary policies, and changes in industry structure that alter the investment and saving behaviors of the corporate sector. The near-zero interest rate limits the space of central banks' response to economic crises. It also challenges some conventional wisdoms of monetary theory and sparks radically new ideas about monetary policy.

This survey differs from the existing work by taking a broader view of both economics and finance literature. It critically assesses the economic forces driving the global decline of real interest rates through the lens of basic principles and empirical evidence and discusses the merits and limitations of each proposed explanation. The study emphasizes the importance of a better understanding of economic forces driving diverging trends of corporate investment and saving behaviors. It also discusses the implications of the neo-Fisherism and the fiscal theory of price level for monetary policy in a low interest rate environment.

Population ageing, coupled with economic uncertainty and a shifting workforce structure, has directed the attention of public and organizational policy makers toward the potential contribution of older workers and skilled migrants in meeting labor supply shortages in ageing populations. This chapter presents labor supply and demand scenarios for 10 OECD countries and examines trends in the labor force participation of older workers against the backdrop of changes to the nature of work in an era of globalization, casualization, and, increasingly, automation. Brief analysis of each country’s situation and policy responses indicates that China, Japan, and Korea stand out as being at particular risk of being unable to maintain growth without undertaking drastic action, although their areas of focus need to differ. A limitation of the study is that GDP projections used in labor demand analysis were based on historical rates and represented past potential and a long-run average of historic economic output. Future research might also undertake comparative analysis of case studies addressing different potential solutions to workforce ageing. A key implication of the study is that there is a need to take a blended approach to public policy regarding older workers in a changing labor market. Where migration has historically been a source of labor supplementation, this may become a less viable avenue over the near future. Future shortfalls in labor imply that economies will increasingly need to diversify their sources of workers in order to maintain economic growth. For public policy makers the challenge will be to overcome public antipathy to migration and longer working lives.