TFP growth and its determinants: nonparametrics and model averaging

Total Factor Productivity (TFP) accounts for a sizeable proportion of the income and growth differences across countries. Two challenges remain to researchers aiming to explain these differences: on the one hand, TFP growth is hard to measure; on the other hand, model uncertainty hampers consensus on its key determinants. This paper combines a non-parametric measure of TFP growth with model averaging techniques to addess both issues. The empirical findings suggest that the most robust TFP growth determinants are unobserved heterogeneity, initial GDP, consumption share, and trade openness. We also investigate the main determinants of the TFP components: efficiency change (i.e. catching up) and technological progress (i.e. innovation).