FDI Contribution to Technical Efficiency in the Tunisian Manufacturing Sector: Evidence from Micro-panel Data

This paper investigates the contribution of FDI to firms’ technical efficiency based on a two-stage empirical method. Using panel data for 674 firms belonging to the Tunisian manufacturing sector and observed over the period 1997–2001, a bootstrap procedure is applied to correct for serial correlation affecting DEA technical efficiency scores estimated in a first stage. Results obtained from second-stage regressions show that FDI presence at the firm level has a positive effect on its technical efficiency. However, horizontal FDI spillovers are not evidenced while sectoral export activity represents a potential source of technology spillovers for local firms.     

The Evolution of Technical Efficiency in the Northern Ireland Manufacturing Sector, 1973–1985

This paper uses a stochastic frontier production function approach to measure technical efficiency in firms in Northern Ireland. Firm level census of production panel data were used to examine how efficiency in firms changed over the period 1973–1985. Once estimates of efficiency were made, the causes of inefficiency based on characteristics of firms were examined. The results indicate that efficiency in Northern Ireland has improved significantly over-time. The largest increases in efficiency were in indigenously owned firms. The results suggest that many Northern Ireland owned firms were 'catching-up' in terms of efficiency with foreign owned firms over the period.     

Inward Investment and Technical Progress in the United Kingdom Manufacturing Sector

This paper investigates the impact of direct investment by foreign‐owned companies on technical progress and hence labour productivity in the UK manufacturing sector. Using an industry‐level panel data set we find that foreign‐owned firms have a significant positive effect on the level of technical efficiency in domestic firms. There is evidence of significant intra‐industry and inter‐industry spillovers from inward investment. These findings remain robust even when other factors such as imports and domestic R&D expenditures are allowed for. Inward investment appears to be a much more important source of technical progress than foreign trade.     

Cross-Sectoral Patterns of Efficiency and Technical Change in Manufacturing

This article uses data from 11 countries for 19 years to investigate the forces driving output change in 6 manufacturing sectors. A flexible model is adopted that allows for the decomposition of output changes into three types of change: technical, efficiency, and input. This framework allows, among other things, for the investigation of (1) the relative roles of the three components of output growth in each sector, (2) the manner in which efficiency change moves over the business cycle, and (3) potential technical spillovers from one sector to another.     

中国制造业上市公司创新行为对企业技术效率的影响研究

以2006-2008年的51家制造业上市公司为样本,运用DEA-Tobit模型,分别检验了研发投入和专利产出对企业技术效率的影响。实证结果表明:R&D经费投入对技术效率具有显著的积极影响;研发人员投入对技术效率的当期效应和长期效应均为正相关,但只在累积效应模型中通过了显著性检验;发明专利对样本企业的技术效率具有显著的积极影响,并具有明显的滞后性;实用新型专利对样本企业的技术效率具有显著的负效应,同时存在明显的滞后性;外观设计专利对样本企业的技术效率具有负效应,但不显著。结果启示,可以通过制定合理的研发战略来提升企业的自主创新能力,这是企业提高技术效率的重要途径之一。     

Factor Demand in Pakistan's Manufacturing Sector

This paper estimate factor demand function by choosing appropriate technology. Departing from the conventioanl parting from the conventional practice of using and capital as factor inputs we extend the list of factors of production by including energy. Since we have more than two factor inputs the two-level (nested) CES production function is the natural choice for the appropriate technology. Using this technology we derive the factor demand for functions and estimate these for Pakistan's manufactruing sector covering a period from 1959-60 to 1982-83. The output elasticity of labour, capital and energy are found to be 0.47, 0.66 respectively. These informations, in particular, the employment elasticity are extremely important for manpower planning. These findings confirm the capital intensive structure of Pakistan's manufacturing units. [200]     

Public Sector Capital and the Production Efficiency of U.S. Regional Manufacturing Industries

This paper applies a stochastic frontier production model with time-varying technical efficiency to investigate the relationship between public capital and technical efficiency. It is based on the proposition that public capital has an effect on actual output by enhancing technical efficiency, thereby reducing the gap between maximum potential output and actual output. Empirical results using panel data from U.S. state manufacturing industries during 1969–86 show that technical efficiencies varied substantially, both between states and between years; variations in technical efficiency are significantly explained by variations in public-sector capital.
JEL Classification Numbers: O20, H54, C23.     

