A. Dogramaci and N.R. Adam Productivity of a firm is influenced both by
economic forces which act at the macro level and impose themselves on
the individual firm as well as internal factors that result from
decisions and processes which take place within the boundaries of the
firm. Efforts towards increasing the produc- tivity level of firms need
to be based on a sound understanding of how the above processes take
place. Our objective in this volume is to present some of the recent
research work in this field. The volume consists of three parts. In part
I, two macro issues are addressed (taxation and inflation) and their
relation to produc- tivity is analyzed. The second part of the volume
focuses on methods for productivity analysis within the firm. Finally,
the third part of the book deals with two additional productivity
analysis techniques and their applications to public utilities. The
objective of the volume is not to present a unified point of view, but
rather to cover a sample of different methodologies and perspectives
through original, scholarly papers.