Investment and financing constraints in China: does working capital management make a difference?

We use a panel of over 120,000 Chinese firms of different ownership types over the period 2000-2007 to analyze the linkages between investment in fixed and working capital and financing constraints. We find that those firms characterized by high working capital display high sensitivities of investment in working capital to cash flow (WKS) and low sensitivities of investment in fixed capital to cash flow (FKS). We then construct and analyze firm-level FKS and WKS measures and find that, despite severe external financing constraints, those firms with low FKS and high WKS exhibit the highest fixed investment rates. This suggests that good working capital management may help firms to alleviate the effects of financing constraints on fixed investment.Investment; Cash flow; Financing constraints; Working capital

Measures of fixed capital in agriculture

Capital is a fundamental component of agricultural production, and the accumulation of capital is key to growth in agriculture and the process of development. Unfortunately, cross-country data sets on agricultural fixed capital are rare. Using a common methodology that allows comparisons across countries, as well as over time, this paper introduces a data series on fixed capital in agriculture, based on national accounts data. The fixed capital measure differs remarkably from the Food and Agriculture Organization's data series on tractors, which has been widely utilized as a proxy for agricultural fixed capital. The authors construct comparable measures of capital in livestock and tree stock. They examine the evolution of the capital stocks from 1970 to 2000, paying particular attention to the changing composition of agricultural capital, as well as differences in the accumulation of capital for high-income and middle and lower-income countries. Using the capital measures in agricultural productivity analyses, the data yield estimated input elasticities substantially different from those found previously in the literature. The authors show explicitly that this is due to the improved data set on agricultural capital stocks, as well as the methodology used in the study.Economic Theory&Research,Investment and Investment Climate,Rural Development Knowledge&Information Systems,Economic Growth,Emerging Markets

The Distribution of Fixed Capital in the Multinational Firm

Based on industry-level data for majority-owned U.S. foreign affiliates in 49 countries, this paper identifies the determinants of the cross-country distribution of fixed capital within multinational companies. Controlling for market size and trade openness, it is shown that U.S.-owned capital stocks are high in countries with a history of high profitability and low earnings variability. Similarly, the formation of fixed capital is encouraged in host countries with low variable costs, low political risks, and open trade regimes. At the same time, capital expenditures in the late 1990s appear to be insensitive to contemporaneous changes in risk and market shares, underlining investors' sluggish response to the changing characteristics of their host markets. These findings underline the importance of risk in deterring fixed capital expenditures in - and by implication capital flows to - developing countries. Copyright 2002, International Monetary Fund

"Income Distribution in a Monetary Economy: A Ricardo-Keynes Synthesis"

The paper provides a novel theory of income distribution and achieves an integration of monetary and value theories along Ricardian lines, extended to a monetary production economy as understood by Keynes. In a monetary economy, capital is a fund that must be maintained. This idea is captured in the circuit of capital as first defined by Marx. We introduce the circuit of fixed capital; this circuit is closed when the present value of prospective returns from employing it is equal to its supply price. In a steady-growth equilibrium with nominal wages and interest rates given, the equation that closes the circuit of fixed capital can be solved for prices, implying a definitive income distribution. Accordingly, the imputation for fixed capital costs is equivalent to that of a money contract of equal length, which is the payment per period that will repay the cost of the fixed asset, together with interest. It follows that if capital assets remain in use for a period longer than is required to amortize them, their earnings beyond that period have an element of pure rent.Income Distribution; Circuits of Capital; Monetary Economy

A Simulator of Waiting Line Problems

Demand and supply of service are complicatedly related with the balance between fixed capital and circulating capital, movement to the left or right side from a break-even point, and other factors. If there is the disproportion between demand and supply of service, the waiting line to take a service will vary, and in some cases, fixed equipment will not be employed effectively. This report presents trial manufacture of the experimental equipment for waiting line problems

New Capital Estimates for China

Data on physical capital are an indispensable part of economic growth and efficiency studies. In the case of China, economy-wide fixed asset series are usually derived by aggregating gross fixed capital formation (net of depreciation) over time, and sectoral/ownership-specific series by correcting the limited official fixed asset data available. These procedures, to varying degrees, ignore that (i) gross fixed capital formation does not equal investment, (ii) investment does not equal the value of fixed assets newly created through investment, (iii) depreciation is an accounting measure that bears no necessary relation to changes in the production capacity of fixed assets, (iv) official fixed asset data, where available, incorporate significant revaluations in the 1990s, and (v) “net fixed assets” do not measure the contribution of fixed assets to production. This paper derives economy-wide fixed asset values for 1953-2003, correcting for these shortcomings. It uses both the traditional, cumulative approach and a new, so far unexplored method of combining economy-wide depreciation values and an economy-wide depreciation rate to directly yield economy-wide fixed assets. The derived fixed asset time series are evaluated in a comparison with each other as well as with series in the literature, leading to the recommendation of a specific choice of fixed asset time series.Capital, investment, national income accounting, production function estimations, Chinese statistics, fixed assets, measurement of economic growth

