This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

Factor Substitution in U.S. Manufacturing: Does Plant Size Matter?

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
 Nguyen, Sang V
Streitwieser, Mary L

Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):

Abstract

We use micro data for 10,412 U.S. manufacturing plants to estimate the degrees of factor substitution by industry and by plant size. We find that (1) capital, labor, energy and materials are substitutes in production, and (2) the degrees of substitution among inputs are quite similar across plant sizes in a majority of industries. Two important applications of these findings are that (1) small plants are typically as flexible as large plants in factor substitution; consequently, economic policies such as energy conservation policies that result in rising energy prices would not cause negative effects on either large or small U.S. manufacturing plants; and (2) since energy and capital are found to be substitutes, the 1973 energy crisis is unlikely to be a significant factor contributing to the post 1973 productivity slowdown. Copyright 1999 by Kluwer Academic Publishers

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help file. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://journals.kluweronline.com/issn/0921-898X/contents
File Format: text/html
File Function: link to full text
Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version under "Related research" (further below) or search for a different version of it.

Publisher Info
Article provided by Springer in its journal Small Business Economics.

Volume (Year): 12 (1999)
Issue (Month): 1 (February)
Pages: 41-57
Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML, plain text, BibTeX, RIS (EndNote), ReDIF
Handle: RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:12:y:1999:i:1:p:41-57

Contact details of provider:
Web page: http://www.springerlink.com/link.asp?id=100338

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (Christopher F. Baum).

Related research
Keywords:

Other versions of this item:

References listed on IDEAS
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. Alfred R Nucci & Timothy Bates, 1990. "An Analysis of Small Business Size and Rate of Discontinuance," Working Papers 90-2, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau. [Downloadable!]
  2. Hansen, John A, 1992. " Innovation, Firm Size, and Firm Age," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 4(1), pages 37-44, March.
  3. Clark, Kim B, 1980. "Unionization and Productivity: Micro-Econometric Evidence," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 95(4), pages 613-39, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Denny, Michael & May, Doug, 1977. "The existence of a real value-added function in the Canadian manufacturing sector," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 5(1), pages 55-69, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Griffin, James M & Gregory, Paul R, 1976. "An Intercountry Translog Model of Energy Substitution Responses," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 66(5), pages 845-57, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Diewert, Walter E & Wales, Terence J, 1987. "Flexible Functional Forms and Global Curvature Conditions," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 55(1), pages 43-68, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  7. McFadden, Daniel, 1978. "The General Linear Profit Function," Histoy of Economic Thought Chapters, in: Fuss, Melvyn & McFadden, Daniel (ed.), Production Economics: A Dual Approach to Theory and Applications, volume 1, chapter 5 McMaster University Archive for the History of Economic Thought. [Downloadable!]
  8. Doms, Mark E, 1996. "Estimating Capital Efficiency Schedules within Production Functions," Economic Inquiry, Oxford University Press, vol. 34(1), pages 78-92, January.
    Other versions:
  9. Bradburd, Ralph M & Ross, David R, 1989. "Can Small Firms Find and Defend Strategic Niches? A Test of the Porter Hypothesis," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 71(2), pages 258-62, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Acs, Zoltan J & Preston, Lee, 1997. " Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Technology, and Globalization: Introduction to a Special Issue on Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in the Global Economy," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 9(1), pages 1-6, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Burgess, David F., 1975. "Duality theory and pitfalls in the specification of technologies," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 3(2), pages 105-121, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Anderson, Richard G & Thursby, Jerry G, 1986. "Confidence Intervals for Elasticity Estimators in Translog Models," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 68(4), pages 647-56, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. Pindyck, Robert S, 1979. "Interfuel Substitution and the Industrial Demand for Energy: An International Comparison," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 61(2), pages 169-79, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Griliches, Zvi, 1994. "Productivity, R&D, and the Data Constraint," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(1), pages 1-23, March.
  15. Timothy Dunne, 1994. "Plant Age and Technology Use in US. Manufacturing Industries," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 25(3), pages 488-499, Autumn. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  16. Cohen, Wesley M & Klepper, Steven, 1992. " The Tradeoff between Firm Size and Diversity in the Pursuit of Technological Progress," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 4(1), pages 1-14, March.
  17. Blackorby, Charles & Russell, R Robert, 1989. "Will the Real Elasticity of Substitution Please Stand Up? (A Comparison of the Allen/Uzawa and Morishima Elasticities)," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 79(4), pages 882-88, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  18. Griffin, James M, 1981. "Engineering and Econometric Interpretations of Energy-Capital Complementarity: Comment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 71(5), pages 1100-1104, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  19. Chung, Jae Wan, 1987. "On the Estimation of Factor Substitution in the Translog Model," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 69(3), pages 409-17, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  20. Berndt, Ernst R & Khaled, Mohammed S, 1979. "Parametric Productivity Measurement and Choice among Flexible Functional Forms," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 87(6), pages 1220-45, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  21. Buckley, Peter J, 1997. " International Technology Transfer by Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 9(1), pages 67-78, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  22. Pindyck, Robert S & Rotemberg, Julio J, 1983. "Dynamic Factor Demands and the Effects of Energy Price Shocks," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 73(5), pages 1066-79, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  23. Solow, John L, 1987. "The Capital-Energy Complementarity Debate Revisited," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 77(4), pages 605-14, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  24. Ozatalay, Savas & Grubaugh, Stephen & Long, Thomas Veach, II, 1979. "Energy Substitution and National Energy Policy," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 69(2), pages 369-71, May.
  25. Berndt, Ernst R & Wood, David O, 1979. "Engineering and Econometric Interpretations of Energy-Capital Complementarity," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 69(3), pages 342-54, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  26. Morrison, C. J. & Berndt, E. R., 1981. "Short-run labor productivity in a dynamic model," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 16(3), pages 339-365, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Full references

Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? Data contributors to RePEc receive monthly emails with details about downloads and abstract views of their works.

This page was last updated on 2008-8-31.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.