Papers written by Author(s): 'Sang V Nguyen'
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B.K. Atrostic - 4
Viewing papers 11 through 20 of 22
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Working PaperTHE MANUFACTURING PLANT OWNERSHIP CHANGE DATABASE: ITS CONSTRUCTION AND USEFULNESS
September 1998
Working Paper Number:
CES-98-16
The Center for Economic Studies, U. S. Bureau of the Census, has constructed the "Manufacturing Plant Ownership Change Database" (OCD)using plant-level data taken from the Census Bureau's Longitudinal Research Database (LRD). The OCD contains data on all manufacturing establishments that have experienced ownership change at least once during the period 1963-1992 . This is a unique data set which, together with the LRD, can be used to conduct a variety of economic studies that were not possible before. This paper describes how the OCD was constructed and discusses the usefulness of these data for economic research.View Full Paper PDF
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Working PaperFactor Substitution In U.S. Manufacturing: Does Plant Size Matter
April 1998
Working Paper Number:
CES-98-06
We use micro data for 10,412 U.S. manufacturing plants to estimate the degrees of factor substitution by industry and by plant size. We find that (1) capital, labor, energy and materials are substitutes in production, and (2) the degrees of substitution among inputs are quite similar across plant sizes in a majority of industries. Two important implications of these findings are that (1) small plants are typically as flexible as large plants in factor substitution; consequently, economic policies such energy conservation policies that result in rising energy prices would not cause negative effects on either large or small U.S. manufacturing plants; and (2) since energy and capital are found to be substitutes; the 1973 energy crisis is unlikely to be a significant factor contributing to the post 1973 productivity slowdown. of SubstitutionView Full Paper PDF
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Working PaperCapital-Energy Substitution Revisted: New Evidence From Micro Data
April 1997
Working Paper Number:
CES-97-04
We use new micro data for 11,520 plants taken from the Census Bureau=s 1991 Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey (MECS) and 1991 Annual Survey of Manufactures (ASM) to estimate elasticities of substitution between energy and capital. We found that energy and capital are substitutes. We also found that estimates of Allen elasticities of substitution -- which have been used as a standard measure of substitution -- are sensitive to varying data sets and levels of aggregation. In contrast, estimates of Morishima elasticities of substitution -- which are theoretically superior to the Allen elasticities -- are more robust (except when two-digit level data are used). The results support the views that (i) the Morishima elasticity is a better measure of factor substitution and (ii) micro data provide more accurate elasticity estimates than those obtained from aggregate data. Our findings appear to resolve the long-standing conflict among the estimates reported in the many previous studies regarding energy-capital substitution/complementarity.View Full Paper PDF
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Working PaperExploring The Role Of Acquisition In The Performance Of Firms: Is The "Firm" The Right Unit Of Analysis?
November 1995
Working Paper Number:
CES-95-13
In this article, we examine the effect of acquisitions on productivity performance of acquiring firms using the conventional regression analysis and a method of productivity decomposition. Our empirical work uses both plant- and firm-level data taken from the Longitudinal Research Database (LRD) on the entire population of U.S. food manufacturing firms that operated continuously during 1977-87. We find that (1) acquisitions had a significant, positive effect on acquiring firms' productivity growth, but this effect becomes insignificant when only firm-level data on multi-unit firms are included in the regressions; and (2) the decomposition results show that while the productivity contribution of the external component (acquired plants) is positive, the contribution of the internal component (existing plants) is negative; the two components offset each other leaving productivity of multi-unit acquiring firms virtually unchanged after acquisitions. These results suggest that assessing the impact of acquisitions on the structure and performance of firms requires a careful look at the individual components (i.e., plants) of the firms, particularly for large multi-unit firms.View Full Paper PDF
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Working PaperThe Impact Of Ownership Change On Employment, Wages, And Labor Productivity In U.S. Manufacturing 1977-87
April 1995
Working Paper Number:
CES-95-08
This paper reports on the impact of ownership change on productivity, wages, and employment in U.S. food manufacturing for the period 1977-87. Our analysis is based on both firm and plant level data taken from the U. S. Census Bureau's Longitudinal Research Database (LRD). Three principal results emerge from the analysis. First, ownership change is positively associated with productivity and wage growth, although the effects are significantly smaller for large plants. Second, ownership change appears to be associated with increases, not decreases, in employment at operating plants. Third, plants changing ownership show a greater likelihood of survival than those that do not change owners. These findings run counter to the notion that mergers and acquisitions cut wages and reduce employment. Finally, neither of the first two results are observed when firm level data are used for the analysis. This suggests that firm level data hide important dynamic activities within the firm. Thus, plant level data are necessary for studying the structure and performance of firms over time.View Full Paper PDF
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Working PaperOn Productivity and Plant Ownership Change: New Evidence From the LRD
November 1993
Working Paper Number:
CES-93-15
