Average labor productivity of urea-producing firms in the GCC

Mohammed Al-Mahish

Abstract: The paper analyzes components of productivity growth of urea producers operating in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. The paper applies a model that allows for variable returns to scale. The results show that urea producers in the GCC are operating under the presence of decreasing returns to scale, and their technology is a natural gas-using technology. The paper reveals that there is a shift from labor to natural gas and from capital to labor in urea production. The paper concludes by confirming that technological change is the main contributor to productivity growth of urea producers in the GCC.

Keywords: returns to scale; technological change; translog production function; urea producing firms

Date published: 2019-03-29