Krishnan Narayanan

Technological Efforts, Firm Size and Exports in the Basic Chemical Industry in India

This paper attempts to examine the role of technological efforts and firm size in determining the export behaviour of firms belonging to the basic chemical industry in India. The basic chemical industry is an important industry that provides intermediate chemicals to firms operating in diverse industries in both India and abroad. In this study technological efforts have been considered in terms of in-house R&D, import of embodied technology, and import of disembodied technology. Three different econometric models, namely, the Tobit, the two-part (Probit + Truncation) and the sample selection (Heckman), have been used for estimation and the results have been compared. The authors find evidence in support of the view that export behaviour of the firm can be modelled in a more appropriate manner using a two-part or a sample selection model rather than the popular Tobit model. The results of the econometric exercise confirm that technological efforts, firm size and other firm-specific characteristics are important in explaining the export behaviour of the firms.

ICT-Enabled Scalable Workshops for Engineering College Teachers in India

Education has evolved over the years from basic reading and writing to the present-day globalized view. As we move from the era of low technology to highly sophisticated technology, there is a growing need for a skilled workforce at all levels of the society. There is a greater demand for continuing professional development and providing equal opportunities for all. However, to reach out to a maximum number of people in the society, it is necessary to break the social, economical, geographical, time, and space barriers in education.

How effective are coping mechanisms in securing livelihoods against climatic aberrations? Evidences from rural India

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the consumption behaviour and effectiveness of coping mechanisms adopted by households living in disaster-prone regions of rural India to cope with climatic aberrations and extremes using household-level data. In developing countries like India, poor households living in rural regions face risks to their livelihood due to climatic aberrations like deficient monsoon spells and rainfall gaps. Although these risks are covariate, the impact depends on location and the relative capacity of the people to cope with them. Design/methodology/approach – Using household-level data, this paper attempts to examine the consumption behaviour and effectiveness of coping mechanisms adopted by households living in these areas to hedge against the risks. A tobit and a multivariate probit model is used in the process. Findings – Based on the empirical analysis, and subject to the assumptions and the usual limitations of data, the findings suggest that households resort to consumption smoo...

CO 2 emission and firm heterogeneity: a study of metals and metal-based industries in India

Industrial energy efficiency has emerged as one of the key issues in India. The increasing demand for energy that leads to growing challenge of climate change has resulted major issues. It is obvious that high-energy intensity leads to high carbon intensity of the economy. This paper is an attempt to estimate the firm level CO2 emissions for the metals and metal based industries in Indian manufacturing. Calculation of firm level emissions is carried out following IPCC reference approach methodology of Carbon Dioxide emission from fuel combustion. We tried to find out the inter-firm differences of CO2 emission in the metals and metal based industries. In finding out the determinants of CO2 emission at firm level we have examined whether the firm heterogeneity matters for the differences in emission at firm level. Data for this study is collated from the CMIE PROWESS online database from 2000-2008, IEA energy statistics and IPCC conversion factors for each of the fuel types.

Impact of Environmental Regulation on Technical Efficiency A Study of Chemical Industry in and around Mumbai

There is a large concentration of chemical firms around Mumbai, and the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board has been actively monitoring them. Such monitoring is likely to have an impact on the productive efficiency of these firms. The firms argue that additional costs to minimise environmental damage have reduced their efficiency. We try to find out whether these water-polluting firms in the chemical industry around Mumbai are actually unable to cope with the additional cost of pollution abatement, or whether by using cleaner practices, are able to improve their efficiency, and support the ‘win-win’ opportunities as claimed by the Porter Hypothesis. The study is carried out by estimating an Output Distance Function using a stochastic production function. The panel data of fifty water-polluting small-to medium-scale firms for three-year period of 2004–06 was collected in a primary survey of chemical industries around Mumbai. We find that the polluting firms are technically more efficient than those firms which adhere to pollution norms. Thus, the Porter Hypothesis does not hold for the sample.

