No abstract

No abstract

This paper tests the power of real options theory to explain investment under uncertainty, exploiting differences in the degree of irreversibility between machinery and buildings. It reports estimates of investment equations for each asset class using a large sample of UK manufacturing industries, with results that are consistent with the predictions of real options theory. Additionally, using a specially constructed industryspecific measure of irreversibility for machinery investment, the paper provides further confirmation of the empirical relevance of real options.

While the theory examining the relationship between uncertainty and investment has suggested new research avenues, it has not had strong predictive power. Nevertheless, at the policy level the benefits for investment of a more stable economic climate are being emphasised. These considerations point to the need for empirical work. Accordingly, this paper draws on industry level panel data, obtained by marrying the UK Census of Production with the CBI Industrial Trends Survey, and applies dynamic panel data methods to distinguish between macro and micro sources of uncertainty and to consider the role of financial factors. It is found that both sources of uncertainty exert a considerable negative impact on investment, while financial factors may be important in some industries.

This paper considers aspects of the competitive selection process in China - firm entry, survival, and exit - in an important sector of manufacturing, looking in particular for changes resulting from the process of reform. Using industry census data from a province in North-East China, we find substantial differences in the process between ownership types. By conducting decompositions of aggregate growth and exploring the determinants of firm's exit using a hazard rate model, we observe a substantial rate of churning of enterprises in the sector, finding that the competitive selection processes operate, for small and collectively owned enterprises (COEs), in a manner consistent with what is known about a private market economy. While the hazard for state owned enterprises (SOEs) is lower than for COEs, we find that the reforms introduced in 1992 were important in closing the gap for similarly situated firms. © 2012 Elsevier B.V