1 Productivity Growth and Competition across the Asian Financial Crisis: Evidence from Korean Manufacturing Firms

Using firm level data during 1985-2005, we measured the TFP of Korean manufacturing sector and identified determinants of the TFP growth rate. Given that various institutions for fair competition were introduced in 1988, investigating the difference of the TFP trends before and after the Asian financial crisis is meaningful. With the massive unbalanced panel data, we examined quantitatively whether or not the comprehensive structural reforms have the effect on the Korean economy in terms of productivity. The data used in this research are financial statements obtained from KIS (Korea Information Service). These cover statutory audit firms and registered firms as well as listed firms in KOSPI and KOSDAQ from 1985 to 2005. Given that statutory audit firms and registration firms are smaller and less competent than listed firms in KOSPI and KOSDAQ and their proportion in the sample amounts to 74.5%, the data used in this paper is expected to lessen the sample bias than previous literatures which only focused on listed firms. When the 2 coverage of the data used here is compared with the Business Survey by National Statistica