中国制造业环境规制对技术创新影响的阶段性差异与行业异质性研究

首先,将技术创新划分为技术研发和技术转化两阶段,应用CES生产函数分阶段推导环境规制与技术创新的数理关系。其次,根据污染排放强度将中国制造业28个细分行业划分为重度污染型、中度污染型及轻度污染型3种类型,以2003-2012年行业面板数据为样本,构建分阶段分行业的计量回归模型进行环境规制对技术创新的实证检验。数理推导证明：环境规制与企业技术研发和技术转化在数理上均存在正相关关系。实证检验发现：①环境规制对中国制造业技术研发专利成果和技术转化新产品生产具有显著促进作用,波特假说在制造业整体上得到验证;②环境规制对中度污染行业、轻度污染行业的技术创新具有显著促进作用,但对重度污染行业的影响并不显著,波特假说存在明显的行业异质性。最后,针对环境规制对技术创新影响的阶段性和行业异质性提出了相关政策建议。     

人力资本结构对重工企业技术效率的影响研究

基于2002-2010年上市重工公司面板数据,采用随机前沿法(SFA)研究了人力资本结构与企业技术效率的关系。研究发现技术效率较低,全部样本企业的各年度的总平均值为0.594,存在较大的提升空间。从演化过程来看,效率值呈现上升态势,企业间的效率差异较大且具有较强的波动性。人力资本结构对企业技术效率存在显著影响,提高本科和专科教育程度员工的比例,能够显著改善技术效率,增加中学以下教育程度员工的比率抑制技术效率。重工企业具有规模收益递增的特性,人力资本比物质资本对产出的贡献略高。建议企业增加人力资本投资与开发,优化人力资源配置,促使企业发展方式从依赖物质资本转向依靠人力资本的内涵式增长。     

发展新兴战略性产业:制造业与服务业并重

我国发展新兴战略性产业,首先要发展先进制造业,其次要发展现代服务业。我国仍然处在工业化发展过程中,还未完成工业化,特别是还未完成工业现代化;在国际分工中,我国制造业基本上仍然处在中低端;此外,制造业的发展有利于推动中国城市化的进程,这三方面决定了我国仍然必须坚持继续发展制造业。就制造业和服务业二者关系看,一方面,发展制造业,尤其是发展先进制造业,可以促进制造业企业功能服务化,促进制造业服务外包,催速供应链管理的发展,因而能促进现代服务业的发展;另一方面,制造业产品和制造业企业的竞争优势都需要服务业的支撑和增强。     

我国制造业技术进步、技术效率及区域差异——基于DEA方法的实证研究

利用Malmquist生产率指数方法,对我国29个省的制造业在1999--2005年间的全要素生产率（TFP）的变化进行了测算,把TFP的增长构成分解为技术进步和生产效率变化两个成分,并对其区域差异进行了分析,最后对省际制造业TFP进行了趋同分析。结果显示：我国制造业TFP的增长主要是由技术进步推动的,当技术进步促进TFP提升时,总会受到生产效率下降对TFP增长的抑制影响;区域间技术进步及技术效率存在较大差异,省级制造业TFP存在条件β收敛。     

Performance Indicators and Efficiency Measurement in Public Libraries

A sample of one hundred and sixty-eight New South Wales local government libraries is used to analyse the efficiency measures derived from the non-parametric technique of data envelopment analysis. Depending upon the assumptions employed, 9.5 per cent of local governments were judged to be overall technically efficient in the provision of library services, 47.6 per cent as pure technically efficient, and 10.1 per cent as scale efficient. The study also analyses the posited linkages between comparative performance indicators, productive performance and non-discretionary environmental factors under these different model formulations. The results indicate that the presence of exogenous factors and scale effects account for a major portion of the differences in observed efficiency between different groups of local governments.     

