1,721,029 research outputs found
Productivity Decomposition in Heterogeneous Industries*
No full textWe propose a novel methodology for computing variations of aggregate productivity and its decomposition into changes of individual firms’ productivities and of industry composition. Industry productivity should be measured in principle on industry total inputs and outputs but it is believed that this measure does not allow for such decomposition. Thus, weighted averages of individual productivities are used which introduce serious biases especially when industries are heterogeneous. We propose a geometric approach where aggregate productivity can be measured directly on industry data, but nevertheless its variations can be decomposed into between and within effects plus a heterogeneity effect
A toolbox for measuring heterogeneity and efficiency using zonotopes
No full textIn this work, we describe the new command zonotope, which, by resorting to a geometry-based approach, provides a measure of productivity that fully accounts for the existing heterogeneity across firms within the same industry. The method we propose also enables assessment of the extent of multidimensional heterogeneity with applications to fields beyond that of production analysis. Finally, we detail the functioning of the software to perform the related empirical analysis, and we discuss the main computational issues encountered in its development
Turmoil over the crisis: innovation capabilities and firm exit
Full text linkThis work investigates the relationship between the characteristics and survival probabilities of firms, distinguishing between “involuntary” firm exit and exit by merger and acquisition (M&A). More in detail, we study how, and to what extent, innovation capabilities, as proxied by patents and trademarks, are able to shape, together with standard performance variables, the observed dynamics at the firm level. By using comprehensive data on Italian firms from business registers, we separate the administrative procedures leading to “involuntary” exit from those ending up with an event of M&A. We find that while higher productivity is associated with a lower probability of “involuntary” exit, productivity increases the chances of being the target for M&A. As far as intellectual property instruments are concerned, they tend to reduce the probability of both “involuntary” exit and M&A. However, the relative importance of the two instruments differs according to the exit route: patents are more relevant than trademarks in preventing “involuntary” exit, while the opposite is true for M&A. Plain English Summary We investigate firm’s exit after a crisis. Overall innovation plays a positive role, but the relative importance of IP depends on the exit route: patents are more relevant than trademarks against “involuntary” exit, while the opposite is true for M&A. We resort to the virtual universe of Italian limited liability firms from manufacturing, trade, and service to investigate the determinants of firm survival over the period 2010–2014. We scrutinize detailed administrative data on significant events occurring to firms to distinguish between events leading to involuntary exit and to M&A. In addition to the evidence on innovation, our results show that higher productivity decreases the probability of “involuntary” exit, yet productivity increases the chances of being the target for M&A. Taken together, these findings warn against a simplistic perspective on exit: the role of innovation and firm characteristics heavily depends on the exit route
Making one’s own way: jumping ahead in the capability space and exporting among Indian firms
No full textThis paper provides large scale evidence on the determinants of international competitiveness of Indian manufacturing firms, focusing in particular on the role of technology, costs and imported intermediate inputs. Our evidence suggests that innovation, in particular R&D investment, is positively related to both firms’ probability to export and firms’ export volumes. We also find that imported intermediate inputs, incorporating foreign technology is strongly associated with expanding export activities of firms. Finally, and in contrast to much of previous evidence on developed economies, we find that higher productivity or lower unit labour costs are not systematically associated with the probability to enter export markets, but they are positively related to higher export volumes. Overall our results point to the existence of a pattern of involvement in international trade for firms in developing countries that is not relying as a main driver on cost competitiveness
International patent protection and trade: Transaction-level evidence
No full textWe report a hitherto undocumented causal mechanism of how patent protection affects exports. The empirical analysis leverages unique data on the worldwide patenting and exporting activities at the product level for the universe of French firms. Exploiting heterogeneity of patent coverage within firm–product–country destinations, we find evidence of a patent premium. Goods protected by patents in a destination country are associated with higher export quantities, ceteris paribus. The effect ranges between four and eleven percent. The causality of the finding is confirmed using rejected patent applications, which are exogenous to the firm. Exports collapse when firms lose patent protection
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Technological Revolutions and the Evolution of Industrial Structures. Assessing the Impact of New Technologies upon Size, Patterns of Growth and Boundaries of Firms”,
No full textWage--size relation and the structure of work-force composition in Italian manufacturing firms
No full textIn this paper we study the impact of firms' productivity and scale of activity on the cost of labour for Italian manufacturing firms, investigating how the work-force composition affects the total expenditures for wages. Our analysis reveals that once productivity differences among firms are accounted for, size still retains a positive effect on cost of labour. We show that the source of this phenomenon is the relatively higher proportion of non-production workers in bigger firms, which results in a cost of labour for white collar workers that increases with increasing firm size. Copyright The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Cambridge Political Economy Society. All rights reserved., Oxford University Press.
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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