R&D Costs,Innovative Output and Firm Size in the Pharmaceutical Industry

This study examines the relationships between firm size, R&D costs and output in the pharmaceutical industry. Project–level data from a survey of 12 US–owned pharmaceutical firms on drug development costs, development phase lengths and failure rates are used to determine estimates of the R&D cost of new drug development by firm size. Firms in the sample are grouped into three size categories, according to their pharmaceutical sales at the beginning of the study period. The R&D cost per new drug approved in the US is shown to decrease with firm size, while sales per new drug approved are shown to increase markedly with firm size. Sales distributions are highly skewed and suggest that firms need to search for blockbuster drugs with above–average returns. The results are consistent with substantial economies of scale in pharmaceutical R&D, particularly at the discovery and preclinical development phases.     

产品市场竞争与资本结构的战略决策

“有限负债效应”理论指出,企业提高财务杠杆导致了产出的增加,但很多实证研究却难以支持这一结论。本文分析了在上游企业外部规模效应较强的情况下,企业债务融资战略效应为负的理由,证明了不存在外部规模效应是债务融资战略的重要条件。企业的融资行为深受财务危机的影响,其中企业规模、产业集中度、产品专用性、R&D支出和行业前景是决定财务危机成本大小的关键变量,因此,以财务危机成本为依据进行决策,企业会自我限制债务水平。由此,企业资本结构的决策应从产品市场竞争状况去考虑,这对我国企业融资决策有重要意义。     

Cost efficiency and the effect of mergers on the Taiwanese banking industry

This study addresses the cost efficiency, economies of scale and scope of the Taiwanese banking industry, specifically focusing on how bank mergers affect cost efficiency. Adopting stochastic frontier analysis, we employ a translog cost function for efficiency estimation. Composite error terms are used to account for managerial inefficiency and environmental effects. Empirical results suggest that economies of scale and scope exist at small and medium-sized banks. Meanwhile, government-owned or -controlled banks are the most cost efficient. Non-performing loans increase the inefficiency of the banking sector by just under 10 per cent. Further analysis reveals that bank merger activity is positively related to cost efficiency. Mergers can enhance cost efficiency, even though the number of bank employees does not decline. The banks involved in mergers are generally small and were established after the banking sector was deregulated.     

Scale economies in the savings and loan industry before diversification

This study investigates scale economies in the savings and loan (S&L) industry prior to deregulation. Use of the translog cost function permits the estimation of U-shaped cost curves and of separate scale and branch size eonomies. The model also allows the cost elasticities to vary by size of financial institution. The model is estimated on a large nationwide sample of savings and loan associations. The results indicate significant economies of scale over a wide range of output for institutions that engage in traditional specialized activities.     

The (Normal) Rate of Capacity Utilization at the Firm Level

This paper examines the endogeneity (or lack thereof) of the rate of capacity utilization in the long run at the firm level. The cost minimizing firm has an incentive to increase the utilization of its capital if the rate of the returns to scale decreases as its production increases. The theory of production provides justification for this kind of behavior of economies of scale. In that way the desired rate of utilization becomes endogenous to variations in demand.     

Entrepreneurs' choice of entry strategy in emerging and developed markets

The model presented here acknowledges the complexity of the entry strategy decision and offers guidance on when to enter the market and how to enter the market, taking into consideration the current environment. From speculations over the differences between emerging and developed economies, the model offers a systematic way to determine the optimal entry strategy in terms of entry timing and level of mimicry. An implication of the model is that the cost/benefit ratio from using a high mimicry entry strategy is lower for companies entering emerging economies than it is for companies entering developed economies.     

航空联盟及其产生影响分析

从航空联盟存在的规模经济和密度经济原理,以及它们与产出成本弹性、服务点成本弹性之间的关系,可以了解航空战略联盟对航空公司、旅客等产生的影响。根据国外航空公司的经验,航空公司加入联盟,要综合考虑很多因素,研究和权衡各个因素,以实现规模和密度经济性,从而提高航空公司的竞争力。     

Ownership, Scale Economies and Efficiency in the Italian Water Sector

The Italian water sector is characterized by the presence of several water companies, with different ownership types; Fabbri and Fraquelli (Empirica 27:65–82, 2000) and Antonioli and Filippini (Util Policy 10:181–187, 2001) have analyzed the presence of economies of scale and scope in the sector while Abrate et al. (Journal of Productivity Analysis 35:227–242, 2011) have assessed the role of the heterogeneity in this sector. In recent years, the Italian water sector has been subject to a large reorganization, following the implementation of the EC Directive 60/00 for the harmonization of the pricing rules and polluting principles of the Member States. However, the reorganization of the sector is far from being accomplished, and the Italian water companies still face strong regulatory uncertainty associated with the absence of an independent authority. The lack of clear regulatory principles and the presence of almost 100 different companies managed differently across the territory requires the re-analysis of the possible sources of inefficiencies, in order to understand what kind of policy measures might be implemented to improve the performance of the water utilities and take them into account when the final tariff is fixed. This paper estimates a stochastic frontier to empirically investigate the main sources of inefficiency for a sample of 65 Italian water companies. First, this paper investigates whether a positive relationship exists between the firm’s ownership type and efficiency by using different estimation methods; second, this paper investigates whether the presence of economies of scale in the Italian water sector still exist after the merging process that recently took place as part of the sector reorganization. The estimation results show that ownership is not related to the firm’s performance and that the Italian water sector is still characterized by the presence of economies of scale. This result indicates that local communities may benefit from merging into larger water districts.     

