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This paper is a contribution to the small but growing literature that compares the investment and R&D behavior of manufacturing firms in large developed countries that have varying financial and capital market institutions. Specificially, we look at two similar samples of French and United States firms during the period 1982-1993. We estimate a dynamic specification of a simple error-corrected investment model for both ordinary investment and for R&D investment, a model that incorporates both output (sales or turnover) and cash flow as predictors for investment. Our focus is on two comparisons: France versus the United States and physical investment versus R&D investment. In general, we do not find any significant differences between the two countries in the long run effects of demand (output) on investment. However, we do find that cash flow or profits appear to have a much larger impact on both R&D and investment in the U.S. Except for the well-known difference in the serial correlation of the two types of capital spending, we reject any significant differences between investment and R&D behavior for each country; the major differences are between countries

The contribution of information and communication technology (ICT) to GDP growth and labour productivity growth in France is estimated to lie between 0.2 % and 0.3 % per year over the entire 1980-2000 period. According to our estimates, it increased sharply in the second half of the 1990s, in sync with the rise in the contribution of total factor productivity (TFP). The contribution of ICT was twice as strong in the service sector than in industry. Total factor productivity was much higher in the ICT-producing sectors than in those using it. Our estimates show that, in qualitative terms, productivity gains in Europe are close to those in the US, where the quantitative contribution appears nevertheless much stronger.

The main objective of the study is descriptive. We set out to explore the (cor)relations between five IT and R&D indicators and measures of labor and total factor productivity, average wage and skill composition, on four panel data samples of French manufacturing and services firms over the two five years periods 1986-1990 and 1990-1994. Our first indicator is the ratio of the gross book value of office and computing equipment to the gross book value of total physical assets. The four other indicators are respectively constructed using very detailed information on the occupational and skill structure of the firm; they are the shares in the total number of employees of the four categories of specialized workers that we can gather under the headings of 'computer staff', 'electronics staff', 'research staff' and 'analysis staff'. The only significant finding in the time-series dimension of the data is the relation between an increase in all five indicators and a decrease in the share of blue collar-workers, while in the cross-sectional dimension of the data we observe strong evidence of positive correlations with productivity, average wage and the share of administrative managers, as well as negative ones with the share of blue-collar workers.

The beginnings of Internet for the small French Manufacturing firms : to connect or not to connect? This article describes some of the main characteristics of the small French Manufacturing firms which were the first to connect to the Internet. It shows that these firms are in general more innovative, that their production process is more computer intensive, and that they are more concerned with product quality. Much before deciding to connect to Internet, they were in average more productive and had a work force which was higher-skilled. The fact of being a subsidiary of a group has also a an important positive impact on the probability to be connected, while the fact of having a young firm manager as a positive impact which is rather weak, even if statistically significant., Cet article décrit les caractéristiques principales des petites entreprises industrielles françaises qui ont choisi les premières de se connecter à l'Internet. Il montre que ces entreprises sont en général plus innovantes, qu'elles font un usage plus important de l'informatique dans leur processus de production, et qu'elles bénéficient d'une certification ISO. Bien avant de choisir de se connecter à Internet, elles étaient aussi en moyenne déjà plus productives et avaient une main-d'œuvre plus qualifiée. Il apparaît également que le fait pour une entreprise d'être une filiale d'un groupe a un effet positif important sur sa probabilité d'être connectée, tandis que le fait d'avoir un chef d'entreprise jeune a un effet positif assez faible, même s'il est statistiquement significatif., Mairesse Jacques, Lesne Jean-Philippe. Les débuts de l'Internet pour les petites entreprises industrielles. Se connecter ou pas ?. In: Revue économique. Numéro Hors Série, 2001. Economie de l'Internet. pp. 235-247.

This paper explores the time series properties of commonly used variables in firm-level panels: sales (turnover), employment, R\&D, investment, and cash flow. We focus on two questions: 1) whether the behavior of these series is consistent with stationarity, and if so, 2) what order of autoregressive process best describes them. The answer to these two questions is of substantive interest for those who model the dynamic evolution of firms and their behavior. In particular, we are interested in whether firm data is trend stationary (exhibits regression to individual firm means) or difference stationary (evolves as a random walk, possibly with a non-zero drift). We find that estimation of even these very simple processes using fairly large but short panels is fraught with difficulty and we explore the convergence rate of the GMM estimator using simulation methods. We also report the results of using a new class of tests proposed by Im, Pesaran, and Smith for discriminating between stationary and nonstationary processes in medium-sized panels.

