Tobin's q and U.S. inflation
Abstract
A smaller than 1 Tobin's q has been frequently observed for the postwar U.S. economy. In theory, Tobin's q less than 1 would discourage investment. However, actual capital stock has grown during this period. This paper proposes inflation besides Schumpeterian innovation as an explanation for this apparent paradox. A stylized IS-LM model along the lines of Tobin-Brainard shows that inflation affects Tobin's q. Employing U.S. data from 1953 to 2000, we find a negative strong relationship between Tobin's q and inflation. Vector error correction models (VECM) confirm the long-run relationship and suggest a very fast rate of adjustment to the steady-state in some specifications. Overall, price movements have a long-run negative impact on Tobin's q.Download Info
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Bibliographic Info
Article provided by Elsevier in its journal Journal of Economics and Business.
Volume (Year): 62 (2010)
Issue (Month): 5 (September)
Pages: 401-418
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Web page: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jeconbus
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Keywords: Inflation Investment Tobin's q;References
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