Supply Chain Structure, Inventory Turnover, and Financial Performance: Evidence from Manufacturing Companies in China

Using data collected by the World Bank, we empirically investigate the relationship between Chinese manufacturers’ supply chain attributes, raw material and finished goods inventory turnover, and return on sales. Our findings indicate that location proximity, relationship continuity, and the relative power of the manufacturer over suppliers and customers have a significant impact on inventory performance, which in turn drives profitability. We especially focus on characteristics unique to China’s business environment. We find that Chinese manufacturing companies have relatively weak operational performance, and better operational performance is associated with closer distance, longer relationship with suppliers and customers, and relative power over suppliers. Unlike their counter parties in some developed countries, Chinese manufacturers’ profitability relies on both downstream and upstream inventory performance, with downstream inventory performance playing a somewhat more important role

Structural Spurious Regressions and A Hausman-type Cointegration Test

This paper proposes two estimators based on asymptotic theory to estimate structural parameters with spurious regressions involving unit-root nonstationary variables. This approach motivates a Hausman-type test for the null hypothesis of cointegration for dynamic Ordinary Least Squares estimation using one of our estimators for spurious regressions. We apply our estimation and testing methods to four applications: (i) long-run money demand in the U.S.; (ii) long-run implications of the consumption-leisure choice; (iii) output convergence among industrial and developing countries; (iv) Purchasing Power Parity for traded and non-traded goods.Spurious regression, GLS correction method, Dynamic regression, Test for cointegration.