We present a new method for imposing and testing concavity of a cost function using asymptotic least squares, which can easily be implemented even for cost functions which are nonlinear in parameters. We provide an illustration on the basis of a (generalized) Box-Cox cost function with six...

Patent renewal studies reveal a highly rightward-skewed distribution of patent values. Our approach elicits valuations approximating those of the patented invention. This paper focuses on the full-term patents of the application year 1977 held by West German and U.S. residents. The tail of...

Using a newly constructed panel dataset of German enterprises, I estimate R&D and capital investment equations for the time period from 1990 to 1994. Simple accelerator specifications indicate considerable sensitivity of R&D and investment to cash flow for relatively small firms. Much of this...

In this paper, four commonly provided explanations for the shift in labour demand for different skill groups are investigated: the substitutability of inputs; the own-price sensitivity for different types of labour; the effect of economic growth and the impact of technological change. In...

We explore the tail of patented invention value distributions by using value estimates obtained directly from patent holders. The paper focuses on those full-term German patents of the application year 1977 which were held by West German and U.S. residents. The most valuable patents in our data...

This study deals with the determinants of factor demand in 27 industries of the manufacturing sector during the period 1978 to 1990. Using a quadratic cost function, six production factors are distinguished : capital, energy, three types of labour and intermediate materials. A parametric test of...

This paperanalyses the link between human capitaland information technology (IT) in the service production process. The analysis is based on 1994 cross-sectional data for 1929 German. Firms drawn from the first wave of the Mannheim Service Innovation Panel (MIP-S). Factor demand functions are...

This paper analyses the link between the high-skilled employment share and the level of investment in information technology (IT) in the service production process. The analysis is based on an unbalanced panel data set for 933 West German firms over the period 1994-1996. To account for firms...