Some aspects of the econometric identification and estimation of production functions are discussed focusing on the issue of simultaneity and reviewing the response to it since Douglas's early studies and Marschak and Andrews critique of them. We look primarily at the work that uses micro data...

The newly created Research Data Centres (or Forschungsdatenzentren) much improved the access of researchers to micro data from official statistics in Germany. This paper surveys selected earlier studies using firm level data with a view on the policy conclusions. We focus on job turnover,...

Many recent studies exploring conditional factor demand or factor substitution issues use firm level panel data. A considerable number of establishment panels contains no direct information on the capital input, necessary for production or cost function estimation. Incorrect measurement of...

Many analyses of firm performance are based upon self-reported measures. However, not only are these likely to be more subject to general reporting error than alternative official sources, but also measures of relative performance may be subject to the biases observed in the psychology...

The paper explores the investment behaviour of German firms in the context of the Qapproach, which plays a dominant role in empirical investment research. The analysis is based on the Deutsche Bundesbank's corporate balance sheet statistics. The panel data set contains some 2,300 German firms'...

International productivity comparisons have traditionally focused on productivity growth rates. International productivity level comparisons are much more complex, requiring comparable industry data and estimates of purchasing power at a detailed industry level. The International Comparisons of...

This Working Paper presents the different methodologies currently used to construct a volume index of capital services and analyzes the effects of methodological changes on capital services and total factor productivity estimates for Belgium over the period 1970-2004. The measurement of capital...

This paper aims to provide a consistent empirical methodology for investigating the level of Minimum Efficient Scale (MES) in a single product industry, through the assessment of relative productive performance. Two deterministic approaches are used to evaluate firm-level technical efficiency :...

Production capital and technology, fundamental to understanding output and productivity growth, are unobserved except at disaggregated levels and must be estimated prior to being used in empirical analysis. We develop and apply a new estimation method, based on advances in economics, statistics,...

The paper reports a study in which the turnover and employment generated by the production of Direct Marketing in Sweden is measured. What is generated by the use of Direct Marketing is not reported. First, a basis for defining Direct Marketing is presented, based on purpose with the marketing...