In den letzten dreißig Jahren sind die Informations-und Kommunikationstechnologien (IKT) zu einem sehr wichtigen Wachstumsfaktor in den entwickelten Volkswirtschaften geworden. Quantitativ lässt sich ihre Verbreitung allerdings nicht leicht bewerten. In diesem Artikel sollen auf der Grundlage der Schätzungen ihres Beitrags zum Wachstum einige der methodologischen Hauptprobleme beschrieben werden, die bei der Messung der IKT-Verbreitung auftreten. Untersucht werden drei Produkte, die diese Technologien im Wesentlichen verkörpern: EDV-Geräte, Software und Kommunikationsausstattung. Probleme treten vor allem bei der Messung der wertmäßigen Investitionen in diese Produkte und bei deren volumen-und preismäßigen Unterscheidung auf. Die Konventionen und die Methoden, die zur Lösung dieser Probleme gewählt werden, haben einen starken Einfluss auf die Diagnosen, die im Hinblick auf den Beitrag der IKT zum Wachstum, die Entwicklung der Produktivität in der gesamten Wirtschaft, aber auch die sektorielle Verteilung der Produktivitätsgewinne erstellt werden können. Davon betroffen sind mehrere Elemente zur Bewertung des Wachstums und seiner Quellen, aber auch andere Aspekte. Da die Produkte steuerlich zu ihren historischen Preisen abgeschrieben werden, führt beispielsweise der starke Preisverfall bei EDV-Geräten zu einer Differenz zwischen der offensichtlichen Nettofinanzlage und der realen Finanzlage der Unternehmen. Letztere wird dadurch zu niedrig angesetzt; ein Effekt, der zu demjenigen, der den anderen Investitionsgütern gewöhnlich nachgesagt wird, im Gegensatz steht., Over the last thirty years, information and communication technologies (ICT) have become a very important factor in the growth of developed economies. Yet it is not easy to quantitatively evaluate how they have spread. This paper sets out to describe some of the main methodological problems raised when measuring the spread of ICTs, starting with estimates of their contribution to growth. We consider three products comprising essentially these technologies: computer hardware, software and communication equipment. The greatest problems encountered concern measuring the values invested in these products and the breakdown of these values by volume and price. The conventions and methods used to solve these problems strongly influence the possible analyses of the contribution of ICTs to growth, changes in the productivity of the economy as a whole, and the sector-based classification of productivity gains. This in turn affects a number of elements for assessing growth and its sources, as well as other aspects. For example, tax depreciation methods based on past costs mean that the sharp drop in IT equipment prices creates a deviation between firms’ apparent and real net financial positions. Their real financial position is hence underestimated, contrary to the effect normally ascribed to other capital goods., Les technologies de l'information et de la communication (TIC) sont devenues, au cours des trente dernières années, un facteur très important de la croissance des économies développées. Mais l’évaluation quantitative de leur diffusion n’est pas simple. On s’attache dans ce qui suit à décrire quelques-uns des principaux problèmes de méthode soulevés par la mesure de la diffusion des TIC, et partant par les estimations de leur contribution à la croissance. Trois produits qui incorporent principalement ces technologies sont considérés: les matériels informatiques, les logiciels et les matériels de communication. Parmi les problèmes rencontrés, ceux de la mesure de l’investissement en valeur pour ces produits et du partage de ces valeurs en volume et en prix se posent tout particulièrement. Les conventions et les méthodes retenues pour apporter des solutions à ces problèmes influencent fortement les diagnostics qui peuvent être posés sur la contribution des TIC à la croissance et les évolutions de la productivité au niveau de l’économie dans son ensemble, mais aussi sur la localisation sectorielle des gains de productivité. Plusieurs éléments d’appréciation de la croissance et de ses sources, mais aussi d’autres aspects, en sont ainsi affectés. Par exemple, compte tenu des modalités d’amortissement fiscal aux coûts historiques, la forte baisse des prix des matériels informatiques introduit un écart entre les situations financières nettes apparente et réelle des entreprises; cette dernière s’en trouve sous-estimée, effet contraire à celui prêté d’ordinaire aux autres biens d’investissement., Las tecnologías de la información y de la comunicación (TIC) se han convertido, en los últimos treinta años, en un factor muy importante del crecimiento de las economías desarrolladas. Pero la evaluación cuantitativa de su difusión no es simple. Tratamos a continuación de describir algunos de los principales problemas de método planteados por la medición de la difusión de las TIC, y por la valoración de su contribución al crecimiento. Consideramos aquí tres productos que incorporan principalmente estas tecnologías: los materiales informáticos, los software y los materiales de comunicación. Entre los problemas encontrados, los de la medición de la inversión en valor para estos productos y del reparto de estos valores en volumen y en precio se plantean de manera acuciante. Las convenciones y los métodos escogidos para la resolución de estos problemas influyen mucho en los diagnósticos que se hagan sobre la contribución de las TIC al crecimiento, las evoluciones de la productividad a nivel del conjunto de la economía, pero también sobre la localización sectorial de las ganancias de productividad. Afectan igualmente a varios elementos de apreciación del crecimiento y sus fuentes, y también a otros aspectos. Por ejemplo, teniendo en cuenta las modalidades de amortización fiscal a los costes históricos, la fuerte bajada de los precios de los materiales informáticos introduce una diferencia entre las situaciones financieras netas aparente y real de las empresas: de hecho se infravalora ésta, al contrario de lo que ocurre con otros bienes de inversión., Cette Gilbert, Mairesse Jacques, Kocoglu Yussuf. La mesure de l'investissement en technologies de l'information et de la communication : quelques considérations méthodologiques. In: Economie et statistique, n°339-340, 2000. Les technologies de l'information et de la communication en France : diffusion et contribution à la croissance. pp. 73-91.

