The Effect of Economic Openness on Multifactor Productivity: Empirical Evidence from Selected Asian Countries

Variation in demand, natural resource availability, and technological advancement within a country are the main reasons for necessitating export and import activities between nations. Accordingly, this paper aims to analyze the effect of economic openness on Multifactor Productivity (MFP) in selected Asian countries (Vietnam, Thailand, The Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia, China, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, and Singapore) based on data for the period 1990–2018. The analysis conducted in the study employed the panel ARDL approach based on the estimation by Pooled Mean Group (PMG), Mean Group (MG), and Dynamic Fixed Effect (DFE). The Hausman test conducted indicates that the PMG estimation is better than that of MG and DFE since it has a higher variability value than the significance value. The results revealed that economic openness is able to elicit significant and positive effects on short-term and longterm MFP growth. In addition, the study established that other variable, such as the number of schooling years, are also able to produce a positive and significant effect on MFP growth in the long term. Since economic openness can impact MFP growth, every country should thus increase its export activities through more capital and worker inputs that will stimulate greater production.