中国烟草加工企业技术效率分析——基于参数方法与非参数方法的对比研究

针对中国烟草加工企业因规模扩张而出现的管理效率低下等问题,使用2000--2006年企业层面的截面数据,运用参数方法和非参数方法测算了中国烟草加工企业的技术效率,并对两种方法的测算结果进行了比较分析。结果表明：两种测算结果存在较高的相关性,测算结果比较可靠;2000--2006年中国烟草加工企业的平均技术效率为0．74～0．79,具有稳步上升趋势;行业整体规模效率较高,但规模报酬递减的企业所占的比重有所增大。     

传统制造业人力资源信息化管理研究

随着社会信息化的发展,知识与信息成为新世纪经济社会发展的重要因素。人力资源管理信息化是社会信息化的要求,是企业信息化建设的要求,也是人力资源管理自身发展的要求,对于发展以人为本的现代企业管理技术具有重要意义。传统制造业作为国民经济的龙头产业,需要紧跟时代步伐,加快企业信息化管理,尽快完成产业信息化改革,从而带动其他新兴产业的发展,共同促进社会主义经济大繁荣,为中国在世界国家之林奠定坚实的历史地位。     

Has Investment in Australia's Manufacturing Sector Become More Export Oriented?

A more competitive and export-oriented manufacturing sector is an important objective of the Australian Labor Government's economic strategy. In furthering this objective levels of tariff protection have been lowered and foreign exchange markets deregulated. The strategy has been boosted by the competitive gain afforded by depreciation of the Australian dollar in 1985 and 1986. This article offers estimates of the size of Australian manufacturing investment in export-creating capacity over the period 1980-81 to 1987-88. A breakdown of these estimates by individual industries is also provided.
Our estimates indicate an improving trend since depreciation of the Australian dollar. However, this improvement has been from a low base. Moreover, the levels of investment in export-creating capacity have yet to attain the levels prevailing in the early 1980s, and there are worrying signs that the improving trend stalled toward the end of the period. However, the breakdown of our estimates by industry groupings shows positive changes in the pattern of investment in export-creating capacity. There has been a movement away from resource-based manufactures and a larger share for elaborately transformed manufactures. This is a favourable shift in emphasis since such technologically sophisticated manufactures have been amongst the fastest growing world markets.     

Size and Determinants of Capital Structure in the Greek Manufacturing Sector

Increasing competition in the European Union (EU) and world markets affects the Greek manufacturing sector. Capital structure is essential for the survival, growth and performance of a firm. There has been a growing interest worldwide in identifying the factors associated with debt leverage. However, nothing has been done so far in contrasting small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and large sized enterprises (LSEs) on these aspects. SMEs are very important in the Greek manufacturing sector for employment and growth. Empirical studies show that capital structure and the factors affecting it vary with firm size. In this paper we investigate the determinants of capital structure of Greek manufacturing firms and formulate some policy implications that may improve the financial performance of the sector. Our study utilizes panel data of two random samples, one for SMEs and another for LSEs. The findings show that profitability is a major determinant of capital structure for both size groups. However, efficient assets management and assets growth are found essential for the debt structure of LSEs as opposed to efficiency of current assets, size, sales growth and high fixed assets, which were found to affect substantially the credibility of SMEs. In an era of increasing globalization, the findings imply that Greek SMEs should focus their efforts on (a) increasing their cash flow capacity through better assets management and achievement of higher exports and (b) ensuring good bank relations, but at the same time, turn to alternative forms of financing. Greek LSEs should adopt strategies that will lead to the improvement of their competitiveness and securing new forms of financing. Government policy measures aiming at structural changes and economic efficiency should be designed clearly depending upon its targets: SMEs need policies that will encourage information exchange and co‐operation in local and foreign markets and use of e‐business, as well as, financial assistance. On the other hand, LSEs should be supported by policies aimed at new high‐technology investments, entrance of new firms and foreign investments in the country, tax alleviation and increase of R&D and training expenditures. The upgrading and transparency of the capital market in Greece is expected to improve the capital structure of Greek manufacturing firms.