Industrial clusters,entrepreneurial culture and the social environment: The effects on FDI distribution

Using balance sheet data from a sample of 3498 foreign firms in the manufacturing industry we analyse the distribution of foreign direct investments (FDI) in Italy at a very detailed geographical level, i.e. the provincial level, a region which comprises an urban area and the limited geographical area surrounding it. In this paper, we test the impact that agglomeration economies, entrepreneurial culture and social capital have on the distribution of foreign investments. While the findings regarding the social variables are mixed, the important role played by agglomeration economies is confirmed. Our analysis shows that investments by multinationals are attracted by those areas that combine industrial cluster characteristics with an agglomeration of foreign firms and that have a high level of entrepreneurial culture. The role that this last variable plays is fundamental and suggests the idea that multinational corporations (MNCs) invest in regions with entrepreneurial resources.     

《区域全面经济伙伴关系协定》的经济效应及产业产出分析

为进一步推进《区域全面经济伙伴关系协定》进程,东盟及中国、日本、韩国、澳大利亚、新西兰、印度等亚太地区的各个经济体通过“抱团”的方式增强亚太地区的经济实力,提高国际贸易的话语权。本文分析《区域全面经济伙伴关系协定》成员在亚太地区的经济规模以及各个成员经济体的产业竞争优势,运用GTAP9.0数据库和一般均衡模型,以逐步降低《区域全面经济伙伴关系协定》内部成员之间关税水平的方式,探讨《区域全面经济伙伴关系协定》成员的宏观经济及产业产出情况。随着《区域全面经济伙伴关系协定》成员内部关税水平的逐步降低直至零关税水平,成员经济体的进出口贸易、福利水平等方面都有不同程度的增加,中国、日本、韩国、澳大利亚、新西兰等国的国内经济产出增加、贸易条件得到改善,而印度和东盟的国内经济出现一定程度的负效应、贸易条件出现小幅恶化现象;同时,各个成员方的产业互补优势更加明显。     

Financial liberalization,openness and convergence

All industrialized nations relied on capital account controls for significant periods of their economic development and relaxations of capital account restrictions thought to be an integral aspect of economic development. Economists long advocated the removal of capital controls as a stabilizing factor of the development process to improve efficiency and return economies from distorted factor prices to production frontiers. Empirically, however, financial liberalizations have become associated with capital flow reversals, where initial capital inflows at the onset are subsequently offset by capital outflows resulting in higher levels of accumulated indebtedness. We investigate how capital flow reversals caused by financial liberalizations affect the speed of convergence of an economy. We show that financial liberalizations reduce short run convergence speeds, implying that open economies should experience significantly less output volatility but also longer transitions. The increased smoothness in response to initial shocks comes at a cost: as foreign borrowing rises to smooth domestic income fluctuations causing an increase in the domestic interest rate OECD data confirms our findings.     

Efficiency,scale and scope economies in the Ukrainian banking sector in 1998

This paper evaluates the current development of the Ukrainian banking system. The research was concentrated on the evaluation of cost and profit efficiency and scale and scope economies for 79 from 168 Ukrainian commercial banks in 1998. There is evidence that small banks operate more efficiently in cost terms but are less efficient in profit terms and furthermore, there is a substantial difference in scale economies between small and large banks. Large banks show significant diseconomies of scale while small ones show significant scale economies. This result could suggest that current technology in the financial sector does not allow efficient growth and concentration of the financial sector in Ukraine.     

Technological change and economies of scale in Canadian financial institutions: A selection from competing hypotheses

This study isolates economies of scale from technological change in Canadian financial institutions. By employing the most general translog cost function and by using a sequential Akaike's information criterion test, we select the most appropriate model from 127 possible hypotheses. The results suggest that there exist increasing returns to scale and that technological change is not Hicks-neutral. In fact, technological change has resulted in greater relative expenditures on physical capital. These results suggest that further integration, centralization, and sharing of technology would be benificial in the Canadian financial industry.     

