Private Investment Response to User Cost of Capital, Uncertainty and Capacity Utilization Rate

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Economics,Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Shahid Beheshti University

2 MA in Economics

Abstract

In analyzing economic activities, investment is considered to be a very important variable due to its role in increasing production capacity, income and employment. It is for this reason that economists have always tried to identify the variable that affect private investment. Classic theory of investment consider the rate of user cost of capital as an important factor in shaping fixed capital formation. This paper, with the aid of Jorgenson's classical theory of investment tries to determine the impact of user cost of capital on private investment in the Iranian economy. As uncertainty and capacity utilization rate are also important in deciding how much to invest. This two variables are also added in the investment function.
Empirical result obtained using co-integration and ARDL approach, confirms Jorgenson's neoclassical theory of investment for the Iranian economy. The results show that one percent increase in the user cost of capital reduces private investment by 0.86 percent. Moreover, one percent increase in uncertainty index causes private investment to reduce by 3.4 percent. Results obtained from estimating Error Correction Model (ECM) show that the speed of adjustment towards long-run equilibrium is relatively fast. Almost 80 percent of disequilibrium error is adjusted in each period.

Keywords

References

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Journal of Economics and Modelling
Volume 3, 11-12
March 2013
Pages 44-62

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