Competition, Selection, and Productivity Growth in the Chilean Manufacturing Industry

Por Aldo González – Roberto Álvarez
Ex Superintendente de AFP, de Valores y Seguros, y ex Presidente del BancoEstado.
Académico de la Universidad de Chile y consultor internacional en pensiones.

Recent evidence for several countries shows a decline in TFP growth. However, there is not much evidence for developing countries and much less regarding the impact of competition in product markets. In this paper, we analyze the impact of competition on selection and productivity growth in Chile. Our results indicate that competition has a positive effect on TFP growth and the probability of exit for lagging firms. Our results are robust to alternative methodologies for calculating TFP and to the inclusion of other variables that may affect firms’ TFP growth.