Capital Productivity in Austrian Manufacturing

  • Franz R. Hahn

Capital productivity of Austrian manufacturing is characterized by a slightly falling trend. The decline was somewhat less pronounced than in the F. R. G. At the beginning of the seventies, capital productivity in Austrian manufacturing was about 68 percent of that in German manufacturing and reached 72 percent at the end of the eighties. Since 1970, the factor capital has also accelerated the catching-up process of labour productivity vis-à-vis Germany. No empirical evidence could, however, be found for a positive contribution of capital through the factor "technology" to this catching-up process. The productivity gap was probably mainly reduced by the input of more capital of the same technology rather than by the use of technologically more advanced capital.