Growth Accounting and Productivity in the Norwegian Fisheries Rögnvaldur Hannesson Norges Handelshøyskole Bergen, Norway

Motivation Fish production depends on an unpriced, natural resource How important is the resource for productivity? –Does cpue depend on stock size? Are productivity gains dissipated by open access or lax management? Is technical progress normal in the fisheries despite small productivity gains?

Norway’s fisheries

Not so evident what explains changes in production

Index of fish stock abundance, using share in landed alue as weights: ”New” stocks appeared over time, representing additions to resource base Resource base fluctuates, but was about the same in 2004 as in 1961 Thick line: average

Total factor (3-factor) productivity

Profit maximization under competition: value of marginal productivity = factor prices k cost of intermediate inputs, equal for all stocks s’s: shares of labor and capital in value added

Change in 3-factor productivity: Some of the apparent change in 2-factor productivity due to changes in stocks? s i share of stock i in value of landings

High variability of K and L shares. Capital remuneration imputed; variations in landings value absorbed by labour. Use fixed weights for labor (0.7) and capital (0.3)

What about b in S b ? Three cases: (i)b = 1 (the Schaefer funtion) (ii)b = 0.5 (iii)b = 1 (bottom-dwelling stocks) & 0.1 (stocks near surface)

Changes in productvity Annualized change in TFP2: 0.8%

Growth in TFP3: Annualized growth: 4.3% (b = 1) 1.7% (b = 1 or 0.1)

TFP has grown faster if the influence of stocks is accounted for (2-4% per year) TFP growth in the market-oriented sector of the Norwegian economy : 2.1% per year a) b = 1 b) b = 0.5 c) b = 1 or 0.1