Deciphering the effects of agglomeration economies on firms’ productive efficiency

The present work assess the effects of MAR and Jacob’s type agglomeration economies on a sample of firms in the machineries and textiles industries in Greece for the periods 1989-91 and 1999-01. The analysis employs a stochastic production frontier function and allows agglomeration economies to enter as inputs and/or as factors reducing inefficiency. Results re-confirm that the effects of agglomeration economies are industry specific. In our study, the machineries industry benefits from MAR type agglomeration economies and the textiles industry benefits from Jacob’s type agglomeration economies. Agglomeration economies may exercise a twin effect on firms’ productive efficiency. First, as in the case of the machineries industry in our study, MAR agglomeration economies may act as a new input and affect the kernel of the production frontier. Second, agglomeration economies may act as a factor reducing technical inefficiency with non-neutral effects with labour and capital as in the case of both the machineries and the textiles industries in our study. Finally, it is indicated that agglomeration economies establish a type of “path dependence†for firms. Firms that make significant use of agglomeration economies survive to the next period at higher percentages in comparison to other firms in the same industry. At the same time, entrants are favoured by MAR type agglomeration economies while incumbents are favoured by Jacob’s type agglomeration economies.

R&D collaborations: Is diversity enhancing innovation performance?

We develop a theoretical framework which builds on the existence of a feedback loop relationship between internal innovation efforts and the diversity of types of R&D collaborations. Such a feedback loop allows for decomposing the total effects of both internal and external knowledge sources on innovation performance in direct and indirect effects. We argue that such feedback loop lies in the heart of the interplay between the benefits and costs associated with generating knowledge internally and accessing knowledge from diverse external knowledge sources. In particular we argue that anticipated benefits from accessing knowledge from diverse external knowledge sources may be outweighed by (i) costs associated with accessing increasingly diverse knowledge through collaboration and (ii) a negative network effect on firms' internal innovation efforts. We employ Structural Equation Modelling on a bespoke dataset of Greek R&D active manufacturing firms; empirical results confirm the existence of an idiosyncratic feedback loop relationship and show that internal innovation efforts positively influence firm innovation performance. On the other hand, diversity in external collaborations has a negative impact on internal innovation efforts, elevating the importance of the optimal balance between internal R&D investments and the diversity of R&D collaborations. The same picture emerges when examining the corresponding direct and indirect effects of internal and external knowledge sources on innovation performance

Condensation of actin filaments pushing against a barrier

We develop a model to describe the force generated by the polymerization of an array of parallel biofilaments. The filaments are assumed to be coupled only through mechanical contact with a movable barrier. We calculate the filament density distribution and the force-velocity relation with a mean-field approach combined with simulations. We identify two regimes: a non-condensed regime at low force in which filaments are spread out spatially, and a condensed regime at high force in which filaments accumulate near the barrier. We confirm a result previously known from other related studies, namely that the stall force is equal to N times the stall force of a single filament. In the model studied here, the approach to stalling is very slow, and the velocity is practically zero at forces significantly lower than the stall force.Comment: 21 pages, 6 figures: Combined figures, fixed typos, added extra material, altered symbolism to avoid confusion. Accepted by New Journal of Physic

The energy efficiency paradox revisited through a partial observability approach

The present paper examines the energy efficiency paradox demonstrated in Greek manufacturing firms through a partial observability approach. The data set used has resulted from a survey carried out among 161 energy-saving technology firm adopters. Maximum likelihood estimates that arise from an incidental truncation model reveal that the adoption of the energy-saving technologies is indeed strongly correlated to the returns of assets that are required in order to undertake the corresponding investments. The source of the energy efficiency paradox lies within a wide range of factors. Policy schemes that aim to increase the adoption rate of energy-saving technologies within the field of manufacturing are significantly affected by differences in the size of firms. Finally, mixed policies seem to be more effective than policies that are only capital subsidy or regulation oriented.

Are the Energy Efficiency Technologies efficient?

This paper investigates a rather neglected issue regarding the impact of Energy Efficiency Technologies (EETs) on firms' productive performance. Possible influences may arise in the context of internal cost of adjustment, learning by doing effects and the capital vintage. A unique dataset was used which has resulted from a survey carried out among a sample of Greek EET adopters in the manufacturing sector. An econometric framework based on nested non-neutral frontiers, was developed to estimate the influence and the decomposition of EETs on firms' productive performance. The empirical findings reveal that the EETs affect positively the firms' technical efficiency and negatively the deterministic part of the frontier. Significant variations among industries and size groups appear to be present. Some policy implications are derived based on the empirical evidence supporting a mix of energy and technology directions.Energy Efficient Technologies Productive efficiency Non-neutral frontiers

Promoting energy efficiency policies over the information barrier

Stakeholders argue that the information barrier is the major obstacle restricting firms from adopting Energy Efficiency Technologies (EETs) in Europe. The present work examines the processes of information gathering as regards to EETs and explores the factors affecting the level of acquired information by EET adopters. Empirical evidence is provided by a data set of Greek manufacturing firms which have adopted EETs. In conclusion, we propose appropriate policy measures able to promote the adoption of EETs by overcoming the information barrier.Energy policy Information Epidemic models Emerging technology models

Productive efficiency and exports: an examination of alternative hypotheses for the Greek cement industry

Efficiency loss that is due to over- or under-capacity utilization is a significant factor influencing the exporting activity of firms. Using time series data from the Greek cement industry, it is found that efficiency loss triggers export activities up to a certain threshold where firms se to export in order to reduce the deviation from optimum capacity utilization. Beyond this threshold, the size of efficiency loss becomes a major barrier to export in terms of competitiveness. Thus, both the Self-Selection Hypothesis (SSH) and the well-known Market Selection Hypothesis (MSH) may be in operation for various sizes of efficiency loss.

Are cooperatives the weakest link in European banking? A non-parametric metafrontier approach

This paper investigates the productive performance of cooperative banking firms as compared to their commercial and savings counterparts, accounting for technology heterogeneity due to different ownership in European banking. Based on the metafrontier notion, we introduce a methodology which allows the identification of technology gaps among different bank types and their decomposition into input- and output-invariant components. Our findings suggest that the type-specific frontier corresponding to cooperative banking firms lies, to its largest part, away from the European metafrontier. Furthermore, within the cooperative bank type a dichotomy seems to arise. The decomposition results suggest that the cooperatives' technology gap is attributed to output production rather than input use.Productive efficiency Metafrontier Technology gap Cooperative banking firms