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Irreversible Investment, Capital Costs and Productivity Growth: Implications for Telecommunications

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  • Jeffrey I. Bernstein
  • Theofanis P. Mamuneas

Abstract

This paper develops a model incorporating costly disinvestment and estimates the associated commitment premium required to invest in telecommunications. Results indicate that the irreversibility premium raises the opportunity cost of capital by 70 percent. This implies an average annual hurdle rate of return of 14 percent over the period 1986-2002. Irreversibility creates a distinction between observed and adjusted TFP growth. Observed growth, which omits the premium, annually averaged 2.8 percent from 1986 to 2002. This rate exceeded the (premium) adjusted TFP growth by 0.7 percentage points, and therefore average annual observed productivity growth overestimated the corrected rate by 33 percent.

Suggested Citation

  • Jeffrey I. Bernstein & Theofanis P. Mamuneas, 2007. "Irreversible Investment, Capital Costs and Productivity Growth: Implications for Telecommunications," NBER Working Papers 13269, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:13269
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Caballero, Ricardo J., 1999. "Aggregate investment," Handbook of Macroeconomics, in: J. B. Taylor & M. Woodford (ed.), Handbook of Macroeconomics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 12, pages 813-862, Elsevier.
    2. Jeffrey I. Bernstein & Theofanis P. Mamuneas & Panos Pashardes, 2004. "Technical Efficiency and U.S. Manufacturing Productivity Growth," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 86(1), pages 402-412, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Elizabeth Baldwin & Yongyang Cai & Karlygash Kuralbayeva, 2018. "To Build or Not to Build? Capital Stocks and Climate Policy," CESifo Working Paper Series 6884, CESifo.
    2. Elena Ketteni, 2024. "Telecommunication capital and productivity growth: further insights using network characteristics and nonlinearities," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 67(1), pages 143-163, July.
    3. Wei Li & Yongqin Xi & Jiayang Lu & Feimei Wu & Pengfei Wu, 2019. "Interactive relationships between industrial, urban, agricultural, information, and green development," Energy & Environment, , vol. 30(6), pages 991-1009, September.
    4. Baldwin, Elizabeth & Cai, Yongyang & Kuralbayeva, Karlygash, 2020. "To build or not to build? Capital stocks and climate policy∗," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • L96 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Telecommunications

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