Correction for variations in capacity utilization in the measurement of productivity growth: A non-parametric approach

Abstract

The multifactor productivity growth estimate published by statistical agencies should be corrected for the effect of the short run variations in capacity utilization for such estimate to be a measure of technological progress. But such correction is not normally made as the rate of capacity utilization is often not observed. This paper develops a nonparametric approach for adjusting multifactor productive growth measure for variation in capacity utilization over time. In the approach developed here, the capital utilization measure is derived from the economic theory of production and is estimated by comparing the ex-post return with the ex-ante expected return on capital. The approach offers a practical solution that can be used by statistical agencies to adjust for capacity utilization in their multifactor productivity growth measure. The nonparametric approach is implemented using the data for the manufacturing sector from the Canadian Productivity Program of Statistics Canada, and is found to correct for the bias from the variation in capacity utilization in that sector.