Productivity, Exports, Skills and Technological Capabilities: A Study of Foreign and Local Manufacturing Firms in Uganda

This paper examines productivity, export-intensity, skills-intensity and technological differences between foreign and local firms in metal engineering, textile and garment, food and beverages, plastics and other industrial firms in Uganda using the technological capability framework. In metal engineering foreign firms enjoyed higher and statistically significant technology index, human resource, process technology and R&D capabilities than local firms. However, the remaining t-tests produced mixed results. Nonetheless, foreign firms enjoyed stronger statistical relationships between the technology index, and productivity and export-intensity, and export-intensity and skills intensity. Foreign firms also enjoyed a stronger statistical relationship between export-intensity, and technology index and human resource capabilities. Overall, the results suggest that local firms can learn considerably from the operations of foreign firms in Uganda