Productivity, ownership, and producer concentration in transition: Further evidence from Vietnamese manufacturing
► MNC joint ventures and SOEs were often more productive than private firms. ► Wholly foreign-MNC-to-private productivity differentials were often insignificant. ► Productivity effects of concentration were often insignificant. ► Productivity spillovers from MNCs or SOEs to private firms were often insignificant. ► Estimates varied substantially among industries and time periods. After controlling for firm-level factor intensities and scale, and industry-level concentration, total factor productivity differentials between MNC (multinational corporation) joint ventures or SOEs (state-owned enterprises) and private firms were usually positive and statistically significant in 2001–2006. Differentials between wholly foreign MNCs and private firms were usually positive and significant in a lagged specification but not in a contemporaneous one. Estimates of productivity spillovers from SOEs and MNCs to private firms and the productivity effects of concentration tended to be insignificant statistically. Substantial variation of estimates among industries and time periods suggests that combining heterogeneous industries or time periods biases productivity estimates.