ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the sources of output growth of some selected industries in Bangladesh. It presents empirical estimation of sources of growth and interpretation of results. The two main sources of output growth, viz., total factor productivity (TFP) growth and input growth were estimated using firm level data for 1981, 1987 and 1991. International comparison may shed light on the relative performance of Bangladesh industries. Patterns of output growth across industries in Bangladesh are similar to those of other developing countries, such as India, but are lower than countries such as Sri Lanka, South Korea, Taiwan and Turkey. The contribution of the changes in capacity realization to TFP growth of industries was negligible. Technological progress embodies increased efficiency of factors in production. Generally, this improvement in efficiency is biased towards certain factors; technological progress during a certain period can, therefore, be described as labour-bias or labour-saving and capital-biasor capital-saving.
