At the firm level, a proxy for the quality of management is:

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

c. high Total Factor Productivity (TFP).
Total Factor Productivity (TFP) is a measure of the efficiency and effectiveness with which a firm uses its inputs (like labor and capital) to produce outputs. High TFP indicates that a firm is able to produce more output with the same amount of inputs or the same output with fewer inputs, which often reflects good management practices such as innovation, organizational efficiency, and the ability to leverage technology and human capital effectively. Therefore, high TFP is considered a proxy for the quality of management within a firm. 
The ability to pay low wages (a) is not necessarily a sign of good management, as it could reflect a strategy of cost-cutting that might undermine employee morale and productivity in the long term. A low capital-labor (K/L) ratio (b) could indicate a variety of things, including possibly a labor-intensive industry or a firm not investing enough in capital, and does not directly reflect management quality. 
Hence, the correct answer is c. high TFP.

At the Firm Level, a Proxy for the Quality of Management