Derek Bosworth

Technological Activity and Employment in a Panel of UK Firms

We investigate the relationship between technological activity, proxied by R&D, patents, and trade marks, and employment for a panel of British production firms from 1987 to 1994. We modify standard derived demand for labour to include technology variables. We find employment is fostered by R&D expenditure and UK patent publications, ceteris paribus on factor costs and current sales. The employment impact of R&D is bigger in high technology sectors, but employment increase from UK patenting activity is bigger in mature technology sectors. In further analysis of persistent differences (the estimated firm fixed effects) UK trade marks and US patents are also positively associated with employment. Copyright 2001 by Scottish Economic Society.

Intellectual property law, technology flow and licensing opportunities in the People's Republic of China

This study explores the interrelationship between intellectual property (IP) law and technology transfer via licensing activity in China. In the absence of patent, trademark, design and utility model laws, and their effective enforcement, advanced country firms will be rarely willing to license technology to developing countries. The enactment and enforcement of such laws in developing countries, therefore, should result in greater international IP flows from advanced nation firms seeking to exploit market opportunities by exporting, licensing and direct foreign investment. Within just 20 years, China has moved from viewing IP as public property to having in place a raft of modern IP legislation. We relate these changes to the upsurge in IP activity in China since 1985, both in aggregate and by country of origin, and to technology flows from Japan and the USA. We then discuss remaining weaknesses in Chinas legislative framework and enforcement procedures.

Determinants of the Use of Advanced Technologies

There is an extensive literature about the influences on the adoption of new technologies. However, while we often assert the role of qualifications and skills in the innovation and diffusion processes, there has been little formal econometric work in this area. One of the key reasons for this is the lack of information about human capital in firm accounts, at all levels of the organisation, including the top executive and board of directors. This paper draws on a large, firm level data set to explore the linkages between the adoption and use of 13 advanced technologies and the qualification and skill structure of the enterprise. In addition, it provides a number of further insights about the effects of ownership, firm size and industry structure.

Capital Operating Time: Measurement Issues

As economists and policy makers have come to recognise the importance of capital utilisation, an increasing number of alternative measures have emerged in the literature. The growth of a range of alternatives in part reflects the fact that the measures are far from perfect and that researchers have been forced to be innovative in their attempts to throw light on this issue. In addition, however, the alternatives also reflect the different dimensions of utilisation and it is not surprising therefore that the alternative measures often give somewhat different results. The present paper focuses primarily on capital utilisation and only touches on labour and overall capacity utilisation in passing. The indicators of capital utilisation reviewed below include direct survey, shiftwork-based, energy-based and a variety of other more ad hoc measures.

The measurement and management of risk in R&D and innovation

This paper focuses on the issue of risk in the R&D and innovation processes. It examines the degree of risk suggested by the four main streams of the literature. While risk has not been a major focus of the empirical literature, the results suggest that the vast majority of inventions are worth relatively little, while a small proportion are extremely valuable. The second part of the paper argues that the net present value rule may not be appropriate in the presence of high risk, and the R&D decision may require an optimal stopping rule, which gives very different results. Adopting an optimal stopping rule in the face of a normal distribution of annual gross returns, the lifetime distribution of returns are similar to those observed in the real world. In addition, it is possible to use the results to replicate the observed behaviour of patent renewals.

Work Patterns and Capital Operating Hours: Micro Foundations

This paper investigates the microeconomic foundations of work patterns and capital utilisation. By work patterns we mean hours of work and shift rosters. Hours of work can be sub-divided into basic hours, overtime hours and short time working. Hours of work form a key dimension of labour utilisation, although a comprehensive measure would need to include issues of labour effort per hour (Bennett and Smith-Gavine (1976)). This paper focuses on length of day and time of day issues (in other words, those concerning work patterns), and how these relate to the firm’s utilisation of capital. Economic theory suggests that there will be some optimal type (or mix) of work pattern for each individual and each company. For the individual, this work pattern will be linked to the labour supply/hours of work decision. While the individual’s decision may be economically motivated, it is bound up with a variety of institutional features, including the role of trade unions and the public and social infrastructure available to those who work at unsocial times or hours. For the company, the optimal work pattern decision is linked to the optimal degree of capital utilisation or the timing of the supply of the product or service. The firm’s choice is associated with the achievement of the firm’s primary goal, such as cost minimisation or maximisation of profits.

The Extent and Intensity of Skill Shortages, 1990

Skill shortages have been a recurring problem and are likely to re‐emerge as the UK economy recovers from recession. Presents evidence from the Skill Needs survey 1990, close to the peak of the last cycle. It shows that different measures of shortage can give different results with quite different policy implications. In particular, it demonstrates that occupations associated with the most intensive skill shortages within establishments are generally quite different from occupations where the shortages are the most widespread across industry.

Shiftworking And Capital Utilisation In The UK

The current paper traces the development of shiftworking and capital operating time in the UK over the post-War period. The incidence and trends in shiftworking and the evolution of capital operating time are of interest for a variety of reasons (for a more detailed discussion see the Introduction to this volume). First, shiftwork systems often attract premia payments, with potentially important implications for both pay and labour costs (Sergean, et al. (1969); Bosworth and Dawkins (1980); Bosworth and Wilson (1990a)). Second, shiftworking can have important physiological and social consequences, not only because it may be disruptive to normal rhythyms, but the more intensive systems have been linked other unfavourable working conditions such as heat, noise, risk, etc. (Bosworth and Dawkins (1984)). Third, the optimal design of work patterns (shift patterns and hours of work) influence factor productivity. In principle, a movement from one to two shift working can halve the capital stock required and a movement from two to three shift working can produce a further saving of one-third (Cook (1962)). In practice, it is widely recognised that the relationship between shift patterns and capital savings is more complex (Marris (1964) and (1970); Lehndorff, this volume). Finally, shiftwork data provide a reasonably unambiguous, although far from perfect indicator of the degree of capital utilisation in industry (Bosworth (1981) and (1987); Anxo and Sterner (1990); Bosworth and Cette, this volume).

The returns to R&D in Tobin q models and the option value of future R&D

Abstract This paper argues that the Tobin q literature under-estimates the R&D stock used by investors in calculating market values, and significantly over-estimates the returns to R&D—thereby questioning the conclusion that there is private under-investment in R&D.