Flexible Manufacturing System in Japan, Europe, and the United States: Diffusion and Economic Impact

柔性制造系统（FMS）是最先进的制造系统之一。 信息技术的重要工业应用。 然而，人们普遍认为， 关于费率的信息不完整和不系统 FMS的扩散及其对生产率的影响 资本和劳动力。 这项研究改进了 传播和收集关于使用FMS的原始数据， 美国、欧洲和日本。 本研究研究了利用 FMS已经并将在主要工业化国家推广， 扩展到现有的数学模型的扩散 对FMS扩散速率数据进行了拟合 在每个国家，修改和扩展这些模型，以改善 他们的用处，调查的原因，日本人 在FMS的利用方面似乎处于领先地位，分析了 FMS对资本和劳动生产率的影响， 在每个国家的总成本，并分析了性质和 公司用于评估投资的方法是否适当 这样的系统。 本研究的意义在于， 分析和政策，因为它将提高我们的能力， 了解扩散过程，并将产生 影响扩散因素的重要信息 FMS在日本、欧洲和美国的影响。 重要信息在我们的国家努力，以改善 美国的国际竞争力

Flexible manufacturing systems(FMS) are among the most important industrial applications of information technology. Yet, there is general agreement that there is very sketchy, incomplete and unsystematic information concerning the rate of diffusion of FMS and its impact on the productivity of capital and labor. This research improves models of diffusion and collects original data on the use of FMS in the United States, Europe and Japan. The research studies the process by which the utilization of FMS has and will spread in major industrialized nations, the extend to which existing mathematical models of the diffusion process fit the data concerning the rate of diffusion of FMS in each country, modifies and extends these models to improve their usefulness, investigates the reasons why the Japanese seem to be ahead in the utilization of FMS, analyzes the impacts of FMS on the productivity of capital and labor and on total costs in each country, and analyzes the nature and adequacy of methods used by firms to evaluate investments in such systems. The research is significant from the point of view of analysis and policy because it will improve our ability to understand diffusion processes generally and will produce important information on the factors affecting the diffusion and impact of FMS in Japan, Europe and the U.S. This is important information in our national effort to improve the international competitiveness of the U.S.