Die Rentabilität der Innovation, das heißt die Produktivitätsge-winne der Unternehmen, die der Forschung zuzuschreiben sind, kann nach zwei Methoden bewertet werden. Bei der ersten - der traditionelleren - wird eine bestimmte Anzahl angemeldeter Patente herangezogen; sie ist jedoch unzulänglich, da die Entscheidung, eine Innovation patentieren zu lassen, je nach Unternehmen sehr unterschiedlich ist. Die zweite Methode - die jüngere - gibt eine zusätzliche und zufriedenstellendere Messung der Innovation, da der Anteil der weniger als fünf Jahre alten Produkte am Umsatz der Unternehmen gemessen wird. Diese Methode hat den Vorteil, daß sowohl die Innovationen als auch die Verbesserungen, ja sogar die Produktbeschränkungen berücksichtigt werden. Insgesamt können mit diesen beiden Messungen die bedeutenden Produktivitätsgewinne, die der Forschung im verarbeitenden Gewerbe zu verdanken sind, in vergleichbaren Proportionen erklärt werden. Allerdings ermöglicht der zweite Ansatz eine bessere Berücksichtigung der Effekte bestimmter Variablen, wie des Nachfrageimpulses oder der Dynamik der Technologie. Da es sich um qualitativere Messungen handelt, würden sie zumindest genauso die Entscheidung der Unternehmen, Forschung zu betreiben, und den Betrag der Summen, die sie hierfür zu verwenden bereit sind, wie ihre Größe, ihren Marktanteil oder ihre Diversifizierung erklären., The return on innovation, i. e. corporate productivity gains from research, can be estimated in two ways. The first, more traditional method draws on the number of patents filed. However, it is inadequate since the decision to patent an innovation varies a great deal from one firm to the next. The second, more recent method provides a complementary and more satisfactory measurement of innovation by determining the share of products less than five years old in corporate turnovers. This has the advantage of taking into account both product innovations and improvements or imitations. On the whole, these two measurements can be used to explain substantial productivity gains due to manufacturing industry research in comparable proportions. The second approach, however, takes better account of the effects of variables such as demand stimuli and the specific technology dynamic. As they are more qualitative, they are deemed to explain at least as much a firm’s decision to carry out research and the sums that they are willing to invest therein as their size, their market share and their diversification., Évaluer le rendement de l’innovation, c’est-à-dire estimer les gains de productivité des entreprises imputables à la recherche, peut se faire de deux façons. La première, plus traditionnelle, utilise le nombre de brevets déposés, mais reste insuffisante car la décision de breveter une innovation varie beaucoup d’une entreprise à l’autre. La seconde, plus récente, donne une mesure complémentaire et plus satisfaisante de l’innovation en mesurant la part des produits de moins de cinq ans dans le chiffre d’affaires des entreprises. Elle a l’avantage de prendre en compte à la fois les innovations mais aussi les améliorations voire les imitations de produits. Globalement, ces deux mesures permettent d’expliquer dans des proportions comparables les gains importants de productivité dus à la recherche dans l’industrie manufacturière. Cependant, la seconde approche permet de mieux prendre en compte les effets de variables comme l’impulsion de la demande ou la dynamique propre de la technologie. Plus qualitatives, elles expliqueraient au moins autant la décision des entreprises de faire de la recherche et le montant des sommes que celles-ci sont disposées à y consacrer que leur taille, leur part de marché ou leur diversification., Medir el rendimiento de la innovación, o sea evaluar las ganancias de productividad de las empresas debidas a la investigación puede llevarse a cabo de dos maneras. Una, más tradicional, se basa sobre la cantidad de patentas depositadas, pero es todavía insuficiente ya que la decisión de patentar una innovación varía mucho según la empresa. Otra, más reciente, facilita una medición complementaria y más satisfactoria de la innovación al medir la proporción de los productos de menos de cinco años en el volumen de negocios de las empresas. Tiene la ventaja de tomar en cuenta a la vez las innovaciones, las mejoras e incluso las imitaciones de los productos. Globalmente, estas dos mediciones permiten explicar en unas proporciones idénticas las fuertes ganancias de productividad debidas a la innovación en la industria manufacturera. Sin embargo, el segundo enfoque permite considerar con más eficacia los efectos de unas variables como el impulso de la demanda o la dinámica propia de la tecnología. Siendo más cualitativas, estas variables permiten tanto como el tamaño, la cuota de mercado o la diversificación de las empresas, explicar su decisión de dedicarse a la investigación y las sumas que éstas le dedican., Crépon Bruno, Duguet Emmanuel, Mairesse Jacques. Mesurer le rendement de l'innovation. In: Economie et statistique, n°334, 2000. pp. 65-78.

