Abstract
This paper (1) describes a procedure for correctingthe deficiencies associated with the accounting rateof return, and for capitalizing the intangible assetscreated by the firm's R & D expenditures; and (2)demonstrates the superiority of the derived measure ofrate of return in a fixed effects model testing therelative influence of firm and industry effects onreturns. Both of these influences are shown to bemuch stronger than in previous empirical work.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.
References
Caves, R. E., and M. E. Porter (1977) 'From Entry Barriers to Mobility Barriers: Conjectural Decisions and Contrived Deterrence to New Competition', Quarterly Journal of Economics, 91, 241–261.
Conner, Kathleen R. (1991) 'A Historical Comparison of Resource-Based Theory and Five Schools of Thought within Industrial Organization Economics: Do We Have a New Theory of the Firm?' Journal of Management, 17, 121–154.
Cubbin, J., and P. Geroski (1987) 'The Convergence of Profits in the Long Run: Inter-Firm and Inter-industry Comparisons', The Journal of Industrial Economics, 35, 427–442.
Eisner, Robert, and Paul J. Pieper (1988) 'The World's Greatest Debtor Nation?' Paper Presented to Joint Session of North American Economics and Finance Association and American Economic Association, New York.
Feldstein, Martin, and Lawrence Summers (1977) 'Is the Rate of Profit Falling?' Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, 1, 211–227.
Fisher, Franklin M., and John J. McGowan (1983) 'On the Misuse of Accounting Rates of Return to Infer Monopoly Profits', American Economic Review, 73, 82–97.
Geroski, P. A. (1998) 'An Applied Econometrician's View of Large Company Performance', Review of Industrial Organization, 13, 271–293.
Gort, Michael, and Rao Singamsetti (1976) 'Concentration and Profit Rates: New Evidence on an Old Issue', Explorations in Economic Research, 3, 1–20.
Hines, Jr., James R. (1996) 'Tax Policy and the Activities of Multinational Corporations', Faculty Research Working Paper R96-08, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.
Hulten, Charles R., and Frank C. Wykoff (1981) 'The Measurement of Economic Depreciation', in Charles R. Hulten, ed., Depreciation, Inflation, and the Taxation of Income from Capital. Washington, D.C.: The Urban Institute.
Kapler, J. K. (1999) 'The Role of Transnational Corporations: Theory and Evidence', Competition and Change, 4, 31–60.
Kapler, J. K. (1997) 'The Theory of Transnational Firms: An Empirical Reassessment', International Review of Applied Economics, 11, 195–211.
Lindenberg, Eric B., and Stephen A. Ross (1981) 'Tobin's q Ratio and Industrial Organization', The Journal of Business, 54, 1–32.
Mueller, Dennis C. (1990) The Dynamics of Company Profits: An International Comparison.Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.
Mueller, Dennis C. (1977) 'The Persistence of Profits Above the Norm', Economica, 44, 369–380.
Oster, Sharon M. (1994) Modern Competitive Analysis, 2d edn. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Ravenscraft, David J., and F. M. Scherer (1982) 'The Lag Structure of Returns to Research and Development', Applied Economics, 14, 603–620.
Rumelt, Richard P. (1991) 'How Much Does Industry Matter?' Strategic Management Journal, 12, 167–185.
Schmalensee, Richard (1985) 'Do Markets Differ Much?' American Economic Review, 75, 341–351.
Scott, John T., and George Pascoe (1986) 'Beyond Firm and Industry Effects on Profitability in Imperfect Markets', Review of Economics and Statistics, 68, 284–292.
Smirlock, Michael, Thomas Gilligan, and William Marshall (1984) 'Tobin's q and the Structure-Performance Relationship', American Economic Review, 74, 1051–1060.
Stevens, Guy V. G., and Robert E. Lipsey (1988) 'Interactions between Foreign and Domestic Investment', NBER Working Paper No. 2714.
Waring, Geoffrey F. (1996) 'Industry Differences in the Persistence of Firm-Specific Returns', American Economic Review, 86, 1253–1265.
Wernerfelt, Birger, and Cynthia A. Montgomery (1986) 'What is an Attractive Industry?' Management Science, 32, 1223–1230.
Author information
Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kapler, J.K. Measuring the Economic Rate of Return on Assets. Review of Industrial Organization 17, 457–463 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007890132456
Issue Date:
- Accounting rate of return
- economic rate of return
- firm fixed effects
- industry fixed effects