Productivity gains are not only important for competitiveness but also for other welfare gains. And, importantly, industry structure matters in driving the productive gains. This study examines the labor productivity of food manufacturing firms in Malaysia and the effect of capability and human capital on productivity. The findings show productivity heterogeneity among firms, and as capabilities and human capital grow, productivity gains become much higher. Importantly, it shows that bundles of capability, namely, innovation, information and communication technology (ICT) and marketing as well as human capital become more relevant as firms move to the higher end of the productivity distribution. The findings are robust to different measures of human capital and capabilities. Examining the effects separately indicates that innovation matters the most in driving labor productivity. The coefficient of ICT declines as firms move up the conditional productivity distribution. Likewise, market creating capability of the firms enhances productivity, but the coefficient does not vary across the lower and upper productivity quantiles. The study concludes the implications for persistent labor productivity differences across capabilities and human capital by drawing policy implications.

中文翻译：

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提高劳动生产率：能力和人力资本在马来西亚食品制造企业中的作用

生产率的提高不仅对竞争力很重要，而且对其他福利收益也很重要。而且，重要的是，行业结构在推动生产收益方面很重要。本研究考察了马来西亚食品制造公司的劳动生产率以及能力和人力资本对生产率的影响。研究结果显示企业之间的生产力异质性，随着能力和人力资本的增长，生产力的提高会变得更高。重要的是，它表明，随着企业向生产力分布的高端移动，创新、信息和通信技术 (ICT) 和营销以及人力资本等能力组合变得更加重要。研究结果对不同的人力资本和能力衡量标准是稳健的。单独研究这些影响表明，创新在提高劳动生产率方面最为重要。ICT 系数随着企业在有条件的生产率分布上的移动而下降。同样，公司的市场创造能力提高了生产率，但系数在生产率的上下分位数上没有变化。该研究通过绘制政策影响得出结论，对跨能力和人力资本的持续劳动生产率差异的影响。