Title: The analysis of productivity in the manufacturing industry in OECD countries: the long-term relationship between manufacturing value added per employee and export per employee in the manufacturing industry

Authors: Metin Gürler; Serkan Cantürk

Addresses: School of Business and Management Sciences, Istanbul Medıpol University, Istanbul, Türkiye ' Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences, İstinye University, Istanbul, Türkiye

Abstract: In this study, the relationship between value added per employee (MVAPE) and export per employee (EPE), in other words, productivity in value added and exports in the manufacturing industry in OECD countries during the 1995-2021 period, is investigated. To determine the relationship between MVAPE and EPE in the manufacturing industry, the panel cointegration model is used in the study. MVA per employee and export per employee in the manufacturing industry have a positive correlation in OECD countries for both cross-section and panel data. There is no long-term causality from MVA to export at a 5% significance level, but causality exists at a 10% significance level. The Wald test results show that MVA productivity causes export productivity in the short term. There is also causality from export productivity to MVA productivity. With this study, labour and export productivity in the manufacturing industry in OECD countries, of which 34 are high-income and four are upper-middle-income countries, are examined for the first time.

Keywords: productivity; high-tech export; manufacturing value added; MVA; causality; SDG 8; decent work and economic growth.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPQM.2026.155586

International Journal of Productivity and Quality Management, 2026 Vol.48 No.3, pp.324 - 348

Received: 07 Apr 2024
Accepted: 20 May 2024
Published online: 06 Aug 2026 *

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