Overview. Part I: The Macroeconomic Effects of Innovation. 1. On the Macroeconomic Effect of Major Technological Change P. Aghion, P. Howitt. 2. On Knowledge Diffusion, Patents Lifetime and Innovation Based Endogenous Growth P. Michel, J. Nyssen. 3. Endogenous Growth and the Labor Market F. Cerisier, F. Postel-Vinay. Part II: Publicly Funded Science. 4. Research Productivity in a System of Universities J.D. Adams, Z. Griliches. 5. Reputation and Competence in Publicly Funded Science: Estimating the Effects on Research Group Productivity A. Arora, et al. 6. The Impact and Organization of Publicly Funded Research and Development in the European Community M.P. Feldman, F.R. Lichtenberg. 7. An Auction Model of Intellectual Property Protection: Patent Versus Copyright M. Waterson, N. Ireland. 8. Information Disclosure and the Renewal of Patents C. Crampes, C. Langinier. 9. Appropriation Strategy and the Motivations to Use the Patent Systems: An Econometric Analysis at the Firm Level E. Duguet, I. Kabla. 10. Patents and R&D, An Econometric Investigation Using Applications for German, European and US Patents by German Companies G. Licht, K. Zoz. Part III: Network Goods and Standardization. 11. Equilibrium Coalition Structures in Markets for Network Goods N. Economides, F. Flyer. 12. Does Standardization Really Increase Production? H. Stahn. Part IV: Investment and Productivity in R&D. 13. Accumulation of R&D Capital and Dynamic Firm Performance: A Not-So-Fixed Effect Model T.J. Klette, F. Johansen. 14. Are there Financing Constraints for R&D and Investment in German Manufacturing Firm? D. Harhoff. Part V: Profits from Innovation. 15. The Commercial Success of Innovations: An Econometric Analysis at the Firm Level in French Manufacturing C. Barlet, et al. 16. Incentives for Cost Reducing Innovations under Quantitative Import Restraints C.C. Cabral, et al. 17. The Size Distribution of Profits from Innovation F.M. Scherer. Part VI: Spillovers. 18. Looking for International Knowledge Spillovers: A Review of the Literature with Suggestions for New Approaches L. Branstetter. 19. Factor Intensities, Rates of Return, and International R&D Spillovers: The Case of Canadian and U.S. Industries J. Bernstein. 20. Exploring the Spillover Impact on Productivity of World-Wide Manufacturing Firms H. Capron, M. Cincera. 21. Innovation Spillovers and Technology Policy Y. Katsoulacos. Index of Names. Index of Subjects.

Our two related goals in this paper are the following: Firstly and mainly, we want to examine the effects of major changes in modelling strategy and econometric methodology, over the past twenty years, on estimation of firm-level investment equations using panel data. Secondly, we try to assess whether the differences in the estimated investment equations, as between recent years and ten to twenty years go in the French and U.S. Manufacturing industries, are real' and economically meaningful. Thus our paper consists of a series of comparisons: a simple accelerator-profit specification versus one with error correction, traditional between- and within-firm estimation versus GMM estimation, the investment behavior of French firms versus that of U.S. firms, and investment behavior in recent years versus ten to twenty years ago. Although the important econometric advances of the past twenty years have been far from being as successful as we had hoped for, we do find some significant improvement in the specification, estimation and interpretation of firm investment equations; we also fin some real changes in the investment behavior of French and U.S. firms during these twenty years.

In this paper, we use a French matched employer-employee survey, the COI survey, conducted in 1997, to describe the general features of organizational change in manufacturing firms with more than 50 employees. In a first section, we explore the methodological issues associated with the building up of a statistical measure of organizational change, we describe the COI survey and we present the set of firm level and employee level variables that we have selected to investigate organizational change. In a second section, we present the results of two correspondence analysis, one conducted on a sample of 1462 firms from the COI survey and the other one conducted on the sample of 2049 blue collar workers affiliated to those firms. On one hand, using the firm level section of the survey, we show that all types of new organizational practices are positively correlated with one another. On the other hand, at the blue collar level, three main dimensions discriminate between jobs: the intensity of involvement in information processing and decision, the intensity of constraints weighing on the content and rhythm of work and the orientation of information and production flows: either pushed by colleagues or pulled by the market. We also find that blue collars cannot develop a high level of involvement in information processing and decisions and have at the same time their work rhythm fixed by heavy technical constraints whereas high time pressure imposed on work rhythm by the market is positively correlated with such an involvement. Finally, if we correlate firm level and worker level variables, we find that an increase in the use of 'employee involvement' and 'quality' practices by the firm is positively correlated both with a higher level of blue collars' involvement in information processing and decision and with a higher level of technical constraints, production flows being pushed by colleagues rather than pulled by the market. The mapping of firm level responses stemming from our first correspondence analysis has been used to select 4 firms in different areas of the statistical universe and belonging to the with executives from these firms and plant visit are used to check the quality of our statistical data and to better understand our descriptive results.

In this paper, we use a French matched employer-employee survey, the COI survey, conducted in 1997, to describe the general features of organizational change in manufacturing firms with more than 50 employees. In a first section, we explore the methodological issues associated with the building up of a statistical measure of organizational change, we describe the COI survey and we present the set of firm level and employee level variables that we have selected to investigate organizational change. In a second section, we present the results of two correspondence analysis, one conducted on a sample of 1462 firms from the COI survey and the other one conducted on the sample of 2049 blue collar workers affiliated to those firms. On one hand, using the firm level section of the survey, we show that all types of new organizational practices are positively correlated with one another. On the other hand, at the blue collar level, three main dimensions discriminate between jobs: the intensity of involvement in information processing and decision, the intensity of constraints weighing on the content and rhythm of work and the orientation of information and production flows: either pushed by colleagues or pulled by the market. We also find that blue collars cannot develop a high level of involvement in information processing and decisions and have at the same time their work rhythm fixed by heavy technical constraints whereas high time pressure imposed on work rhythm by the market is positively correlated with such an involvement. Finally, if we correlate firm level and worker level variables, we find that an increase in the use of 'employee involvement' and 'quality' practices by the firm is positively correlated both with a higher level of blue collars' involvement in information processing and decision and with a higher level of technical constraints, production flows being pushed by colleagues rather than pulled by the market. The mapping of firm level responses stemming from our first correspondence analysis has been used to select 4 firms in different areas of the statistical universe and belonging to the with executives from these firms and plant visit are used to check the quality of our statistical data and to better understand our descriptive results.

