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Information, Decisions, and Productivity: On-Board Computers and Capacity Utilization in Trucking

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Author Info
Thomas N. Hubbard
Abstract

Productivity reflects not only how efficiently inputs are transformed into outputs, but also how well information is applied to resource allocation decisions. This paper examines how information technology has affected capacity utilization in the trucking industry. Estimates for 1997 indicate that advanced on-board computers (OBCs) have increased capacity utilization among adopting trucks by 13 percent. These increases are higher than for 1992, suggesting lags in the returns to adoption, and are highly skewed across hauls. The 1997 estimates imply that OBCs have enabled 3-percent higher capacity utilization in the industry, which translates to billions of dollars of annual benefits. (JEL D24, L92, O33, O47)

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File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1257/000282803769206322
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File URL: http://www.aeaweb.org/articles/article_detail.php?journal=AER&volume=93&issue=4&article=15&issue_date=September2003
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Article provided by American Economic Association in its journal American Economic Review.

Volume (Year): 93 (2003)
Issue (Month): 4 (September)
Pages: 1328-1353
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Handle: RePEc:aea:aecrev:v:93:y:2003:i:4:p:1328-1353

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Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. David, Paul A, 1990. "The Dynamo and the Computer: An Historical Perspective on the Modern Productivity Paradox," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 80(2), pages 355-61, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Brynjolfsson, Erik. & Hitt, Lorin M., 1995. "Paradox lost? : firm-level evidence on the returns to information systems spending," Working papers 3786-95., Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Sloan School of Management. [Downloadable!]
  3. Gordon, Robert J, 2000. "Does the 'New Economy' Measure up to the Great Inventions of the Past?," CEPR Discussion Papers 2607, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  4. Thomas N. Hubbard, 2000. "The Demand For Monitoring Technologies: The Case Of Trucking," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 115(2), pages 533-560, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Susan Athey & Scott Stern, 2000. "The Impact of Information Technology on Emergency Health Care Outcomes," NBER Working Papers 7887, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Dale W. Jorgenson, 2001. "Information Technology and the U.S. Economy," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(1), pages 1-32, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Lichtenberg, F.R. & Lehr, B., 1996. "Computer Use and Productivity Growth in federal Government Agencies," Papers 96-10, Columbia - Graduate School of Business.
  8. Dale W. Jorgenson, 2001. "Information Technology and the U. S. Economy," Harvard Institute of Economic Research Working Papers 1911, Harvard - Institute of Economic Research. [Downloadable!]
  9. Susan Athey & Scott Stern, 2002. "The Impact of Information Technology on Emergency Health Care Outcomes," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 33(3), pages 399-432, Autumn.
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(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Alberto Chong & Virgilio Galdo & Máximo Torero, 2005. "Does Privatization Deliver? Access to Telephone Services and Household Income in Poor Rural Areas Using a Quasi-Natural Experiment in Peru," RES Working Papers 4417, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department. [Downloadable!]
  2. Ann P. Bartel & Casey Ichniowski & Kathryn L. Shaw, 2005. "How Does Information Technology Really Affect Productivity? Plant-Level Comparisons of Product Innovation, Process Improvement and Worker Skills," NBER Working Papers 11773, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Chris Forman & Avi Goldfarb & Shane Greenstein, 2009. "The Internet and Local Wages: Convergence or Divergence?," NBER Working Papers 14750, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Evan Rawley, 2006. "How Do Mobile Information Technology Networks Affect Firm Strategy and Performance? Firm-Level Evidence from Taxicab Fleets," Working Papers 06-28, NET Institute, revised Oct 2006. [Downloadable!]
  5. Barry P. Bosworth & Jack E. Triplett, 2007. "The Early 21st Century U.S. Productivity Expansion is Still in Services," International Productivity Monitor, Centre for the Study of Living Standards, vol. 14, pages 3-19, Spring. [Downloadable!]
  6. Alberto Chong & Virgilio Galdo & Máximo Torero, 2005. "¿Cumple la privatización lo que promete? El acceso a los servicios telefónicos y el ingreso familiar en zonas rurales pobres empleando un experimento cuasinatural en Perú," RES Working Papers 4418, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department. [Downloadable!]
  7. Sang Nguyen & B.K. Atrostic, 2006. "How Businesses Use Information Technology: Insights for Measuring Technology and Productivity," Working Papers 06-15, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau. [Downloadable!]
  8. Ann Bartel & Casey Ichniowski & Kathryn Shaw & Ricardo Correa, 2007. "International Differences in the Adoption and Impact of New Information Technologies and New HR Practices: The Valve-Making Industry in the U.S. and U.K," NBER Working Papers 13651, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Katsuya Takii, 2004. "Fiscal Policy and Entrepreneurship," Macroeconomics 0406006, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  10. Kenneth D. Boyer & Stephen V. Burks, 2007. "Stuck in the Slow Lane: Traffic Composition and the Measurement of Labor Productivity in the U.S. Trucking Industry," IZA Discussion Papers 2576, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
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