%0 Journal Article
%T Being Efficient to Stay Strong in a Weak Economy. The Case of Calabrian Manufacturing Firms
%A Francesco Aiello
%A Concetta Castiglione
%J Technology and Investment
%P 95-105
%@ 2150-4067
%D 2014
%I Scientific Research Publishing
%R 10.4236/ti.2014.52010
%X <p style=\"text-align:justify;\">
	The aim of this
work is to study the efficiency of firms operating in Calabria, a small and
economically-lagging Italian region. The analysis is carried out by estimating
a stochastic production frontier for an unbalanced panel of manufacturing firms
which are observed over the 1998-2006 period. Results show that the efficiency
score is, on average, about 60%. A declining trend is observed over the last
three-year period, 2004-2006. Moreover, efficiency increases with firm age and
when firms export. Inconclusive evidence is found for the role of investments
in ICT and R&amp;D. This is not very surprising given that private effort in
technological activities is extremely low in Calabria (private R&amp;D
intensity was less than 0.075% of regional GDP in 2010).
</p>
%K ICT
%K R&amp
%K D
%K Stochastic Frontier
%K Calabria
%K Manufacturing Firms
%U http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?PaperID=45828