Labor productivity - output per hour worked - is an important factor determining the wealth of national economies and their standards of living. Its growth accounts for about half of per capita GDP growth in OECD countries. Despite its importance, it has received scant attention in political...

During the development process, financing the budget expenditures is very important issue. In this process, iIt is important to increase government revenue without damaging private income and consumption. We propose that an increase in taxes will be convenient for Turkish economy, particularly...

In this paper we empirically analyse the impact of retirement benefits on consumption and personal saving in South Africa using the Feldstein 1974 specification and procedure. By using a basic extended Ando-Modigliani life cycle model we show that the introduction of retirement programs crowds...

When considering issues of measuring welfare beyond gross domestic product (GDP), a key ongoing, but unfinished, agenda concerns how to measure the outputs of goods and services which are "free at the point of delivery". Public services such as schools and health services are major examples of...

This paper presents the first hedonic general-equilibrium estimates of quality-of-life and firm productivity differences across Canadian cities, using data on local wages and housing costs. These estimates account for the unobservability of land rents and geographic differences in federal and...

We use firm-level data on formal and informal production in India to examine the sectoral consequences of government investment in public infrastructure. Our results indicate that the output elasticity of public capital, proximity to highway infrastructure, time since project completion, and...

In Australia, reforms to improve productivity need to focus on human services, including health, education, and community services. These services make up around 20% of national output, involve significant government expenditure, are used by all Australians and are a key element in reducing...

It is well recognised that the issue of the social rate of discount applies only to the gains from public investment that accrues to the public sector. When it comes to measurement, however, there is a problem: public investment in infrastructure and the like do not usually yield direct...

Productivity is a most important determinant of national wealth and standards of living. Scholars have shown that different welfare production regimes pursue distinct human capital formation policies to promote productivity. But do those government policies actually promote the productivity of...