The effects of certification on total factor productivity: A propensity score matching approach

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of quality certification on total factor productivity, which is unobservable to and difficult to gauge for firms. To do so, we implement various propensity score matching estimators that handle the self-selection problem. We use firm-level data on manufacturing companies in Turkey where firms have devoted significant amounts of resources to get certified. Our findings show that certification does not have any positive effect on total factor productivity. We provide potential explanations for these findings.