CAPITAL SERVICES IN ARGENTINA METHODOLOGY OF ESTIMATION AND ITS CONTRIBUTION TO THE PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH

ARIEL COREMBERG

OECD-Paris

Congreso; CANBERRA GROUP II On The Measurement of Non-Financial Assets Paper for discussion at the 2nd Meeting, 10-13 October 2003; 2003

OECD

The present work is aimed at evaluating the methodology of estimation ofcapital services in Argentina and its contribution to the productivity growth during the1990´s.The capital stock is estimated according to the recommendations of the recenteconomic literature, mainly the OECD Capital Stock Manual, about using hedonicvaluation method to test the empirical depreciation of capital goods using a highdesegregate data.In order to take into account the problems of using the traded used marketprices in the case of hedonic valuation of capital goods pointed out by the economicliterature: asymmetric information (lemons problem) and censored data problem; themarket prices of used capital goods were weighted by the survival probability of everycohort in the stock, taking into account its age structure and the estimated withdrawals.The level of capital stock estimation is founded macroeconomic consistent withthe principal national accounts aggregates.Taking into account the main recommendations of the OECD ProductivityManual and the OECD Capital Stock Manual, the paper reviews the proposals ofestimation of capital services: efficiency-age profiles, level of aggregation, indexnumber problem and the user cost approach in the context of their application ofempirical estimation in Argentina.Given the relevance and dynamism of capital stock services for growthprocesses, an accurate measurement of this variable is critical. Thus, heterogeneityacquires more relevance, as well as the type of weights and the index numbers used toestimate its contribution to output.According to these results, evidences may indicate that during the nineties therewas no productivity gain in the sense of Solow in Argentina. In any case, it may beinferred that the profile of economic growth was of the extensive type based on theaccumulation of capital rather than disembodied technological progress or nonpecuniaryspillovers.