期刊名称：DIW Diskussionspapiere / Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Berlin
出版年度：2008
卷号：2008
出版社：Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Berlin
摘要：This paper investigates the factors that explain the level and dynamics of
manufacturing firm productive efficiency. In our empirical analysis, we use a
unique sample of about 39,000 firms in 256 industries from the German Cost
Structure Census over the years 1992-2005. We estimate the efficiencies of the
firms and relate them to firm-specific and environmental factors. We find that
(1) about half the model's explanatory power is due to industry effects, (2)
firm size accounts for another 20 percent, and (3) location of headquarters
explains approximately 15 percent. Interestingly, most other firm
characteristics, such as R&D intensity, outsourcing activities, or the
number of owners, have extremely little explanatory power. Surprisingly, our
findings suggest that higher R&D intensity is associated with being less
efficient, though higher R&D spending increases a firm's efficiency over
time.
关键词：Frontier analysis, determinants of efficiency, firm performance, industry
effects, regional effects, firm size
