Can job turnover improve technical efficiency? : a study of state-owned enterprises in Shanghai

This paper studies the relationship between job turnover and technical efficiency of state-owned enterprise (SOEs) in Shanghai\u27s manufacturing sector during the period of 1989-1992. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is used to compute measure of technical efficiency for each enterprise. Our findings indicate that, for non-expanding SOEs, the relationship between job turnover (i.e., downsizing) and technical efficiency is a U-shaped one such that efficiency declines at low levels of turnover,but after a certain level, it starts to increase. In addition, we show that small non-expanding SOEs (i.e., with employment size less than 100) start to increase their efficiency at a lower level of turnover than other medium and large SOEs. We also find that for medium and large expanding SOEs, the turnover-efficiency relationship is a positive and linear one

Small businesses and liquidity constraints in financing business investment : evidence from Shanghai\u27s manufacturing sector

This paper studies the relationship between investment and internal funds in the manufacturing sector of Shanghai with a focus on the relationship between firm size and liquidity constraints faced by manufacturing firms. By using a firm level data set in the Chinese economy in transition, we obtain a different result which contradicts the conventional wisdom that smaller firms should face a tighter liquidity constraint: Larger firms actually are more cash-constrained than smaller firms. This result is actually caused by some institutional features which are common among transition economies: (1) Facing less available means of external finance from the state banking system, small firms which are better managed and more efficient may be able to generate large enough cash flow to finance their fixed investment. (2) The presence of heavy indebtedness of large state-owned enterprises may deprive them of sufficient cash available for investment decision. Given that the state-owned enterprise have been making heavy losses, the central and regional governments have liquidity problem in satisfying their huge liquidity demands. (3) Small enterprises in non-state sector can rely on borrowing from the informal credit market although they can obtain very limited bank credit from the formal banking institutions

Profitability and technical efficiency : a performance evaluation of international joint ventures in Shanghai\u27s manufacturing industries

This paper studies the relationship between accounting profits and efficiency of manufacturing enterprises in Shanghai during the period of 1989-1992 and examines which factors affect the profitability of manufacturing enterprises. In 1990, the industrial reform was sped up, a Chow test is used to test for the presence of any structural break and our empirical test confirms its presence. In addition, this paper also tests for the presence of ownership effects on profits. Our results indicate that the profits of international joint ventures are more persistent than the rest of ownership types and industries

Consumption patterns of entrepreneurs in the People\u27s Republic of China

Since the implementation of economic reforms in 1978 in the People\u27s Republic of China, entrepreneurs have emerged as a new consumer group. With rising income and high consumption power, entrepreneurs have become major consumers for expensive goods and services. However, little research has been carried out to understand their consumption decisions. In this paper, we study the consumption patterns of small business .owners, getihu, in China by using a set of large-scale, nation-wide survey data. Their consumption is postulated to be affected by (1) risk factors which include failure risk and financial (leverage) risk, (2) household variables such as the household size, financial and labor resources in the family, (3) the future plans of their business, and (4) home ownership. The effects of these factors on consumption patterns are evaluated. Our empirical results, based on regression and Tobit analysis, showed that all these factors are important in the consumption decisions of the entrepreneurs\u27 households. In particular, risk and household factors are statistically significant in accounting for the variations in their consumption patterns. The marketing implications are also discussed

Job turnover in China : a case study of Shanghai\u27s manufacturing enterprises

This paper studies the job turnover among manufacturing enterprises in Shanghai during the period from 1989 to 1992. Various indicators of job turnover, including job expansion rate, job contraction rate, net job growth rate, gross job reallocation rate, and excess job reallocation rate are calculated. The empirical results demonstrate that types of ownership and firm size are significant factors in accounting for the changes in job generation and job reallocation. Among various types of enterprise, international joint ventures and small firms (i.e., those that employ less than 100 workers) are more able to create jobs and to generate job reallocation

Profitability, ownership structure and technical efficiency of enterprises in P.R. China : a case of manufacturing industries in Shanghai

This paper studies the relationship between accounting profits and technical efficiency of manufacturing enterprises in Shanghai during the period of 1989-1992 and examines which factors affect the profitability of manufacturing enterprises. We first estimate the average technical efficiency of four major manufacturing industries in Shanghai. Then, we test for the presence of ownership effects of technical efficiency on profits of those enterprises in these four industries

Rural High North: A High Rate of Fatal Injury and Prehospital Death

Finnmark County is the northernmost county in Norway. For several decades, the rate of mortality after injury in this sparsely inhabited region has remained above the national average. Following documentation of this discrepancy for the period 1991–1995, improvements to the trauma system were implemented. The present study aims to assess whether trauma-related mortality rates have subsequently improved. All injury-associated fatalities in Finnmark from 1995–2004 were identified retrospectively from the National Registry of Death and reviewed. Low-energy trauma in elderly individuals and poisonings were excluded. A total of 453 cases of trauma-related death occurred during the study period, and 327 of those met the inclusion criteria. Information was retrievable for 266 cases. The majority of deaths (86%) occurred in the prehospital phase. The main causes of death were suicide (33%) and road traffic accidents (21%). Drowning and snowmobile injuries accounted for an unexpectedly high proportion (12 and 8%, respectively). The time of death did not show trimodal distribution. Compared to the previous study period, there was a significant overall decline in injury-related mortality, yet there was no change in place of death, mechanism of injury, or time from injury until death. Changes in injury-related mortality cannot be linked to improvements in the trauma system. There was no change in the epidemiological patterns of injury. The high rate of on-scene mortality indicates that any major improvement in the number of injury-related deaths lies in targeted prevention