Data and Code for: Measuring the Average Period of Production

Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) Pol Antràs, Harvard University and NBER; Vitalii Tubdenov, Harvard University

Version: View help for Version V1

Name	File Type	Size	Last Modified
aggregate_series			04/28/2025 05:05:PM
app_standard_deviation			04/28/2025 05:05:PM
correlation_industry_chars			04/28/2025 05:05:PM
distribution_industries			04/28/2025 05:05:PM
industry_rankings			04/28/2025 05:05:PM
inventories_breakdown			04/28/2025 05:05:PM
rank_correlations			04/28/2025 05:05:PM
regressions			04/28/2025 05:05:PM
robust_NAICS			04/28/2025 05:05:PM
summary_statistics			04/28/2025 05:05:PM

Project Description

Summary: This project provides the replication data and code accompanying the article "Measuring the Average Period of Production." Building on Böhm-Bawerk (1889), we propose a measure of the average period of production defined as a weighted average temporal distance between the time at which a firm employs its inputs and the time at which these inputs deliver finished goods to consumers. Under stationarity conditions, this measure corresponds to the ratio of a firm's total inventories to the cost of the goods it sells in a given period. Using data from publicly traded companies, we compute this measure for various industries and countries, and show that, consistent with theory, it is lower, the higher is the cost of capital.

Scope of Project

Subject Terms: Average Period of Production; Inventories

JEL Classification:
      D20 Production and Organizations: General
      E14 Austrian; Evolutionary; Institutional
      E22 Investment; Capital; Intangible Capital; Capacity
      F14 Empirical Studies of Trade
      G31 Capital Budgeting; Fixed Investment and Inventory Studies; Capacity
      L60 Industry Studies: Manufacturing: General

Geographic Coverage: United States, Global

Universe: North American and Global publicly traded firms.

Data Type(s): administrative records data; aggregate data; program source code

Methodology

Unit(s) of Observation: firm, industry

Geographic Unit: country

Related Publications

Download this project

Published Versions

V1 [2025-05-12]

Export Metadata

Dublin Core

DDI 2.5

Report a Problem

Found a serious problem with the data, such as disclosure risk or copyrighted content? Let us know.

This material is distributed exactly as it arrived from the data depositor. ICPSR has not checked or processed this material. Users should consult the investigator(s) if further information is desired.