In this paper we analyze the impact on the demand of capital and labour of changes in their relative costs, using micro data. We especially highlight the role of the user cost of capital, for which we propose an original measure based on the cost of debt and the cost of equity. We hence take...

This document analyses certain economic aspects of environmental policy in France, focussing on greenhouse gas emissions, water pollution and discharges in city air. Like most other OECD countries, France has been endeavouring for some years to make its growth environmentally sustainable. These...

Selon l'hypothèse de Porter, des réglementations environnementales (RE) strictes doivent avoir un impact positif sur la productivité des firmes touchées. Dans ce papier, nous revoyons les arguments théoriques et empiriques entourant cette hypothèse. Nous montrons qu'il existe peu de...

The third issue of the International Productivity Monitor produced by the Centre for the Study of Living Standards contains six articles that deal with a wide range of issues in the productivity area. Topics covered are the contribution of the information and communications technology sector to...

The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has in recent years devoted considerable resources to the study of productivity trends in the OECD area. In this article, Dirk Pilat, a senior economist at the OECD provides an overview of the key results of this research effort....

This paper defines first profitability and its measurement. Net operating return on assets is shown to be the only kind of profitability that can be derived from business accounting data - adequately reprocessed - and provide relevant economic information. This requires to estimate the length of...

This work presents a methodology to evaluate user cost of capital using firm level accounting data for French firms between 1984 and 2002. This evaluation relies on a modelling of individual user cost of capital that accounts for the structure of the financing of the firm, banking interest rates...

The CEPII is France's leading institute for research on the international economy. The Centre's independence is guaranteed by its Board, which sets out the strategic guidelines for the CEPII's research. The Board comprises government officials, business personalities, trade unionists and...

En situation de concurrence pure et parfaite, les décisions par les entreprises de quantité produites et d’utilisation des facteurs s’effectuent en égalisant le prix du marché de bien final avec le coût marginal. En situation de concurrence imparfaite, cette égalisation n’est plus...