The Needed Globalization for African Countries

ABSTRACT

Whether or not local economies can benefit from investments that seek to take advantage of a local comparative advantage (e.g., cheap labor) is the question that is addressed in this article. Through multiple case studies of Moroccan companies operating in the textile sector, the paper shows that the link between low labor cost exploitation and economic development is an eclectic phenomenon. The best variable to explain whether or not this link exists is the development of human capital in local factories. The case studies show that suppliers' development initiatives in supply chain management and the vision of local managers/entrepreneurs are more effective mechanisms for growth and development than a “traditional” program of Foreign Direct Investment where knowledge is withheld by the investor. The implications are that management capabilities in emerging economies, such as those of Africa, can be developed even through investments that do not appear, at first sight, to be so appealing for host countries.     

Is Cost-of-Service Regulation Worth the Cost?

Cost-of-service regulation that reduces prices will also reduce incentives to control cost. Increased output counteracts this trend when there are economies of scale. We derive closed-form approximations for the maximum cost increase that leaves a positive welfare gain when regulation reduces price by some percentage. To be useful to regulators, these approximations depend only on demand elasticity and the ratio of fixed to total cost. For low demand elasticities typical of regulated industries, price must fall by half to outweigh cost increases of as little as 2%. Cost-of-service regulation appears to reduce welfare unless economies of scale are strong. These conclusions may be reversed if regulators favor consumers, but only a slight bias in favor of the firm exacerbates them. Regulatory methods that preserve incentives to be efficient by divorcing price from cost become more appealing.     

Scale economies,entry, and welfare

This study shows how scale economies, initial size differences among firms, potential competition, and adjustment costs may influence the entry of firms into a dynamic oligopoly. It also examines the effects of these factors on the final size distribution of firms in an industry, and on the welfare levels of consumers and producers. We find that low to moderate scale economies are insufficient for Cournot-Nash competition to drive small firms from the market. Only when scale economies are quite high will the distribution of firm sizes become degenerate. Potential competition and the size of incumbent firms' capital stocks are additional barriers to entry. The welfare conclusion is that there may be a government role to preserve potential competition, but also to dissuade small firms from entering certain markets where there are economies of scale.     

竞争损害了发电侧的规模经济吗?——基于中国火力发电厂的实证检验

运用火电厂的面板数据和超越对数成本模型,对2003—2010年间中国火力发电厂的成本结构进行实证研究,分析发电侧的规模经济与火力发电厂的有效规模。结果发现:当前中国大多数发电厂普遍存在规模经济,但是发电厂的规模经济随着电厂规模的增加显著下降,同时发电厂的最小有效规模在逐年下降。因此,进一步强化发电侧的竞争,抑制大型发电企业盲目追求规模扩张的投资冲动,将有利于发电业的规模经济,促进发电业生产效率的提升。     

Net Entry of Firms into Greek Manufacturing: The Effects of Business Conditions

This research explores the nature and causes of net entry into manufacturing industry in Greece. Previous work has rarely considered these issues in the context of small, but open, and not particularly industrialised economies. The exact nature of the focus of interest – net entry – is discussed first, illustrating that this is a complex variable to account for, although arguably still interesting and useful. Net entry needs to be considered as variable worthy of study in its own right as it reflects an outcome of processes of gross entry and exit. Certainly it need not be interpreted only as entry as is often the case. Next comes the question of the degree of variation, both temporally and sectorally, that net entry exhibits in the context of contemporary Greek manufacturing. Some temporal variation in net entry rates is demonstrated, and there follows a discussion of how such variation might be explained potentially in theory. The empirical testing of these hypotheses point to findings that are different to those discovered in different contexts. For Greek manufacturing, profitable business opportunities were not shown to be a sufficient condition of higher net entry, but the cost advantages of large scale operations did both encourage entry and discourage exit. The cost of capital and the overall condition of the economy were negatively related to net entry. However the role of industry growth, import penetration and export orientation tend to confirm findings in other studies.     

中国上市公司资本结构与企业价值的关系研究

在有摩擦的市场环境中,资本结构可以通过改变资本成本,改善公司治理,促进公司现金流的良性循环,达到提升企业价值,使现有股东财富最大化的目的。运用价值管理的新型计量工具——经济增加值(EVA),实证分析我国上市公司信息技术行业,电力、煤气及水的生产和供应业,房地产业,批发和零售贸易行业近年来的企业价值和资本结构之间的相互关系,得出如下结论:信息技术行业的资本结构与企业价值显著负相关;我国上市公司短期负债普遍占主导地位,除电力、煤气及水的生产和供应业外,其他三个行业的短期负债均与企业价值显著负相关;房地产行业长期负债率明显高于其他三个行业,并且也只有房地产行业的长期负债显著与企业价值正相关。     

Financial structure and the heterogeneous impact of monetary policy across industries

The two general channels by which monetary policy impacts output are the neo-classical cost of capital channel and the credit channel. This paper decomposes the output response to a change in the stance of monetary policy to each of these channels. We use a unique industry level data set that measures the financial characteristics of firms operating at the industry level through time. We bring these financial characteristics formally into the regression analysis, thus allowing for a more precise identification of the two channels. The evidence indicates that both channels are active in the Canadian economy.