The role of returns to scale in measuring frictions in resource allocation: Revisiting misallocation and manufacturing TFP in China

This paper extends the study by Hsieh and Klenow (2009) on productivity implication of resource misallocation by relaxing the assumption of constant returns to scale (CRS) for differentiated products. We show that when the CRS assumption fails, measuring frictions in resource allocation by variation in revenue productivity, as proposed by Hsieh and Klenow (2009), overestimates the resource misallocation in China.