تجزیه و تحلیل در سطح بنگاه استفاده از شبکه اطلاعات و بهره وری در ژاپن

This paper presents firm-level micro analysis of information network use and the impact of such use on a firm's productivity. The positive impact of information network use on productivity growth is confirmed using METI's firm-level data for Japanese manufacturers and distributors from 1991 to 2000. In addition, the relationship between information networks and business networks is investigated, and it is found that these two types of networks are complementary in promoting productivity growth of a firm. J. Japanese Int. Economies21 (1) (2007) 121–137.

Is the information economy a driving force in the recent upward shift in productivity observed in the United States and other counties? It is undeniable that dramatic technological progress has taken place in IT, and progress has driven down quality-adjusted computer prices at the rate of more than 10% annually. In addition, today we cannot imagine daily life without the Internet, which began to come into common use in the mid 1990s. This timing coincided with a kinked point in US labor productivity trends. Specifically, after the productivity slowdown in 1980s referred to as Solow's productivity paradox, US labor productivity regained momentum in the late 1990s. Oliner and Sichel (2000) show that approximately two-thirds of the 1.5% productivity gains after 1995 can be attributed to the growth in IT investment. On the other hand, Gordon (2000) argues that recent US labor productivity growth is not a part of structural shift but merely reflects procyclical movement; Gordon then asserts that productivity growth is observed only within the IT sectors, and that IT user sectors cannot take advantage of the benefits of IT investment. After the burst of the “IT bubble” in 2001, the US economic growth rate slowed, and which caused a number of skeptical views of the “New Economy.” However, BLS analysis of US labor productivity shows strong performance even after the IT bubble burst; it is thus fair to say that the IT investment surge can explain a significant portion, although not all, of the revival of US productivity after the mid-1990s (Bailiy, 2002).

In this paper, a firm-level analysis of IT and productivity is conducted using METI's BSBSA data set. Jorgenson and Motohashi (2005) provide macro-level evidence on the role of IT in economic growth in Japan. While the growth rate of GDP in Japan slowed significantly after the burst of the economic bubble, the contribution of IT capital services has increased since the middle 1990s. In addition, the size of ITs contribution to GDP growth in Japan is almost same as that in the United States. Therefore, it is concluded that Japanese firms heavily invested in IT in the 1990s, and that those activities were not so different from corresponding actions of US firms.