New Capital Estimates for China

Data on physical capital are an indispensable part of economic growth and efficiency studies. In the case of China, fixed asset time series are usually derived either by aggregating gross fixed capital formation data over time, net of depreciation, or by correcting the limited official fixed asset data available. These procedures, to varying degrees, ignore that (i) gross fixed capital formation does not equal investment, (ii) investment does not equal the value of fixed assets newly created through investment, (iii) depreciation is an accounting measure that has no impact on changes in the production capacity of fixed assets, (iv) official fixed asset data, where available, incorporate significant revaluations in the 1990s, and (v) the variable 'net fixed assets,' frequently used in the literature, is an inappropriate measure of fixed assets for the purpose of growth or efficiency studies. This paper derives economy-wide fixed asset values for 1954-2002, correcting for these shortcomings. It also uses the so far unexplored method of combining economy-wide depreciation data (in the income approach to the calculation of gross domestic product) with an economy-wide depreciation rate to directly yield economy-wide fixed assets. The fixed asset time series derived here are contrasted with each other as well as with those presented in the literature. The reliability of the different series is evaluated, leading to the recommendation of a specific choice of fixed asset time series.Capital, fixed assets, investment, national income accounting, production function estimations, measurement of economic growth, Chinese statistics

Exchange Rates and Macroeconomic Policy with Income-Sensitive Capital Flows.

This paper considers some implications for macroeconomic policy in an open economy if-as appears highly probable-international flows of capital are now significantly sensitive to changes in income, and to expected changes in income, in different countries. This assumption is in contrast to that in accepted analysis where international capital flows are sensitive only to relative interest rates in different countries. One conclusion is that the effects on the exchange rate (or on the reserves in a fixed-exchange rate system) of monetary policy in an open economy will be less than if it is assumed that capital flows react only to changes in interest rates. The effects of fiscal policy changes upon the exchange rate (or the reserves if the exchange rate is fixed) will also be more likely to be largely or fully offset by capital flows than if relative interest rates alone affected the flow of capital. It will, however, remain true that so long as capital flows react also to some extent to relative interest rates, monetary policy retains a comparative advantage over fiscal policy in affecting the exchange rate, or the level of reserves in a fixed exchange rate system. It is also concluded that if capital flows react to changing levels of income, a shift from fixed to flexible exchange rates will have less effect in increasing the domestic effects of changes in monetary policy; and will be less likely to increase the domestic effect of changes in fiscal policy.MACROECONOMICS ; CAPITAL ; INCOME ; INTEREST RATE ; FISCAL POLICY

The impact of foreign direct investment on the fixed capital accumulation in the Romanian economy

The foreign direct investment (FDI) has become more and more important over the last couple of decades. Known to be one of the latest factors to stimulate the economic growth, affecting directly the social and regional development, the foreign direct investment is now also one of Romania's priorities. The FDI is more than just a mechanism to help integrate a country into the world's economics; it is the liaison between the productive systems of different nations. This article will emphasize how important is the FDI to the sustainable development of the Romanian economy, by watching closely its impact on accumulation of fixed capital between 2003 and 2006. Therefore, we will see the FDI growth over the last few years. Romania has significantly improved in 2004, when the FDI went up to more than 5 bill euro. Nevertheless, the record value of FDI has been registered in 2006, reaching almost 9.1 bill euro. I believe that the FDI was quite relevant in developing the Romanian fixed capital.foreign direct investment, fixed capital, capital accumulation, tangible fixed assets

Financing constraints, irreversibility and investment dynamics

We develop a model of an industry with many heterogeneous firms that face both financing constraints and irreversibility constraints. The financing constraint implies that firms cannot borrow unless the debt is secured by collateral; the irreversibility constraint that they can only sell their fixed capital by selling their business. We use this model to examine the cyclical behavior of aggregate fixed investment, variable capital investment, and output in the presence of persistent idiosyncratic and aggregate shocks. Our model yields three main results. First, the effect of the irreversibility constraint on fixed capital investment is reinforced by the financing constraint. Second, the effect of the financing constraint on variable capital investment is reinforced by the irreversibility constraint. Finally, the interaction between the two constraints is key for explaining why input inventories and material deliveries of US manufacturing firms are so volatile and procyclical, and also why they are highly asymmetrical over the business cycle.Financing Constraints, Irreversibility, Investment