Productivity Growth and Patterns of Efficiency Changes in Korean Economy: Stochastic Frontier Approach with Industry-Panel Data

This paper applies the group-specific stochastic frontier production model to the Korean 32-industry level panel data set for the period of 1984-1997. The methodology allows for not only estimating temporal variation in total factor productivity, but also identifying the contribution of technical efficiency separately from technical progress. The empirical results of this study show that productivity growth of Korean economy was driven mainly by technical efficiency improvement in the 1980s, but by technical progress in the 1990s. At the industry level, the petroleum products industry was the most efficient in the 1980s, but its efficiency rank fell to 5 in 1997. On the other hand, the communication industry improved its technical efficiency dramatically; its technical efficiency growth rate was ranked at 14 in 1985, but at 1 since 1993.