This paper presents an empirical study of the channels of influence from uncertainty to fixed investment suggested by real options theory. Using panel data from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) Industrial Trends Survey, we report OLS estimates of the impact of uncertainty on...

This paper compares pooled and non-pooled models of UK capital investment using the Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) Industrial Trends Survey, focusing on the impact of uncertainty. The uncertainty measure is based on the cross sectional dispersion of optimism about the future...

Standard models fail to explain variation in UK capital investment. This paper develops and tests a new theory based on the insights of Edmond Malinvaud, in which investment under uncertainty is adjusted to balance the cost of excess and deficient capacity. Using quarterly UK manufacturing data...

This article considers the role of hurdle rates in the analysis of investment decisions, analysing a sample of business units from the PIMS (Profit Impact of Marketing Strategy) databank of North American companies, which provides rarely observed data on hurdle rates. Although the standard...

During the 1980s Britain became one of the world's most market-oriented economies, an approach which resulted in three severe recessions and a deepening degree of inequality. This book argues that a rebalancing of the economy will remain elusive until proactive policies are implemented at the...

This paper presents an empirical analysis of the behavior of U.K. imports of manufactures, intended to develop understanding of nonprice competitiveness by evaluating the impact of capacity constraints, international specialization, and industrial standards. Two data sets are employed: aggregate...

This paper investigates the role of cross-sectional dependence among private forecasters, assessing its impact on the measurement and use of the forecasting uncertainty. We determine the circumstances under which cross-sectional measures of uncertainty (such as the disagreement across...