Total factor productivity, the East Asian miracle, and the world production frontier

The post WWII growth of the East Asian Tiger states has stimulated the disc ussion about its determinants. Young and Krugman hold that high capital acc umulation rather than gains in efficiency or technological progress has spu rred growth. Nelson and Pack, however, have recently criticized the methods of measuring technological progress. Applying the nonparametric approach t o frontier production function determination and the Malmquist index of tot al factor productivity change, the authors take up this criticism. They cal culate productivity indicators for a sample of 18 American, Asian, and Euro pean countries. For the Tiger states, their results confirm that capital ac cumulation was the main source of growth in 1960-1973, whereas they find ev idence for an increasing importance of efficiency improvements for the grow th in 1973-1990. JEL no. O47, O57.