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Adjustment Costs and Irreversibility as Determinants of Investment: Evidence from African Manufacturing

Author

Listed:
  • Bigsten Arne

    (Göteborg University)

  • Collier Paul

    (Oxford University)

  • Dercon Stefan

    (Oxford University)

  • Fafchamps Marcel

    (Oxford University)

  • Gauthier Bernard

    (HEC Montréal)

  • Gunning Jan Willem

    (Free University, Amsterdam)

  • Oostendorp Remco

    (Free University, Amsterdam)

  • Pattillo Catherine

    (IMF)

  • Söderbom Måns

    (Oxford University)

  • Teal Francis

    (Oxford University)

Abstract

In this paper we investigate if the predictions of three different models of capital adjustment costs are consistent with the observed investment patterns among manufacturing firms in five African countries. We document a high frequency of zero investment episodes, which is consistent with both fixed adjustment costs and irreversibility and inconsistent with quadratic adjustment costs. We model the decision to invest using a dynamic discrete choice model and find evidence of irreversibility and not fixed costs. We finally model the investment rate as a function of the size of the capital disequilibrium. The results confirm that irreversibility is an important factor affecting the investment behaviour of African manufacturing firms. Some implications of this finding are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Bigsten Arne & Collier Paul & Dercon Stefan & Fafchamps Marcel & Gauthier Bernard & Gunning Jan Willem & Oostendorp Remco & Pattillo Catherine & Söderbom Måns & Teal Francis, 2005. "Adjustment Costs and Irreversibility as Determinants of Investment: Evidence from African Manufacturing," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 4(1), pages 1-27, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:bejeap:v:contributions.4:y:2005:i:1:n:12
    DOI: 10.2202/1538-0645.1228
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    Cited by:

    1. repec:zbw:bofrdp:2013_018 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. K. Farla, 2014. "Determinants of firms' investment behaviour: a multilevel approach," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(34), pages 4231-4241, December.
    3. Timothy Dunne & Xiaoyi Mu, 2010. "Investment Spikes And Uncertainty In The Petroleum Refining Industry," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(1), pages 190-213, March.
    4. Marco Grazzi & Nadia Jacoby & Tania Treibich, 2013. "Dynamics of Investment and Firm Performance: Comparative Evidence from Manufacturing Industries," GREDEG Working Papers 2013-09, Groupe de REcherche en Droit, Economie, Gestion (GREDEG CNRS), Université Côte d'Azur, France.
    5. Ahmat Jidoud, 2015. "Remittances and Macroeconomic Volatility in African Countries," IMF Working Papers 2015/049, International Monetary Fund.
    6. Shiferaw, Admasu & Bedi, Arjun S., 2009. "The Dynamics of Job Creation and Job Destruction: Is Sub-Saharan Africa Different?," IZA Discussion Papers 4623, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Fabio Verona, 2014. "Investment Dynamics with Information Costs," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 46(8), pages 1627-1656, December.
    8. Shiferaw, Admasu, 2009. "Survival of Private Sector Manufacturing Establishments in Africa: The Role of Productivity and Ownership," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 572-584, March.
    9. Xiaodan Yu & Giovanni Dosi & Marco Grazzi & Jiasu Lei, 2015. "Inside the Virtuous Cycle between Productivity, Profitability, Investment and Corporate Growth: An Anatomy of China Industrialization," LEM Papers Series 2015/03, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    10. Alan Harding & Måns Söderbom & Francis Teal, 2004. "Survival and Success among African Manufacturing Firms," Development and Comp Systems 0409046, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Bennett, John & Levy, Stephanie, 2018. "Family Ceremonies as a Constraint on Informal Sector Investment: The Case of Sénégal," IZA Discussion Papers 11529, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Chan, Rosanna, 2008. "Financial constraints, working capital and the dynamic behavior of the firm," MPRA Paper 27153, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Aug 2010.
    13. Yu, Xiaodan & Dosi, Giovanni & Grazzi, Marco & Lei, Jiasu, 2017. "Inside the virtuous circle between productivity, profitability, investment and corporate growth: An anatomy of Chinese industrialization," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(5), pages 1020-1038.
    14. Jean-Louis Warnholz, 2008. "Is investment in Africa low despite high profits?," CSAE Working Paper Series 2008-31, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
    15. Abiola Babajide Ph.D, 2012. "Effects of Microfinance on Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) Growth in Nigeria," Asian Economic and Financial Review, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 2(3), pages 463-477, July.
    16. Fabio Verona, 2014. "Investment Dynamics with Information Costs," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 46(8), pages 1627-1656, December.
    17. Admasu Shiferaw, 2016. "Constraints to Private Investment in a High-Growth Environment: Firm-level Evidence from Ethiopia," Working Papers 168, Department of Economics, College of William and Mary.
    18. Shiferaw, A., 2006. "Capital adjustment patterns and uncertainty in African manufacturing," ISS Working Papers - General Series 18759, International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam (ISS), The Hague.
    19. Jidoud, Ahmat, 2012. "The Sources of Macroeconomic Fluctuations in Subsaharan African Economies: An application to Côte d'Ivoire," TSE Working Papers 12-346, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).

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