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Extensive and Intensive Investment Over the Business Cycle

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  • Boyan Jovanovic

    (Department of Economics, New York University)

  • Peter L. Rousseau

    (Department of Economics, Vanderbilt University)

Abstract

Investment of U.S. firms responds asymmetrically to Tobin's Q: Investment of established firms -- `intensive' investment -- reacts negatively to Q whereas investment of new firms -- `extensive' investment -- responds positively and elastically to Q. This asymmetry, we argue, reflects a difference between established and new firms in the cost of adopting new technologies. A fall in the compatibility of new capital with old capital raises measured Q and reduces the incentive of established firms to invest. New firms do not face such compatibility costs and step up their investment in response to the rise in Q. A composite-capital version of the model fits the data well using aggregates since 1900 and our new database of firm-level Qs that extend back to 1920.

Suggested Citation

  • Boyan Jovanovic & Peter L. Rousseau, 2009. "Extensive and Intensive Investment Over the Business Cycle," Vanderbilt University Department of Economics Working Papers 0912, Vanderbilt University Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:van:wpaper:0912
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    Cited by:

    1. Satyajit Chatterjee & Esteban Rossi‐Hansberg, 2012. "Spinoffs And The Market For Ideas," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 53(1), pages 53-93, February.
    2. Claudio Loderer & René Stulz & Urs Waelchli, 2017. "Firm Rigidities and the Decline in Growth Opportunities," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 63(9), pages 3000-3020, September.
    3. Germán Gutiérrez & Thomas Philippon, 2017. "Investmentless Growth: An Empirical Investigation," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 48(2 (Fall)), pages 89-190.
    4. Oh, Hyunseung & Yoon, Chamna, 2020. "Time to build and the real-options channel of residential investment," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(1), pages 255-269.
    5. Gregor Semieniuk & Emanuele Campiglio & Jean‐Francois Mercure & Ulrich Volz & Neil R. Edwards, 2021. "Low‐carbon transition risks for finance," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 12(1), January.
    6. Vanja Grozdić & Branislav Marić & Mladen Radišić & Jarmila Šebestová & Marcin Lis, 2020. "Capital Investments and Manufacturing Firms’ Performance: Panel-Data Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-18, February.
    7. Adachi-Sato, Meg & Vithessonthi, Chaiporn, 2017. "Bank systemic risk and corporate investment: Evidence from the US," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 151-163.
    8. Meg Adachi-Sato & Chaiporn Vithessonthi, 2016. "Bank Systemic Risk and Corporate Investment," PIER Discussion Papers 17., Puey Ungphakorn Institute for Economic Research, revised Jan 2016.
    9. Hyunseung Oh & Chamna Yoon, 2016. "Residential construction lags across the US and their implications for housing supply," Vanderbilt University Department of Economics Working Papers 16-00002, Vanderbilt University Department of Economics.
    10. Maria Minniti & Martin Andersson & Pontus Braunerhjelm & Frédéric Delmar & Annika Rickne & Karin Thorburn & Karl Wennberg & Mikael Stenkula, 2019. "Boyan Jovanovic: recipient of the 2019 Global Award for Entrepreneurship Research," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 53(3), pages 547-553, October.
    11. Boyan Jovanovic & Sai Ma & Peter L. Rousseau, 2022. "Private equity and growth," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 27(3), pages 315-363, September.
    12. Lifeng Gu & Dirk Hackbarth & Tim Johnson, 2018. "Inflexibility and Stock Returns," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 31(1), pages 278-321.
    13. Nippala, Veera & Sinivuori, Taina, 2023. "Forecasting private investment in Finland using Q-theory and frequency decomposition," BoF Economics Review 3/2023, Bank of Finland.
    14. Schulte, Reinhard, 2018. "New venture investing trajectories: A large scale longitudinal study," Lüneburger Beiträge zur Gründungsforschung 13, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Department of Entrepreneurship & Start-up Management.
    15. Meg Adachi-Sato & Chaiporn Vithessonthi, 2016. "Bank Systemic Risk and Corporate Investment," PIER Discussion Papers 17, Puey Ungphakorn Institute for Economic Research.
    16. Roy Thurik, 2014. "Entrepreneurship and the business cycle," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 1-90, October.
    17. Schulte, Reinhard, 2015. "On real investment by new ventures," Lüneburger Beiträge zur Gründungsforschung 12, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Department of Entrepreneurship & Start-up Management.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Compatibility costs; composite capital; vintage capital; Tobin's Q; 20th century investment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E3 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles
    • N1 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations
    • O3 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights

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