Hassan, A. H. Azmy

2018-09-13T15:59:51Z

2018-09-13T15:59:51Z

1970

Scientific and technological effort as measured by the main resources of scientists and technologists is regarded as an essential factor in technological efficiency. Their contribution to industrial production may be specified as three separate functions: research and development, on- the -shop -floor and scientific management. There is an obvious difference in the nature of activity as well as in the length of time during which each type of scientific effort is likely to pay off. It seems thus necessary to distinguish between scientific efforts directed at current productive activities and those devoted to investment in future technology.

From statistical point of view errors of omission in the specification of the production function are likely to result from ignoring the introduction of essential factors such as scientific effort as an explicit factor of production. Ignoring the correction for an incomplete adjustment of the studied units to the prevailing phrase of the trade cycle is treated as an omission error on the grounds that the technical efficiency of all factors rather than the performance of capital alone is the one most likely to be affected by variations in the level of activity. Moreover, errors of specification in the measurement of the input factors result from ignoring the heterogeneity of capital and labour. These errors of specification are likely to impart serious statistical bias in the estimated technological efficiency and in the estimated coefficients of the production function. Furthermore, they are likely to lead to unsound policy recommendations (see Chapter V).

The attempt made in order to avoid these sources of specification errors singularly and simultaneously provided, on the whole, consistent and statistically significant results despite data limitations. An appreciable part of the third factor of production or technical efficiency as estimated by the traditionally specified production function is explained when an account is taken of the vintage of capital, the structure of capital -viand the structure of labour, (Chapters VI, VII and IX). The results of correcting for the degree of capacity utilization and of the explicit introduction of: current, lagged and disaggregated scientific effort seem to be consistent with the desirable property of reducing the bias that is likely to result from errors of omission in the specification of the production function. (see Chapters VIII, X, and XI).

The model is applied to a cross -section of inter -industry in 1962, mainly on British and partly on Scottish manufacturing industries.

In order to carry out the present investigation a laborious attempt has been made to implement existing British data on 23 manufacturing industries. Net output has been interpolated between the years 1959 - 1962 inclusive. The Cambridge estimates of the Stock of all Fixed Assets, Plant and Machinery and other structures were further disaggregated. Modern and old layers of the vintage of: All Fixed Assets, Plant and Machinery and other structures were estimated. for 1962. For Scottish manufacturing industries an estimation has been carried out for Gross Output, Net Output, Stock of All Fixed Assets, Plant and Machinery, and other structures of capital for 23 industries in 1962, (see Chapter IV).

http://hdl.handle.net/1842/32400

The University of Edinburgh

Annexe Thesis Digitisation Project 2018 Block 20

Scientists and technologists in the specification of the production function

Thesis or Dissertation

Doctoral

PhD Doctor of Philosophy