Establishment of Benchmark Parameters on Imports of Durable Equipment
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One of the most crucial economic variables used by economic planners is that component of gross domestic product known as investment or capital formation. Capital formation consists of the values of durable equipment acquired, construction put in place and changes in inventory during a specific accounting period. The basic estimation method used for the measurement of the capital formation in durable equipment is the “commodity flow” approach. With this premise, this study sought to obtain updated investment parameters in order to generate capital formation ratios of imported durable equipment needed for the analysis of their distribution and utilization. Moreover, this paper targeted to arrive at an estimate of mark-up components of imported equipment to be used in the analysis of expenditures on capital formation. These objectives had been met through the conduct of a survey, the frame of which consisted of a list of all 4,221 importers of durable equipment in 1988. The sample entailed 2,000 establishments with about 300 traders and 1,700 direct users. The questionnaire used in the survey comprised of four (4) parts: i) identification; ii) acquisition value of importations in 1988; iii) disposition of imported items; and iv) 1988 sales.
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