In this paper, we make the general point that econometric studies of the firm can be effectively and substantially enriched by using information collected from employees, even if only a few of them are surveyed per firm. Though variables measured on the basis of the answers of very few employees per firm are subject to very important sampling errors, they can be usefully included in a model specified at the firm level. In the first part of the paper, we show that in estimating parameters of interest in a regression model of the firm, the biases arising from the sampling errors in the employee based variables can be assessed, as long as we have a large enough sub-sample of firms with at least two or with more (randomly chosen) surveyed employees. As an illustration in the second part of the paper, we consider the estimation of the relationship between the firm average wage (directly obtained from the firm accounts) and estimates of the proportion of female workers based on the gender of one, two or three surveyed employees per firm. As a test, we compare the estimates that we find in this way with those using the employees), which we could also directly obtain at the firm level from a firm survey. The analysis is performed on two linked employer-employee samples of about 2500 firms in the French manufacturing and services industries in 1987 and 1993, with one, two or three surveyed employees per firm (for respectively 75%, 15% and 10% of the firms).

We review the changes in modelling strategy and econometric methodology when estimating a firm-level investment equation on panel data during the past twenty years, in order to assess which of these changes result from new estimation methods and changes in the practice of panel data econometrics, and which are "real" and due to the evolution of the economy. Thus our paper consists of a series of comparisons: a simple accelerator-profit specification versus one with error correction, traditional between- and within-firm estimation versus GMM estimation, the investment behavior of French firms versus that of U.S. firms, and investment behavior today versus ten to twenty years ago. Although the econometric advances have perhaps not been as successful as we had hoped, we do find some real change in firm behavior and some improvement in equation specification and interpretation during the past twenty years.

Our two related goals in this paper are the following: Firstly and mainly, we want to examine the effects of major changes in modelling strategy and econometric methodology, over the past twenty years, on estimation of firm-level investment equations using panel data. Secondly, we try to assess whether the differences in the estimated investment equations, as between recent years and ten to twenty years ago in the French and U.S. Manufacturing industries, are 'real' and economically meaningful. Thus our paper consists of a series of comparisons: a simple accelerator-profit specification versus one with error correction, traditional between- and within-firm estimation versus GMM estimation, the investment behavior of French firms versus that of U.S. firms, and investment behavior in recent years versus ten to twenty years ago. Although the important econometric advances of the past twenty years have been far from being as successful as we had hoped for, we do find some significant improvement in the specification, estimation and interpretation of firm investment equations; we also find some real changes in the investment behavior of French and U.S. firms during these twenty years.

The role of financial institutions and corporate governance in the conduct and performance of industrial firrm, especially in the area of technological innovation and international competition has been hotly debated in the recent past. The results presented here are a contribution to the empirical evidence on the behavior of individual firms that exist in somewhat different institutional environments. Using a Panel Data version of the Vertor Auto Regressive (VAR) methodology, we test for causal relationship among sales and cash flow on the one hand and investment and R and D on the other, using three large panels of firms in the scientific (high technology) sectors in the United States, Rance, and Japan. Our findings are that both invest- ment and R and D are more highly sensitive to cash flow and sales in the United States than in Rance and Japan. Correspondingly, both investment and R and D predict both cash flow and sales positively in the United States, while the impact is somewhat more mixed in the other countries.

This paper studies the links between productivity, innovation and research at the firm level. We introduce three new features: (i) A structural model that explains productivity by innovation output, and innovation output by research investment: (ii) New data on French manufacturing firms, including the number of European patents and the percentage share of innovative sales, as well as firm-level demand pull and technology push indicators; (iii) Econometric methods which correct for selectivity and simultaneity biases and take into account the statistical features of the available data: only a small proportion of firms engage in research activities and/or apply for patents; productivity, innovation and research are endogenously determined; research investment and capital are truncated variables, patents are count data and innovative sales are interval data. We find that using the more widespread methods, and the more usual data and model specification, may lead to sensibly different estimates. We find in p...

To compare 14 patients with gastric ulcer and Helicobacter heilmannii with other patients with gastric ulcer: age and sex matched patients, patients colonized by Helicobacter pylori and patients on nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).The endoscopy unit of a university-affiliated hospital.All patients underwent endoscopy with two antral biopsies and smears from biopsies (touch cytology) in addition to biopsies of ulcers. Most patients had fundic biopsies (n = 10), antral biopsies for culture (n = 7) and/or a urease test (n = 9). Serologic determination of antibodies against H. pylori was obtained in nine patients.Patients with H. heilmannii diagnosed on smears from biopsies (touch cytology) had multiple and antral ulcers in 11 samples, and nodular or irregular lesions in five samples. No patient had a history of peptic ulcer disease. Biopsy revealed mild chronic gastritis in all patients, with features of reactive gastritis in nine. No patient had coexistent infection with H. pylori. Only two of ten patients with follow-up endoscopies had persistent H. heilmannii infection on smear or biopsy. No patient had symptomatic recurrence. Patients with H. pylori infection were older and often had recurrent ulceration. The majority of ulcers associated with NSAIDs occurred in elderly women.Newly diagnosed gastric ulcers are associated with H. heilmannii infection. Healing is associated with the disappearance of H. heilmannii and the regression of reactive gastritis. Ulcers differ from those associated with H. pylori infection or with the use of NSAIDs, suggesting that H. heilmannii is a possible cause of gastric ulcers.