This paper investigates the questions of what type of establishment experiences ownership change, and how the transferred properties perform after acquisition. Are they the profitable operations suggested by Ravenscraft and Scherer (1986), or the poorly operating ones found by Lichtenberg and Siegel (1992)? Is the primary motive of ownership change the rehabilitation of low productivity plants as suggested by Lichtenberg and Siegel? Our empirical work is based on an unbalanced panel of 28,294 plants taken from the U.S. Bureau of the Census' Longitudinal Research Database ( LRD ). The data set provides complete coverage of the food manufacturing industry (SIC 20) for the period 1977-1987. Our principle findings are that (1) ownership change is generally associated with the transfer of plants with above average productivity, however, large plants, empirically, those with more than 200 employees, are more likely to be purchased than closed when they are performing poorly; and (2) transferred plants experience improvement in productivity performance following the ownership change.View Full Paper PDF
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Working PaperMeasuring Total Factor Productivity, Technical Change And The Rate Of Returns To Research And Development
May 1991
Working Paper Number:
CES-91-03
Recent research indicates that estimates of the effect of research and development (R&D) on total factor productivity growth are sensitive to different measures of total factor productivity. In this paper, we use establishment level data for the flat glass industry extracted from the Census Bureau's Longitudinal Research Database (LRD) to construct three competing measures of total factor productivity. We then use these measures to estimate the conventional R&D intensity model. Our empirical results support previous finding that the estimated coefficients of the model are sensitive to the measurement of total factor productivity. Also, when using microdata and more detailed modeling, R&D is found to be a significant factor influencing productivity growth. Finally, for the flat glass industry, a specific technical change index capturing the learning-by-doing process appears to be superior to the conventional time trend index.View Full Paper PDF
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Working PaperTHE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG ACQUIRING AND ACQUIRED FIRMS' PRODUCT LINES
September 1990
Working Paper Number:
CES-90-12
This study develops detailed information on the relationships among the activities of acquiring and acquired firms at and near the time of merger for a sample of 94 takeovers undertaken between 1977-1982. We focus on takeovers for two reasons. First, takeovers are an important and controversial phenomenon. Second, takeovers allow us to look at marginal changes, admittedly large ones, in the firm's boundaries. Thus, they provide a useful way of examining relationships among activities of the firm without having to go into great detail regarding the historical decisions that generated the firm's current structure. While the individual establishment is our basic data unit, in this study we aggregate the activities of the firm to the line of business (LOB) level. Each LOB of an acquired firm is classified as to its relationship horizontal, vertical (upstream or downstream), and conglomerate to the LOBs of the acquiring firm. Using these categorizations we aggregate the LOB-level information to the firm level to investigate the degree to which our sample of mergers is specialized to particular types of relationships. While we find a significant group of unspecialized takeovers, most appear to fit a specific category. We also look at the pattern of closed operations immediately following the takeover. Closings are generally concentrated in operations involving horizontal relationships. Finally, we consider the pattern of relationships between hostile and friendly takeovers and whether takeover premiums vary by type of merger. Merger premiums are not related to the type of relationship between the acquiring and acquired firm, but they are tied to whether the takeover is friendly or hostile.View Full Paper PDF
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Working PaperReturns to Scale in Small and Large U.S. Manufacturing Establishments
September 1990
Working Paper Number:
CES-90-11
The objective of this study is to assess the possibility of differences in the production technologies between large and small establishments in five selected 4-digit SIC manufacturing industries. We particularly focus on estimating returns to scale and then make interferences regarding the efficiency of small businesses relative to large businesses. Using cross-section data for two census years, 1977 and 1982, we estimate a transcendental logarithmic (translog) production model that provides direct estimates of economies of scale parameters for both small and large establishments. Our primary findings are: (i) there are significant differences in the production technologies between small and large establishments; and (ii) based on the scale parameter estimates, small establishments appear to be as efficient as large establishments under normal economic conditions, suggesting that large size is not a necessary condition for efficient production. However, small establishments seem to be unable to maintain constant returns to scale production during economic recession such as that in 1982.View Full Paper PDF
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Working PaperMultifactor Productivity And Sources of Growth In Chinese Industry: 1980-85
October 1989
Working Paper Number:
CES-89-08
This paper examines the economic performance of the Chinese industrial sector in the post-reform period 1980-1985. A multifactor productivity model is used to isolate the contributions of labor, capital, and technical efficiency to growth in industrial output. Using information from the National Industrial Census of China (1988) for large and medium-size enterprises, we find that growth in industrial labor productivity in the post-reform period is attributable to increases in capital intensity not technical efficiency. Moreover, collective and other nonstate enterprises show higher partial labor and multifactor productivity gains than do state enterprises. We also find that multifactor productivity gains are closely tied to increases in retained profits and the proportion of total employees that are technical workers. Surprisingly, labor bonuses have a near zero or negative effect on multifactor productivity growth although this result is not very robust.View Full Paper PDF
