Thesis (M.S.)--Florida State University, 2004. / Advisor: Dr. Stefan C. Norrbin, Florida State University, College of Social Sciences, Dept. of Economics. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed June 16, 2004). Includes bibliographical references.

<p> Long run economic growth potential depends on the increase in the efficiency of resource utilization in the economy through improvements in the underlying technological capabilities. Recent economic growth slow-down, and in particularly the substantial decline in long-run productivity growth rates in the US, raises a question regarding the possible slowdown in the underlying technological growth. I set out to evaluate this question by examining the change in the potential social benefits from technology over the period of 1944-2000 in the US. I use knowledge spillovers generated by cohorts of patented innovations as proxy to the social benefits generated by those cohorts. These can be estimated using the distribution parameters for the number of citations received by patents in a cohort. The data for the work is a newly constructed patent citations database of all US patent data from 1920-2006 with full citations from 1947 on. </p><p> The first chapter introduces the new data and provides an in-depth analysis of the time-trend of its various statistical characteristics. The exposed non-stationary distribution parameter for the citation data impedes its use in the time-series analysis for extracting the innovative quality trend. A de-trending treatment to correct for this non-stationary behavior is proposed and applied. </p><p> The second chapter pursues the innovative quality analysis over the period. My attempts to use the Jaffe-Trajtenberg model for knowledge spillovers with the expanded data period strained some of the model's underlying assumptions to a breaking point. Instead, I introduce a new model for estimating the intensity of such spillovers (the innovative quality) based on the Log-Normal distribution of patent values as measured from their spillover effects (received citations). I compute the innovative output quality for annual cohorts of patents in narrowly defined technological fields over the period of 1937-1994. The results show a decline in the traditional mechanical and chemical technologies quality starting in the early 1960s. The modern technologies associated with electronics, ICT and medicine flourished until the early to mid 1980s,after which their quality declined as well. </p><p> The last chapter examines the evolutionary path of a transformative technology using the ICT over the period of 1944 to 1994. The analysis uses the full citation network for US patents over the period of 1947-2006 and applies network analysis techniques to identify main technological trajectories for the key technological fields comprising the ICT. The pattern of technological inflows and outflows for each cohort on the trajectory provides the evolutionary timeline and technology inter-dependencies. These demonstrate the underlying process of building the essential skills and complementary devices and techniques which took place in the first 25 years of the ICT evolutionary path. The fast pace of that evolutionary path and lack of significant gaps in the time-line suggest that even under optimal conditions of existing market demand for new technologies (e.g. defense and space), it takes a new, transformative technology close to half a century to deliver its productivity gains.</p>

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 57-69). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Pennsylvania, 1927. / "Bibliography of major cycles": p. 144.

<p>The ?Great Recession? of 2007 created havoc in the homebuilding industry, more than any other previous economic down cycle. Countless seasoned local homebuilders across the country did not survive. The impact of their failure on the economy, community, employment, lenders, suppliers, and subcontractors was devastating. While previous studies have sought to identify the symptoms and causes of business failure, very little research has been done on home builder business failure due to acts, omissions, characteristics, or other events which are non-financial. Specifically, those that are attributable to the failed entities' top management and leadership during the housing crisis and the Great Recession. Therefore, the purpose of this qualitative inquiry is to uncover those nonfinancial factors and help to fill the gap in the literature Additionally, we seek to find specific strategies that could be incorporated into the business models of local homebuilders which allow them to anticipate and navigate turbulent economic times. The ultimate goal of such strategies, however, is to shield the organizations of those builders from the negative effects of recessions and allow them to thrive in the aftermath.

<p> Why do some firms survive and grow and others do not? Is Gibrat&rsquo;s Law still valid? This is an ongoing debate in industrial organization and management since Gibrat published in 1931. Gibrat (1931) suggested firm growth is independent of firm size and is by chance. However, recent studies call for chance to be supplemented by deterministic models. We considered determinants of firm growth. Specifically, we examined whether firm growth is explained by firm size, firm profitability, firm leverage, firm agency costs, and firm R&amp;D intensity. Also, persistence of firm growth was considered. Evidence was based on a balanced panel data set obtained from Compustat annually for 1991-2015. Data consisted of 82 surviving U.S. public companies in the industrial economic sector. Empirical analysis involved panel econometric techniques like pooled ordinary least squares, random effects models, fixed effects models, and system Generalized Method of Moments methodology. We find that firm growth is not independent of firm size; therefore, Gibrat&rsquo;s Law does not hold. We find that a significant, positive relationship exists between firm research and development intensity and firm growth. We find that a significant, negative relationship exists between profitability measured by ROA, firm leverage, firm agency costs and firm growth. Finally, we conclude that firm growth persists.</p><p>

This dissertation analyzes the relation between industrial organization, technological change and economic policy-making. The secrets to long-term growth are hidden in this complex relation, which explains the forces that enable and hinder learning in production. The recent changes in the international economy are surveyed--changes in technologies, changes in the organization of production and work and changes in the structure of firms. The resulting change in the nature of competitiveness calls for a different theoretical framework and policy recommendations from traditional economic analysis. The study reviews the problems of the liberalization paradigm in economic development. The development theories that flourished in the 1950s and 1960s provided an early basis for concern with industrialization. Nevertheless, economic development theories have underplayed the importance of technological and organizational efforts. Economic development is redefined as a combination of a learning process and innovation. In the light of these ideas, the different stages in the industrial history of Argentina are reinterpreted. The transformations that are redefining the international automobile industry are reviewed, namely, changes in production methods, technological changes, inter-firm relations and international strategies. The implications of these changes are explored for the less developed countries that aim to have a future role in the industry. A strategic sector analysis is applied to the automobile industry in Argentina. This sector is of particular interest because it was an important force driving idiosyncratic import substitution efforts in the 1960s and is a test case for incomes, trade and sector promotion and protection policies in the 1990s. Drawing on case-study evidence from plant visits, the accumulated learning and future learning potential of the sector are evaluated. This potential is examined across four dimensions: the development of strategic, organizational, technological and learning capabilities. The study concludes with a reassessment of the conventional debates in traditional theory and policy-making. It argues for the need to move away from old dichotomies which fail to address how organizational and technological change interact to contribute to long-term growth.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of Economics, June 1999. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1991.