The role of financial institutions and corporate governance in the conduct and performance of industrial firms, especially in the area of technological innovation and international competition has been hotly debated in the recent past. The results presented here are a contribution to the empirical evidence on the behavior of individual firms that exist in somewhat different institutional environments. Using a Panel Data version of the Vector Auto Regressive (VAR) methodology, we test for causal relationship among sales and cash flow on the one hand and investment and R&D on the other, using three large panels of firms in the scientific (high technology) sectors in the United States, France and Japan. Our findings are that both investment and R&D are more highly sensitive to cash flow and sales in the United States than in France and Japan. Correspondingly, both investment and R&D predict both cash flow and sales positively in the United States, while the impact is somewhat more mixed in the other countries.

We review the changes in modelling strategy and econometric methodology when estimating a firm-level investment equation on panel data during the past twenty years, in order to assess which of these changes result from new estimation methods and changes in the practice of panel data econometrics, and which are real and due to the evolution of the economy. Thus our paper consists of a series of comparisons: a simple accelerator-profit specification versus one with error correction, traditional between-and within-firm estimation versus GMM estimation, the investment behaviour of French firms versus that of U.S. firms, and investment behavior today versus ten to twenty years ago. Although the econometric advances have perhaps not been as successful as we had hoped, we do find some real change in firm behavior and some improvement in equation specification and interpretation during the past twenty years.

The role of financial institutions and corporate governance in the conduct and performance of industrial firms, especially in the area of technological innovation and international competition, has been hotly debated in the recent past. The results presented here are a contribution to the empirical evidence on the behavior of individual firms that operate in somewhat different institutional environments. Using a Panel Data version of the Vector Auto Regressive (VAR) methodology, we test for the causal relationship among sales and cash flow on the one hand and investment and R&D on the other in three large panels of firms in the scientific (high technology) sectors in the United States, France, and Japan. Our findings are that both investment and R&D are more highly sensitive to cash flow and sales in the United States than in France and Japan. Correspondingly, investment and R&D predict both cash flow and sales positively in the United States, while their impact is somewhat more mixed in the other countries.

This paper investigates whether the impact of financing constraints on company investment spending differs between firms in Belgium, France, Germany and the UK. Many previous studies have found that investment spending displays "excess sensitivity to cash flow" for individual countries, and concluded that this evidence is consistent with the presence of financing constraints. Very few previous studies have presented comparative evidence. Interest in a comparative study stems from the considerable differences between financial systems in these four countries: for example, in sources of investment finance, company ownership structures, the market for corporate control, and the relative importance of different financial markets and institutions. Differences between the UK "market-based" system and the German "bank-based" system have received particular attention. It is sometimes suggested that the arms-length relation between firms and suppliers of finance that tends to characterise the market-oriented system may be less effective at dealing with problems of asymmetric information and monitoring. If so, it is possible that financing constraints on investment would be more severe in the UK than in the continental European countries. We construct company panel datasets for manufacturing firms in Belgium, France, Germany and the UK, covering the period 1978-89. These datasets are used to estimate a range of empirical investment equations, and to investigate the role played by financial factors in each country. A robust finding is that cash flow or profits terms do appear to be both statistically and quantitatively more significant in the UK than in the other three countries. This evidence is consistent with the suggestion that financial constraints on company investment spending may be relatively severe in the more market-oriented UK financial system.

Computerization, research and productivity. In this study, based on large samples of French Manufacturing and Service firms, for the years 1984 and 1992, we consider the firm specific abilities in pursuing Research and Development activities and in using Information Technologies, characterizing them in terms of the firm detailed labor composition by occupation. We find that such abilities have significant positive effects on the firm productivity which go well beyond the more general skill related effects., Menée sur de grands échantillons d'entreprises des secteurs industriels et des services et commerces, pour les années 1984 et 1992, l'étude caractérise les savoirs spécifiques des entreprises en matière de recherche et d'informatique, à partir des effectifs de chercheurs, de chargés d'études, d'informaticiens et d'électroniciens, tels qu'ils peuvent être mesurés dans les enquêtes sur la structure des emplois. Elle montre que ces savoirs ont des effets positifs significatifs sur la productivité, effets qui vont bien au-delà de ceux liés à la qualification générale des personnels., Mairesse Jacques, Bensaid Agnès, Greenan Nathalie. Informatisation, recherche et productivité. In: Revue économique, volume 48, n°3, 1997. pp. 591-603.

In this paper, we make a first attempt to explore the relationship between computer use and productivity in French manufacturing and services industries. We match information on computer utilization in the work place collected at the employee level in the years 1987,1991 and 1993, with information on firm productivity, capital intensity and average wage available at the firm level. Being based on the answers of very few interviewed employees (only one for 75% of the firms in our samples), our measure of firm computer use is subject to important sampling errors, and hence our estimates of computer impacts are largely affected by random errors in variables downward biases. Nonetheless we find coherent and persuasive evidence that the computer impacts on productivity are indeed positive and that the returns to the firm should at least be in the same range as the returns to the other types of capital. We also show that the sampling errors in measurement biases can be assessed, and we make the general point th...

