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Economic instability and aggregate investment

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Author Info
Pindyck, Robert S.
Solimano, Andres

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Abstract

Recent literature suggests that because investment expenditures are irreversible and can be delayed, they may be highly sensitive to uncertainty. The authors briefly summarize the theory, stressing its empirical implications. Then, using cross-section and time-series data for a set of developing and industrial countries, they explore the empirical relevance of irreversibility and uncertainty to aggregate investment. They find that: (a) the volatility of the marginal profitability of capital (a summary measure of uncertainty) affects investment as the theory suggests, but the effect is moderate, and greatest for developing countries; (b)this volatility has little correlation with indices of political instability used in recent studies of growth; (c) inflation is highly correlated with this volatility and is a robust determinant of investment and the marginal profitability ofcapital. The volatility of the real exchange rate also has an independent contribution in explaining investment; and (d) the relationship between inflation and investment is nonlinear, and different thresholds of inflation, where the relationship with investment becomes stronger, were detected for a group of high-inflation countries in Latin America and low-inflation economies in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

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Paper provided by The World Bank in its series Policy Research Working Paper Series with number 1148.

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Date of creation: 30 Jun 1993
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Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:1148

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Keywords: Economic Theory&Research; Environmental Economics&Policies; International Terrorism&Counterterrorism; Banks&Banking Reform; ICT Policy and Strategies;

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References listed on IDEAS
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  1. Kormendi, Roger C. & Meguire, Philip G., 1985. "Macroeconomic determinants of growth: Cross-country evidence," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(2), pages 141-163, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  4. Cukierman, Alex, 1980. "The Effects of Uncertainty on Investment under Risk Neutrality with Endogenous Information," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 88(3), pages 462-75, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  7. Lach, Saul & Schankerman, Mark, 1989. "Dynamics of R&D and Investment in the Scientific Sector," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 97(4), pages 880-904, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  9. Leahy, J.V., 1991. "The Optimality of Myopic Behaviour in a Competitive Model of Entry and Exit," Harvard Institute of Economic Research Working Papers 1566, Harvard - Institute of Economic Research.
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  11. Summers, Robert & Heston, Alan, 1991. "The Penn World Table (Mark 5): An Expanded Set of International Comparisons, 1950-1988," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 106(2), pages 327-68, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  13. Abel, Andrew B, 1983. "Optimal Investment under Uncertainty," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 73(1), pages 228-33, March.
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  16. Pindyck, Robert S, 1993. "A Note on Competitive Investment under Uncertainty," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 83(1), pages 273-77, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  17. Hartman, Richard, 1972. "The effects of price and cost uncertainty on investment," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 5(2), pages 258-266, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  20. Dornbusch, Rudiger, 1990. "Policies to Move from Stabilization to Growth," CEPR Discussion Papers 456, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  23. Dani Rodrik, 1989. "Policy Uncertainty and Private Investment in Developing Countries," NBER Working Papers 2999, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  24. Bertola, Giuseppe, 1998. "Irreversible investment," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(1), pages 3-37, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  25. Ricardo J. Caballero, 1997. "Aggregate Investment," NBER Working Papers 6264, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  26. Corbo, Vittorio & Solimano, Andres, 1991. "Chile's experience with stabilization, revisited," Policy Research Working Paper Series 579, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
  27. McDonald, Robert & Siegel, Daniel, 1986. "The Value of Waiting to Invest," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 101(4), pages 707-27, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  29. Abel, Andrew B & Blanchard, Olivier J, 1986. "The Present Value of Profits and Cyclical Movements in Investment," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 54(2), pages 249-73, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  30. Scott, Louis O., 1987. "Option Pricing when the Variance Changes Randomly: Theory, Estimation, and an Application," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 22(04), pages 419-438, December. [Downloadable!]
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  32. Majd, Saman & Pindyck, Robert S., 1987. "Time to build, option value, and investment decisions," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 7-27, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  33. Ingersoll, Jonathan E, Jr & Ross, Stephen A, 1992. "Waiting to Invest: Investment and Uncertainty," Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 65(1), pages 1-29, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  34. Solimano, Andres, 1992. "Understanding the investment cycle in adjustment programs : evidence from reforming economies," Policy Research Working Paper Series 912, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
  35. Pindyck, Robert S, 1988. "Irreversible Investment, Capacity Choice, and the Value of the Firm," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 78(5), pages 969-85, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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