Industrial Investment In Europe: Economic Theory And Measurement (international Studies In Economics And Econometrics) (volume 12)

The fifth meeting of the «European Production Study Group» (I) was held in Louvain-la-Neuve in September 1984 under the sponsorship of the European Investment Bank. The present volume reports the procee­ dings of this conference which was devoted to various aspects of industrial investment in Europe. Particular attention was given to empirical contributions. Part one contains those focusing on the determinants of firms' investment. The Group was also concerned by policy implications (part two), by the role and the specific nature of foreign investment (part three) and by theoretical developments which have clear empirical implications such as the problems of the measurement of capital utilisation and rates of return (part four). 1. The study by D. Weiserbs on industrial investment in the six major states of the Community shows marked differences between countries. Ac­ cording to his results, demand prospects are the main determinant of in­ vestment growth. Relative price changes have a quantitatively more modest effect while firms' self financing capacity mainly affects short-run deci­ sions. However, as pointed out by C. Boyd in his comment, the small number of observations imposes strong limitations in the modelling of the dynamic aspects of investment. The following threee studies provide a more deeper analysis for France, Italy and Belgium respectively. The fifth meeting of the "European Production Study Group" (I) was held in Louvain-la-Neuve in September 1984 under the sponsorship of the European Investment Bank. The present volume reports the proceeƯ dings of this conference which was devoted to various aspects of industrial investment in Europe. Particular attention was given to empirical contributions. Part one contains those focusing on the determinants of firms' investment. The Group was also concerned by policy implications (part two), by the role and the specific nature of foreign investment (part three) and by theoretical developments which have clear empirical implications such as the problems of the measurement of capital utilisation and rates of return (part four). 1. The study by D. Weiserbs on industrial investment in the six major states of the Community shows marked differences between countries. AcƯ cording to his results, demand prospects are the main determinant of inƯ vestment growth. Relative price changes have a quantitatively more modest effect while firms' self financing capacity mainly affects short-run deciƯ sions. However, as pointed out by C. Boyd in his comment, the small number of observations imposes strong limitations in the modelling of the dynamic aspects of investment. The following threee studies provide a more deeper analysis for France, Italy and Belgium respectively Front Matter....Pages i-v Introduction....Pages 1-4 Front Matter....Pages 5-5 Industrial Investment in the European Community....Pages 7-23 Investment, Output and Labor Constraints, and Financial Constraints: The Estimation of A Model With Several Regimes....Pages 25-49 A Unified Framework for Firms’ Decisions Theoretical Analysis and Empirical Application to Italy 1970–1980....Pages 51-79 Econometric Analysis of Sectoral Investment in Belgium (1956–1982)....Pages 81-113 Front Matter....Pages 115-115 Aggregate Investment and Output in the U.K.....Pages 117-143 Investment or Employment Subsidies for Rapid Employment Creation in the European Economic Community?....Pages 145-182 Front Matter....Pages 183-183 Macroeconomic Adjustment under Foreign Investments....Pages 185-207 A Comparative Study of the Inter-Industry Determinants and Economic Performance of Foreign Direct Investments in France and Canada....Pages 209-255 Capital and Labour Movements in the European Community....Pages 257-287 Front Matter....Pages 289-289 The Theory and Measurement of Capital Utilisation and Its Role in Modelling Investment....Pages 291-317 Capital Utilization and Investment in a «Mixed» Economy....Pages 319-350 Equity Rates of Return in the UK — Evidence From Panel Data....Pages 351-389