A comparative study of the contribution of R&D to firm-level productivity in French and United States manufacturing firms in the 1980s is presented. The study uses two large panels of approximately 1000 manufacturing firms covering over half of all R&D spending in each country and focuses on the estimation and interpretation of the relationship between output growth and the growth of R&D investment in the presence of simultaneity and firm heterogeneity. We use GMM methods to control for both sources of estimation bias, and we find 1) overall, the contribution of R&D to sales productivity growth appears to have declined during the 1980s, and 2) the role of simultaneity bias is higher in the U.S. than in France, possibly reflecting the greater importance of liquidity constraints for R&D investment in that country.

A comparative study of the contribution of R&D to firm-level productivity in French and United States manufacturing firms in the 1980s is presented. The study uses two large panels of approximately 1000 manufacturing firms covering over half of all R&D spending in each country and focuses on the estimation and interpretation of the relationship between output growth and the growth of R&D investment in the presence of simultaneity and firm heterogeneity. We use GMM methods to control for both sources of estimation bias, and we find 1) overall, the contribution of R&D to sales productivity growth appears to have declined during the 1980s, and 2) the role of simultaneity bias is higher in the U.S. than in France, possibly reflecting the greater importance of liquidity constraints for R&D investment in that country.

Some aspects of the econometric estimation of production functions are discussed, focussing primarily on the issue of simultaneity and reviewing the stream of criticisms of Douglas' work and the response to it. We look in particular at the work that uses panel data on micro data for plants or firms and at some more recent multi-equation extensions of it. We find that researchers, in trying to evade the simultaneity problem, have shifted to the use of thinner and thinner slices of data, exacerbating thereby other problems and misspecifications. We describe the need for better data, especially on product prices at the individual observation level and on relevant cost and demand shifters, and for better behavioral theories which would encompass the large amount of heterogeneity observed at the micro level.

OttigniesBELGIUMABSTRACTThis paper presents a new method for the automatic recognition of cancerous tissues from an image of amicroscopic section. Based on the analysis of four criteria of malignancy, related to the shape and the size ofthe observed cells, this method allows to provide the physician with nonsubjective numerical values for the fourconcerned criteria of malignancy (i.e. nucleocyioplasrnic ratio, anisonucleosia, nuclear deformity and hyperchro-rnasia). The automatic approach described here is based on Mathematical Morphology, and more specificallyon the use of Geodesy. This technique is used first to remove the background noise from the image and thento operate a segmentation of the nuclei of the cells and an analysis of their shape, their size and their textureparameters. From the values of the extracted criteria, an automatic classification of the image (cancerous ornot) is finally operated.1. INTRODUCTIONObjective analysis of microscopic images of cells and tissues for purposes of measurements of cell componentsand of classification has been a goal of human pathology and cytology since the middle of the 19th century. Earlywork in this area consisted of simple manual measurements of cell and nuclear size, followed by calculation ofcell and nuclear volume. But it is only in the past 30 or 40 years that cytopathology has become established as auseful method for detection of malignant and premalignant conditions, as well as for the diagnosis of infections,hormonal imbalances, and many other disorders. The historical developments of this research were summarizedby Koss (see for example [1, 2, 3]).The recent spectacular developments in objective analysis of cells, cell components and histologic tissuesections relate to the developments in computer sciences that allowed for automation of many functions previ-ously requiring manual calculations. There are today three specific approaches to automated, computer-basedsystems of cell and tissue analysis: morphometry [4], flow cytometry [5], and image analysis.This paper is related to this last category. A new method for the automatic recognition of cancerous cellsis presented. The process is based on the analysis of four criteria of malignancy, in relation with the shape andthe size of the nuclei.In contrast to normal and benign cells, which are typically uniform in appearance, malignant cells are char-acterized by irregular morphology that is reflected in several parameters. Most of the criteria of malignancy areseen in the nuclei of the cells. However, valuable information can be obtained from the cytoplasm. The major392

Mairesse Jacques. Économie agricole : les raisons d'une prééminence. In: Cahiers d'Economie et sociologie rurales, N°29, 4e trimestre 1993. L'agriculture dans les sciences sociales. Au-delà des spécificités. pp. 95-99.

This paper uses a newly available dataset on the R&D performance of individual French manufacturing firms for the 1980s to replicate and update a series of studies on French R&D and productivity growth at the firm level during the 1970s. The focus of the paper is on the use of a single dataset to evaluate the robustness of the methods commonly used to measure the private returns to R&D. We investigate the consequences of varying specifications and estimations. and in particular that of using different measures of R&D (knowledge) capital and of double counting corrections. Our main findings are the following: first. having a longer history of R&D expenditures helps in predicting the productivity growth of firms, but the choice of depreciation rate for R&D capital makes little difference to the results. Second, the correction for double counting of R&D expenditures in capital and labor is important and converts a measured "excess" rate of returns to a total rate of return to R&D. Third. we show that the direct production function approach to measuring the returns to R&D capital is preferred on several grounds over the rate of returns variation which has been used in the past. Finally, the productivity, of knowledge capital in the production function is uniformly positive, fairly robust, and correlated with permanent firm or industry effects.

