Journal of Economic and Social Measurement - Volume 19, issue 4

Authors: Niu, Yongzhi

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: This paper employs both the reduced-form-regression approach and the factor analysis approach to analyze the empirical definition of money in China. In the factor analysis, it is found that there are two common factors shared by the financial assets under …study. One represents liquidity and the other represents store of value. The results of the factor analysis and the reduced-form-regression approach coincide and suggest that urban saving deposits are the best substitute for currency. For this reason, urban saving deposits and currency should be included in the narrow money definition, which is different from the definition set by the International Monetary Fund. Show more

DOI: 10.3233/JEM-1993-19401

Citation: Journal of Economic and Social Measurement, vol. 19, no. 4, pp. 225-239, 1993

Authors: Abbott, Thomas A. | Andrews, Stephen H.

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Understanding the structural relationship of production technologies across manufacturing industries is vital for analyzing dynamic economic activity because firms and establishments often change industries in response to economic conditions. Most researchers use the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) …system, with its hierarchical 2, 3 and 4-digits, to identify these changes and build the underlying relationships across industries. However, as discussed in Andrews and Abbott (1988), the SIC is replete with problems, including the lack of an single, overall guiding principle for the classification. This paper expands on our exploratory work using clustering techniques in Abbott and Andrews (1990). It builds on the idea of using continuous measures of technological distance between industries and establishments based on their production technologies. As illustration, we develop distance measures between existing 4-digit industries and show what an “optimal” hierarchical structure might look like using these methodologies. While this approach yields results which are similar to the SIC, there are important differences between the two classifications in terms of the industrial categories which emerge and the amount of information lost in the process of aggregation. Thus, we feel justified in concluding that a lot can be learned about the dynamic interactions between firms and establishments by looking at industry and establishment classification in a less rigid fashion. Show more

DOI: 10.3233/JEM-1993-19402

Citation: Journal of Economic and Social Measurement, vol. 19, no. 4, pp. 241-279, 1993

Authors: Shriver, Keith A. | Wheeler, Stephen W. | Deberg, Curtis L.

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Conflicting empirical evidence exists about the potential information provided by the separate reporting of cash flows from operations and also about the usefulness of current cost accounting ratios. The present study examined these two issues simultaneously in an empirical investigation …of the compositional characteristics of financial ratio patterns using refined cash-flow measures. A sample of 65 primary manufacturing firms and 21 retailing firms was analyzed for the years 1980 and 1982. Fifty-two financial ratios were measured at both historical cost and current cost for each firm, and principal component analysis was used to examine the compositional characteristics and patterns inherent in the ratios. The overall results indicated that (1) separate reporting of a cash flow from operations measure may provide information not already available from operating income or working capital from operations; and (2) current cost ratios may improve interfirm and intertemporal comparability. Show more

DOI: 10.3233/JEM-1993-19403

Citation: Journal of Economic and Social Measurement, vol. 19, no. 4, pp. 281-304, 1993

Authors: Zagorsky, Jay L.

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: What is the relationship between U.S. and Canadian job vacancies? Job vacancies, which summarize the number of workers businesses want to hire, have not been compared because long term vacancy series do not exist for either country. This paper constructs …analogous Canadian and U.S. job vacancy series from 1962 to 1990 that are syntheses of each country's direct and indirect vacancy data. These series show that while unemployment rates in the two countries follow similar patterns, vacancies are dramatically different. Show more

DOI: 10.3233/JEM-1993-19404

Citation: Journal of Economic and Social Measurement, vol. 19, no. 4, pp. 305-319, 1993

Article Type: Other

DOI: 10.3233/JEM-1993-19405

Citation: Journal of Economic and Social Measurement, vol. 19, no. 4, pp. 321-321, 1993

Article Type: Other

DOI: 10.3233/JEM-1993-19406

Citation: Journal of Economic and Social Measurement, vol. 19, no. 4, pp. 322-322, 1993