Productivity Heterogeneity and Export Market Participation: A Study of Indian Manufacturing Firms

This chapter is an attempt to understand the nature of productivity heterogeneity and firm level export market participation in the Indian manufacturing industry. We test two alternative hypothesis first, self-selection of most productive firms into the export market and second, learning by exporting, where firms become more productive once they enter the export market. We also observe the role of R&D investment on export market participation of firms. The paper employs firm level data obtained from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) for the period 1990–2009 for analysis. Firm level Total factor productivity is estimated using Jevinsohn and Petrin (2003 Rev Econ Stud 70:317–341) method. Preliminary analysis indicates that exporting firms are more productive than the non-exporting firms in the Indian industry. However, the extent of this productivity difference is not very large compared to other countries. Study reports self-selection of more productive firms into the export market for the period from 1990 to 1999. Investment in R&D is important for the decision of the firms to enter the export market 1999–2009. We found no evidence in support of learning by exporting for the period from 1990 to 2009. However, continued participation in the export market and the intensity of exporting is associated with growth in productivity, indicating the presence of learning by exporting for the period from 2000 to 2009.

Technology Sourcing and Outward FDI: Comparison of Chemicals and Information Technology Industries in India

Abstract The objective of the paper is to analyze the determinants of outward FDI by firms in a developing country like India. In particular, the study investigates the role of technology sourcing in determining outward FDI, in the presence of other firm specific factors. Further, it undertakes a comparative analysis of the factors influencing outward FDI of firms for two important industries in India, namely, chemicals and information technology (IT). The analysis confirms that technology sourcing, in particular, in-house R&D is important for the decision of the firm to choose outward FDI. In the chemical industry even import of capital goods, designs, drawings and blueprints seem to be positively influencing outward investments. Size of the firm, global network linkages, skill and type of product also emerge to be important factors in determining outward FDI in both the industries.

CO2 Emission from Fossil Fuel Consumption and Technology Intensity

The contribution of this article lies in computing CO2 emission at the firm level for the Indian manufacturing sector from 2000 to 2011 and analysing the factors that explain the inter-firm variations in CO2 emission. The results indicate that there are differences in firm-level emission intensity and they, in turn, are systematically related to identifiable firm-specific characteristics. This study found size, age, energy intensity and technology intensity as the major determinants of CO2 emission of Indian manufacturing firms. In addition, capital and labour intensity of the firms are also related to the firms’ CO2 emission intensity. For a sustainable industrial development purpose, the short-run policy implications should be aimed at encouraging firms to invest more in research and development (R&D) and technology imports and in the long run, a firm should be able to adopt cleaner energy to reduce CO2 emission from the fuel consumption.

Labour and Energy Intensity: A Study of the Pulp and Paper Industries in India

This chapter is an attempt to understand the relationship between the labour and energy intensity for firms drawn from pulp and paper industries in Indian manufacturing. Pulp and paper industry accounts for a considerable share of the industrial enterprises, production, employment and exports in the Indian economy and also one of the energy-intensive industries in Indian manufacturing. This chapter uses data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), at the unit level for the period 1992–2000. Analysis from the cross-tabulation of energy and labour intensity of the firms in this industry suggests that energy intensity is higher for the BSE-listed firms; however, the labour intensity is found higher for the non-listed firms. Further, energy and labour intensity is higher for the domestic when compared to foreign firms. The econometric analysis of the energy intensity and other firm-specific characteristics suggests that labour and energy intensity has an inverted U-shape relationship, suggesting a substitution possibility between energy and labour for the pulp and paper industries in India. The listed firms are found to be more energy intensive as compared to the non-listed firms. More importantly, technology import is found negatively related to energy intensity of firms, suggesting that firms in these industries could be using technology import and knowledge sharing from their foreign collaborators for energy saving.

A Comparative Study of Technology and Industry Clusters of SMEs in India

This article attempts to compare the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) belonging to industry and technology clusters in India. They are compared in terms of the technological efforts, nature of competition, competitive strategy, outward orientation, research and development intensity and export intensity. First part of the article gives the economics of clustering and the second part analyses the inter-cluster differences, if any, between the firms belonging to 13 clusters drawn from Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram. The analysis reveals that the firms in the technology cluster are more outward oriented and R and D intensive compared to their counterparts in the industry cluster. They also differ in terms of the type of competitors and the competitive strategies. While the firms in the technology cluster face competition from established foreign firms, those in the industry cluster from established local firms. Process innovations are used by firms in the technology cluster whereas productivity improvements are used by firms in the industry cluster for sustaining competitive advantage. In the regression analysis, the nature of cluster, use of technology/business collaboration (Networking) and market share emerge as significant variables in explaining the R and D intensity of firms. Export intensity is explained by the R and D intensity and scale of operation.