Manufacturing Extension And Productivity Dynamics
June 1998
Working Paper Number:
CES-98-08
Abstract
This paper presents results from an investigation of the effects of manufacturing extension on the productivity dynamics of client plants. Previous econometric studies of manufacturing extension had very little time series information. This limited what researchers could say about the relative timing of extension services and performance improvements. In turn, this makes it difficult to attribute performance improvements to the receipt of extension services. In this paper, I use a panel of client and nonclient plants to more carefully analyze the dynamics of extension and productivity. The results suggest that the timing of observed productivity improvements at client plants is consistent with a positive impact of manufacturing extension. Estimated program impacts are within the range of those found in previous studies.
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