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Article
Peer-Review Record

Productivity and Global Value Chains: A Tale from the Indonesian Automobile Sector

Economies 2023, 11(10), 262; https://doi.org/10.3390/economies11100262
by Padang Wicaksono 1,*, Yulial Hikmah 2 and Rayinda Nur Ilmiawani 1
Reviewer 1: Anonymous
Reviewer 2:
Reviewer 3:
Economies 2023, 11(10), 262; https://doi.org/10.3390/economies11100262
Submission received: 27 August 2023 / Revised: 30 September 2023 / Accepted: 6 October 2023 / Published: 23 October 2023

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The manuscript economies-2605893 is devoted to the actual scientific problem, namely study of the labor productivity in global value chains. The reviewed article is interesting for scholars and theme of the article meets the scope of the journal. Work is performed at sufficient scientific level and has good quality. The manuscript may be considered for publication after major revision in Economies. Prior publication of this manuscript following points needs to be addressed:

  • The abstract is written in a declarative style and does not reflect the main manuscript provisions. It must be completely rewritten. The abstract should highlight the main results of the paper.
  • It is necessary to allocate a separate section "Discussion". The obtained results should be discussed in more detail.
  • The topic discussed by the authors is quite debatable and can have many directions for development. Therefore, the approach proposed by the authors may have some limitations. To avoid this problem, I propose to add separate section "Limitations and prospects for further study".
  • References list should be carefully checked and journal style policy should be strictly followed.
  • There are grammar/typing and orthographical errors in the manuscript.

 

My decision is major revision

  • There are grammar/typing and orthographical errors in the manuscript.

Author Response

Notes from Reviewer 1

Before Revised

After Revised

1.  The abstract is written in a declarative style and does not reflect the main manuscript provisions. It must be completely rewritten. The abstract should highlight the main results of the paper.

Despite downstream positions in the Global Value Chains (GVCs), the Indonesian automotive industry has progressed well over the last 20 years. This paper analyzes the close links between Labor Productivity (LP) and GVCs in the Indonesian automotive industry during 1995-2014. Using the Inter-Country Input Output (ICIO) approach and exploring the data from World Input-Output Database (WIOD) and Statistics Indonesia (BPS), the study found that the industry has been successfully managing its GVCs position with remarkable improvement in LP.

Low productivity and quality of employment have always been a big problem in Indonesia, caused by the lack and mismatch of skills in the workforce. Labor productivity (LP) describes the company's ability to produce something. This can be determined by added value or output. Several factors influence LP, such as education, age, and training. The concept of Global Value Chains (GVC) has become an integral part of economic activity, and trade within global production networks has grown more rapidly than conventional trade in final goods. GVC have both positive and negative impacts on employment opportunities. The automotive industry is categorized as one of the ten primary priority industries in the Indonesian manufacturing sector. This research analyzes the impact of LP on GVC integration in the Indonesian automotive industry. The data used in this research comes from the World Input-Output Database (WIOD) and the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) from 1995 to 2014. The variables used include the number of workers, added value, real wages, and GVC, which were calculated by the author using the Inter-Country Input-Output (ICIO) approach. Using ICIO analysis, the following matrix should be constructed to determine involvement in GVC. This research shows that LP in the Indonesian automotive industry has a positive trend, and the GVC position in the Indonesian automotive industry has a positive trend line. The domestic value chain increased from 4% to 33%. This improves the ability to produce higher value-added and intermediate export goods. LP increases the domestic value chain in the Indonesian automotive industry, leading to global value chain integration. Thus, LP goes hand in hand with integrating GVC. (see line 4-22)

2. It is necessary to allocate a separate section "Discussion". The obtained results should be discussed in more detail.

 

It has separated the results and discussion sections (see lines 196 and 349)

3. The topic discussed by the authors is quite debatable and can have many directions for development. Therefore, the approach proposed by the authors may have some limitations. To avoid this problem, I propose adding a separate section "Limitations and prospects for further study"

 

From the title and introduction, it has been written that the limitations of this research are case studies in the automotive industry, and the configuration used in this study is relational value chain configuration, where interactions and communication between key firms and suppliers are frequent and central.

 

Prospects for further study have already been concluded (see line 419)

4. The reference list should be carefully checked and the journal-style policy should be strictly followed.

 

The author has checked the references

Reviewer 2 Report

l hope the author can answer this question

1. What is the main question addressed by the research?
2. Do you consider the topic original or relevant in the field? Does it
address a specific gap in the field?
3. What does it add to the subject area compared with other published
material?
4. What specific improvements should the authors consider regarding the
methodology? What further controls should be considered?
5. Are the conclusions consistent with the evidence and arguments presented
and do they address the main question posed?

Author Response

Notes from Reviewer 2

Answer Author

1.  What is the main question addressed by the research?

Yes, it's in the last sentence of the introduction. The main question in this research is how does labor productivity influence GVC in the Automotive Industry in Indonesia?

2. Do you consider the topic original or relevant in the field? Does it address a specific gap in the field?

Yes, this topic is original and relevant to the economic field in the automotive industry sector. Yes, because LP is in line with GVC integration, meaning that to increase GVC, it is also necessary to increase factors in LP.

3. What does it add to the subject area compared with other published material?

In this subject area using research data on the Automotive Industry in Indonesia

4. What specific improvements should the authors consider regarding the methodology? What further controls should be considered?

Look at the differences each year for GVC position, DVC, Net Gain, and LP to see the positive or negative impact.

5. Are the conclusions consistent with the evidence and arguments presented

and do they address the main question posed?

Yes, in conclusion, the answer is that LP is in line with GVC as proven in Figure 5 in the discussion.

Reviewer 3 Report

This is one of the best first-round articles I've seen in reviewing papers for this journal. It takes a clear question on GVC's and the Indonesian automotive sector, and breaks down the research questions in intuitive yet properly technical fashion. It was a pleasure to read.

As noted, some minor English editing will be required.

Author Response

Thank you for your appreciation and suggestions. Based on the reviewer's suggestions, they have been followed up to improve my paper for the better

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

The authors took into account the comments and significantly improved the manuscript. The revised version of the manuscript is suitable for publication.

Minor editing of English language required

Reviewer 2 Report

The author hah revision this paper,all the questions had answer,so l recommend accept it.

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