In the present study, we have taken advantage of the wealth of information provided by the French annual survey of market services to construct a panel sample of data on about 2300 large firms, from 1984 to 1987, in nine selected service industries (at the four digit level of the industrial classification) . We have contrasted the average performances of firms across industries, in terms of labor productivity ratios and profitability margins, both in levels and in growth rates. We have compared these averages indicators for more or less inclusive sample definitions, going from the survey of all firms to a 'balanced' and "cleaned' panel data sample of large firms, and for the two kinds of averages usually considered in macro and micro-analyses. We, then proceeded to show that the differences across industries in average productivity and profitability are usually small when compared to the range of individual differences within industries, and have investigated to what extent the extreme variability in individual performances could be accounted for by other heterogeneity factors, besides the industry effects.

In the present study, we have taken advantage of the wealth of information provided by the French annual survey of market services to construct a panel sample of data on about 2300 large firms, from 1984 to 1987, in nine selected service industries (at the four digit level of the industrial classification) . We have contrasted the average performances of firms across industries, in terms of labor productivity ratios and profitability margins, both in levels and in growth rates. We have compared these averages indicators for more or less inclusive sample definitions, going from the survey of all firms to a 'balanced' and "cleaned' panel data sample of large firms, and for the two kinds of averages usually considered in macro and micro-analyses. We, then proceeded to show that the differences across industries in average productivity and profitability are usually small when compared to the range of individual differences within industries, and have investigated to what extent the extreme variability in individual performances could be accounted for by other heterogeneity factors, besides the industry effects.

This paper surveys econometric studies investigating the relationship between R&D and productivity at the firm level and assesses the results obtained so far and some of the problems encountered. The findings reviewed fall naturally into three major categories: based on the cross-sectional or time-series dimensions of the data and specified in terms of the elasticity of R&D or the rate of return to R&D. In view of the problems involved in modeling the effects of R&D on productivity and in measuring the appropriate variables, it is an agreeable surprise that most studies have managed to produce statistically significant and frequently plausible estimates. However, many of the current studies are not fully comparable and their results still leave much to be desired. The task of achieving progress is an arduous one.

This paper surveys econometric studies investigating the relationship between R&D and productivity at the firm level and assesses the results obtained so far and some of the problems encountered. The findings reviewed fall naturally into three major categories: based on the cross-sectional or time-series dimensions of the data and specified in terms of the elasticity of R&D or the rate of return to R&D. In view of the problems involved in modeling the effects of R&D on productivity and in measuring the appropriate variables, it is an agreeable surprise that most studies have managed to produce statistically significant and frequently plausible estimates. However, many of the current studies are not fully comparable and their results still leave much to be desired. The task of achieving progress is an arduous one.

Table ronde, propos recueillis par Dominique Barjot (Paris IV), Ludovic Cailluet (Toulouse I) et Arnaud Berthonnet (Paris IV).

The Leading Features of French Statistics' History? Three periods, three styles and three men, each one in his own way, stamped the development of french statistics since the end of the past century. Lucien March, proved a cute administrator, René Carmille is regarded as the founder of multicopying and was aware of the importance of' the scope in which its introduction brought prodigious improvements, while Claude Gruson gave an impulse to National Accounting. INSEE's thirty-year life-time was stamped under the dash of INSEE's statisticians by important stages — i.e.,: reconstruction of a statistical information system, focussing of the economic agent « firm », development of social statistics, springing up and application of data processing, , regionalization and diversification of data produced., Trois époques, trois styles, trois hommes : Lucien March, René Carmille, Claude Gruson ont, chacun à leur manière, marqué de leur empreinte le développement de la statistique française, depuis la fin du siècle dernier. Lucien March se révéla un gestionnaire avisé, René Carmille est considéré comme le père de la mécanographie et sut discerner l'étendue des domaines où son introduction permit de prodigieux progrès, tandis que Claude Gruson donna son élan à la comptabilité nationale. Les trente années de vie de l'INSEE ont été marquées, sous l'impulsion des hommes qui composent l'institut, par d'importantes étapes: reconstruction du système : d'information statistique, accent mis sur l'agent économique « entreprise », développement des statistiques sociales, naissance et application de l'informatique au traitement des données, régionalisation et diversification de l'information produite., Los perfodos cumbres de la historia de la estadística Francesa - Tres épocas, tres estilos, tres hombres : Lucien March, René Carmille, Claude Gruson, cada; cual conforme a su manera de ser, estamparon su huella en el desarrollo de la estadística francesa desde fines del siglo pasado. Lucien March se reveló gestor cauteloso, puede considerarse a René Carmille como instaurador de la mecanografîa y el que supo discernir la magnitud de los campos en los cuales su introducción facilitó unos adelantamientos asombrosos, mientras que Claude Gruson impartie brio a la Contabilidad nacional. Los treinta anos de existencia del INSEE se caracterizaron, bajo el impulso que les dió sus estadísticos, por etapas de consideración o sea : reconstrucción de un sistema de información estadística, enfoque el agente económico « empresa », desarrollo de las estadîsticas sociales, instauración y aplicación de la informática a la explotación de datos, regionalización y diversificación de los datos conseguidos., Desrosières Alain, Mairesse Jacques, Volle Michel. Les temps forts de l'histoire de la statistique française. In: Economie et statistique, n°83, Novembre 1976. pp. 19-28.