That’s going too far, but, hey, it is Valentine’s day. And I appreciate what he has to say.

The large, persistent gaps in basic managerial practices that we document are associated with large, persistent differences in firm performance. Better-managed firms are more productive, grow at a faster pace, and are less likely to die.

. . .many firms in developing countries may not even realise how weak their management practices are. Or, even when they do they realise this, they may not know how to improve things.

Pointer from Tyler Cowen.

One of my tropes these days is that neoclassical economists treat business strategy as nothing more than deciding the level of output and the capital/labor ratio. In fact, the economy is sufficiently complex that management skills and business strategy are really significant.