In Order to Compute an Index of Total Factor Productivity, It Is Necessary to Know Returns to Scale and Interval Valuations of Quasi-Fixed Factors; Neither Are Directly Observable. in Resource Industries This Problem Is Compounded by the Facts That Returns to Scale Are Important and That There...

In This Note, We Explain Why Comparing the Total Factor Productivities of Extractive, and Non Extractive, Sectors Is Likely to Be Misleading; Then We Propose a Correction and Implement It for the Cas of Asbestos, Where It Turns Out to Make a Significant Difference.