This paper proposes a model for optimizing the duration of transition under the assumption that the government main goal is to minimize the social cost of reforms. At the beginning of transition there are two main sectors in the economy: an old technology sector - mainly the public one - where...

We use a CES production function with no restrictions on technical bias to derive relationships between the growth in relative factor shares and (i) the capital to labor ratio and (ii) the ratio of marginal products. These relationships constitute a parsimonious specification used to identify...

In the economics of joint production one often distinguishes between the two cases: the one in which a firm produces multiple products each produced under separate production process, and the other "true joint production" where a number of outputs are produced from a single production process,...

By integrating Battese and Coelli’s (1995) model and the spatial autoregressive model (SAR), a spatial autoregressive stochastic frontier model for panel data is developed. The main feature of this frontier model is a spatial lag term of explained variables and the joint structure of a...

This paper analyzes the effect of time aggregation on estimates of the elasticities of output with respect to employment and to average hours of work. The main goal is to get accurate estimates of production function parameters. Low frequency data generate better estimates of output- employment...

The paper presents econometric estimates of the capital-labor substitution elasticities in terms of 10 economic activities based on the 2003-2009 data. Elasticities are estimated in the context of computable general equilibrium (CGE) methodology, particularly, based on the constant elasticity of...

A typical (roughly) two-digit industry in the United States appears to have constant or slightly decreasing returns to scale. Three puzzles emerge, however. First, estimates often rise at higher levels of aggregation. Second, apparent decreasing returns contradicts evidence of only small...

By integrating Battese and Coelli's (1995) model and the spatial autoregressive model (SAR), a spatial autoregressive stochastic frontier model for panel data is developed. The main feature of this frontier model is a spatial lag term of explained variables and the joint structure of a...

We present a new method for imposing and testing concavity of a cost function using asymptotic least squares, which can easily be implemented even for cost functions which are nonlinear in parameters. We provide an illustration on the basis of a (generalized) Box-Cox cost function with six...

The concepts of potential growth and the output gap are important components in assessing the business cycle and productive capacity of an economy. However, being unobservable, these measures must be estimated. The Fiscal Compact will result in these concepts being used to judge EU member states...