Can firm age account for productivity differences?

The productivity of enterprises is an important indicator, for individual enterprises as well as for policy makers. For individual firms, their productivity is a main determinant of their performance, while the aggregate productivity is one of the main determinants of economic growth. In this study we examine the relationship between the age of firms and the level and growth rate of productivity, focusing on firms of at least 10 years of age. For these firms, we will examine the following two research questions: How does the distribution of firm productivity (as characterised by mean and standard deviation) change over age cohorts? To which extent are differences in productivity between individual firms related to firm age?

On the relationship between firm age and productivity growth

For young firms, a clear relationship exists between firm age and productivity. Various studies have shown that the productivity level of new firms is below the average level, while the productivity growth rate of (surviving) young firms is above average. During the first few years, the average level of productivity tends to increase while the average growth rate tends to decrease. For elder, established firms, the relationship between age and productivity becomes less clear. Established firms show on average a positive growth rate, but whether this growth rate is related to the specific age of these firms is not well established. In this study we examine the relationship between the age of firms and their productivity growth, for establishes firms, where establishes firms are defined as firms of at least 10 years of age. Our research question is: to which extent are differences in productivity growth rates between individual firms related to firm age?

Time requirements for administrative activities; an investigation into firm size effects

This paper examines the assumption that activity time is independent of firm size (measured by the number of employees). Existing theories on (dis)economies of scale and scope and wage differentials are unclear on what to expect. For relatively complex activities such as becoming familiar with information obligations or checking agreements and declarations, the activity time might be related to the number of employees. For activities such as receiving, copying and sending information and documents, no theoretical arguments have been identified that suggest a firm-size effect. For the empirical examination of the existence of a relationship between firm size and activity time, data is used that were gathered in two projects applying the MISTRAL approach. This results in a dataset with information on many different activities, with only a few observations for each activity. By using a relative measure for activity time, observations for different activities can be combined in the analysis. To this end, relative activity time is defined as the ratio between the measured activity time and the standardized activity time for a certain activity. The empirical results suggest that, within the examined policy areas, firm size has no noticeable relationship with activity times. First of all, there exists no significant difference in average relative activity time between firms of different size classes. There are also no significant correlations between these variables. Next, these results are confirmed by regression analysis, where relative activity time is estimated as a function of firm size and other variables that might be of influence on activity time (such as experience of employees, the presence of a specific department for administrative activities, and whether additional adaptations and/or computations are required for a specific activity). Relative activity time tends to be higher for activities that require additional adaptations, but is independent of the size of the firm.

Vier jaar transparantie geanalyseerd:Exploratief onderzoek naar transparantieverslagen van accountantsorganisaties

Accountantsorganisaties die de jaarlijkse controle van de jaarrekening van organisaties van openbaar belang verzorgen, zijn wettelijk gehouden om jaarlijks een transparantieverslag te publiceren, waarin zij verslag doen van de strategie, ambitie, plannen, acties ten aanzien van kwaliteitsbeheersing en de uitkomsten van metingen daarvan. Onderzocht is of de transparantieverslagen van de negen betrokken accountantsorganisaties in Nederland het gewenste inzicht geven in audit kwaliteit – waarbij aandacht is voor de onderlinge vergelijkbaarheid – en zijn opgesteld in overeenstemming met de richtlijnen terzake, waarbij met name Handreiking 1135 als uitgangspunt is gehanteerd. De uitkomst van dit onderzoek is, dat de toepassing van de richtlijnen ten aanzien van de transparantieverslaggeving door iedere accountantsorganisatie op haar eigen wijze wordt ingevuld, dat onderlinge vergelijkbaarheid – mede daardoor – niet (goed) mogelijk is en dat de samenhang tussen de diverse kwaliteitsindicatoren in de verslagen niet helder is

Measurement of fraction unbound paclitaxel in human plasma

The clinical pharmacokinetic behavior of paclitaxel (Taxol) is distinctly nonlinear, with disproportional increases in systemic exposure with an increase in dose. We have recently shown that Cremophor EL, the formulation vehicle used for i.v. administration of paclitaxel, alters drug distribution as a result of micellar entrapment of paclitaxel, and we speculated that the free drug fraction (fu) is dependent on dose and time-varying concentrations of Cremophor EL in the central plasma compartment. To test this hypothesis, a reproducible equilibrium dialysis method has been developed for the measurement of paclitaxel fu in plasma. Equilibrium dialysis was performed at 37 degrees C in a humidified atmosphere of 5% CO(2) using 2.0-ml polypropylene test tubes. Experiments were carried out with 260-microliter aliquots of plasma containing a tracer amount of [G-(3)H]paclitaxel with high-specific activity against an equal volume of 0.01 M phosphate buffer (pH 7.4). Drug concentrations were measured by both reversed-phase HPLC and liquid scintillation counting. Using this method, fu has been measured in three patients receiving three consecutive 3-weekly courses of paclitaxel at dose levels of 135, 175, and 225 mg/m(2) and found to range between 0.036 and 0.079. The method was also used to define concentration-time profiles of unbound drug, estimated from the product of the total plasma concentration and fu

Noise-induced distortion of nonequilibrium oscillator mean limit cycle

Under general conditions imposed on an active stochastic oscillator, we study change in the size and shape of its average limit cycle as a function of temperature. Such dynamics occur in a multitude of nonequilibrium systems, including the spontaneous oscillations of hair cells of the inner ear. We demonstrate one of the many mechanisms through which distortion of the mean curve may occur and identify regions in the driven oscillator phase space susceptible to corner-cutting due to noise. This we infer causes rounding of certain sharp features in the noiseless curve given by the underlying complex theoretical model, making them inaccessible under any amount of averaging of the experimentally obtained finite-temperature trajectory.Comment: 8 pages, 10 figure