Liberalisation and The Differential Conduct and Performance of Firms: A Study of the Indian Automobile Sector

This paper analyses the behaviour of Indian Automobile firms operating under regulated and liberal economic policy regimes. Results from the step-wise discriminant analysis presented in this paper reveal that the conduct and performance of firms in this sector differ significantly between the regulated [1985-86 to 1990-91] and liberal [1991-92 to 1995-96] economic policy regimes with respect to foreign equity participation, in-house R & D efforts, technology imports, capital intensity, advertisement, exports, growth and profits.liberalisation, firm's conduct, performance of firms, Automobiles, developing countries, India

Lacunary Fourier series and a qualitative uncertainty principle for compact Lie groups

We define lacunary Fourier series on a compact connected semisimple Lie group $G$. If $f \in L^1(G)$ has lacunary Fourier series, and vanishes on a non empty open set, then we prove that $f$ vanishes identically. This may be viewed as a qualitative uncertainty principle

Support theorem on R^n and non compact symmetric spaces

We consider convolution equations of the type f * T = g where f, g are in L^p(R^n) and T is a compactly supported distribution. Under natural assumptions on the zero set of the Fourier transform of T we show that f is compactly supported, provided g is. Similar results are proved for non compact symmetric spaces as well

Determinants of Energy Intensity: A Preliminary Investigation of Indian Manufacturing

The demand for energy, particularly for commercial energy, has been growing rapidly with the growth of the economy, changes in the demographic structure, rising urbanization, socio-economic development. In this context the energy intensity is one of the key factors which impact the projections of future energy demand. The Indian manufacturing sector is among the largest consumer of commercial energy compared to the other industries in India. Energy consumption per unit of production in the manufacturing of steel, aluminum, cement, paper, textile, etc. is much higher in India, in comparison to other developing countries. The purpose of this study is to understand the factors that influence industrial energy intensity in Indian manufacturing. The analysis undertaken in this paper find a positive relationship between energy intensity and firm size and an inverted U’ shaped relationship between energy intensity and size of the firm. The analysis shows that the foreign owned firms are less energy intensive compared to the domestic firms. Capital intensive firms as well as firms spending more on repair and maintenance are found to be more energy intensive. Further the results shows that expenditure on the research and development contribute to reduce firm level energy intensity and there is a sizable difference between highly energy intensive firm and less energy intensive firms.Energy Intensity, Commercial Energy Consumption, Indian Manufacturing Industries

Determinants of Energy Intensity in Indian Manufacturing Industries: A Firm Level Analysis

The demand for energy, particularly for commercial energy, has been growing rapidly with the growth of the economy, changes in the demographic structure, rising urbanization, socio-economic development, and the desire for attaining and sustaining self-reliance in some sectors of the economy. In this context the energy intensity is one of the key factors, which affect the projections of future energy demand for any economy. Energy intensity in Indian industry is among the highest in the world. According to the GoI statistics, the manufacturing sector is the largest consumer of commercial energy in India. Energy consumption per unit of production in the manufacturing of steel, aluminum, cement, paper, textile, etc. is much higher in India, even in comparison with some developing countries. In this study we attempt to analyze energy intensity at firm level and define energy intensity as the ratio of energy consumption to sales turnover. The purpose of this study is to understand the factors that determine industrial energy intensity in Indian manufacturing. The results of the econometric analysis, based on firm level data drawn from the PROWESS data base of the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy during recent years, identify the sources of variation in energy intensity. Also, we found a non-linear ‘U’ shaped relationship between energy intensity and firm size, implying that both very large and very small firms tend to be more energy intensive. The analysis also highlights that ownership type is an important determinant of energy intensity. We found that foreign owned firms exhibit a higher level of technical efficiency and therefore are less energy intensive. The technology import activities are important contributors to the decline in firm- level energy intensity. The paper also identifies that there is a sizable difference between energy intensive firm and less energy intensive firms. In addition the results shows that younger firms are more energy efficient as compared to the older firms and an inverse U’ shaped relationship is found between the energy intensity and the age of the firm.Energy Intensity, Commercial Energy Consumption, Indian Manufacturing Industries

Vulnerability and Climate Change: An Analysis of the Eastern Coastal Districts of India

This paper attempts to construct a picture of socioeconomic context of vulnerability by focusing on indicators that measure both the state of development of the region as well as its capacity to progress further. The first aspect is reflected through agricultural and industrial development, while the second through infrastructure and others. In this study, the climate change impacts are examined from agriculture, infrastructure and demographic characteristics. The analysis is carried out at the district level. Vulnerability of a particular district is measured by the frequency of occurrence of extreme events, in this case the occurrence of cyclones, storms and depressions. From the data on the frequency of occurrence of extreme events it is clear that the districts in the states of Orissa and Andhra Pradesh are highly vulnerable than the other states. The study aims to build a vulnerability index and rank the various coastal districts of these highly vulnerable states in terms of their performance on the index. The index tries to capture a comprehensive scale of vulnerability by including many indicators that serve as proxies. The analysis carried out in this paper points out that the clusters of districts of poor infrastructure and demographic development are also the regions of maximum vulnerability. Some districts exhibit very low rate of growth in infrastructure, alongside a high growth rate of population. Also these districts show a higher density of population. Hence any occurrence of extreme events is likely to be more catastrophic in nature for the people living in these districts. People living in absolute poverty [those who cannot afford US $2 a day] will not be able to cope up with the challenges posed by climate change. Therefore, the analysis carried out in this paper suggests that climate change policies have to be integrated with sustainable development strategies in general, and poverty alleviation measures, in particular.Vulnerability, Climate Change, IPCC, India

Decomposition of Industrial Energy Consumption in Indian Manufacturing : The Energy Intensity Approach

Increasing energy consumption has been one of the major issues in the environmental and industrial economics in the context of global climate change. Recent literature has dealt with several methodological and application issues related to the technique of decomposing changes in industrial energy consumption. In this paper, we examine these issues in the context of another commonly adopted approach to decomposition of aggregate changes in energy intensity of Indian manufacturing industries. The industrial sector accounts for about 37 percent of the total final energy consumption in India. Of this the manufacturing sector consumes about 66 percent (2004-05). The manufacturing sector is one of the energy intensive industries among other industries in India. The scope of the study includes an empirical analysis of General Parametric Divisia Method. This paper follows the energy intensity approach rather the energy consumption approach. This method involves decomposition of the aggregate energy intensity index measured in terms of energy consumption per unit of output. The analysis also includes a comparison of the time series analysis versus the period-wise decomposition. The factors considered are changes in production structure and sectoral energy intensities. The results of the analysis confirm that the changes in sectoral energy intensity play a greater role in the variation in the total energy intensity of Indian Manufacturing compared to the changes in the production structure of the Industries.Decomposition Methodology, Energy Intensity, Manufacturing Industries, India