IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/empeco/v64y2023i6d10.1007_s00181-023-02378-x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Internal adjustment costs of firm-specific factors and the neoclassical theory of the firm

Author

Listed:
  • V. K. Chetty

    (Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine)

  • James J. Heckman

    (University of Chicago)

Abstract

This paper considers the predictions for factor demand of a two-sector vertically integrated model of firms producing output using firm-specific capital along with a second sector producing firm-specific capital that adapts raw capital purchased in the market. Analysts rarely observe each sector separately. Aggregating over both sectors produces short-run and long-run factor demand functions that appear to be perverse, but when disaggregated obey standard neoclassical properties. For example, a firm’s response to a minimum wage could appear to violate the law of demand because it hires labor to install machines to replace the more expensive labor in the final output sector. Adjustment costs create the appearance of static inefficiency in the presence of dynamic efficiency.

Suggested Citation

  • V. K. Chetty & James J. Heckman, 2023. "Internal adjustment costs of firm-specific factors and the neoclassical theory of the firm," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 64(6), pages 2703-2719, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:empeco:v:64:y:2023:i:6:d:10.1007_s00181-023-02378-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s00181-023-02378-x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s00181-023-02378-x
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s00181-023-02378-x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Shasha Liu & Robin Sickles, 2021. "The agency problem revisited: a structural analysis of managerial productivity and CEO compensation in large US commercial banks," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 60(1), pages 391-418, January.
    2. Forsund, Finn R. & Lovell, C. A. Knox & Schmidt, Peter, 1980. "A survey of frontier production functions and of their relationship to efficiency measurement," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 13(1), pages 5-25, May.
    3. J. A. Mirrlees, 1967. "Optimum Growth when Technology is Changing," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 34(1), pages 95-124.
    4. Treadway, Arthur B., 1970. "Adjustment costs and variable inputs in the theory of the competitive firm," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 2(4), pages 329-347, December.
    5. Tsionas, Mike G. & Malikov, Emir & Kumbhakar, Subal C., 2020. "Endogenous dynamic efficiency in the intertemporal optimization models of firm behavior," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 284(1), pages 313-324.
    6. Treadway, Arthur B, 1971. "The Rational Multivariate Flexible Accelerator," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 39(5), pages 845-855, September.
    7. Raj Chetty & Adam Szeidl, 2016. "Consumption Commitments and Habit Formation," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 84, pages 855-890, March.
    8. Binlei Gong & Robin C. Sickles, 2020. "Non-structural and structural models in productivity analysis: study of the British Isles during the 2007–2009 financial crisis," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 53(2), pages 243-263, April.
    9. Schmidt, Peter & Lovell, C. A. Knox, 1980. "Estimating stochastic production and cost frontiers when technical and allocative inefficiency are correlated," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 13(1), pages 83-100, May.
    10. Schmidt, Peter, 1976. "On the Statistical Estimation of Parametric Frontier Production Functions," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 58(2), pages 238-239, May.
    11. Gary S. Becker, 1964. "Human Capital: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis with Special Reference to Education, First Edition," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number beck-5, March.
    12. Nerlove, Marc, 1972. "Lags in Economic Behavior," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 40(2), pages 221-251, March.
    13. Lai, Hung-pin & Kumbhakar, Subal C., 2018. "Panel data stochastic frontier model with determinants of persistent and transient inefficiency," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 271(2), pages 746-755.
    14. Seung Ahn & Robin Sickles, 2000. "Estimation of long-run inefficiency levels: a dynamic frontier approach," Econometric Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(4), pages 461-492.
    15. Hirofumi Uzawa, 1964. "Optimal Growth in a Two-Sector Model of Capital Accumulation," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 31(1), pages 1-24.
    16. Schmidt, Peter, 1974. "An Argument for the Usefulness of the Gamma Distributed Lag Model," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 15(1), pages 246-250, February.
    17. McLaren, Keith R & Cooper, Russel J, 1980. "Intertemporal Duality: Application to the Theory of the Firm," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 48(7), pages 1755-1762, November.
    18. Lai, Hung-pin & Kumbhakar, Subal C., 2018. "Endogeneity in panel data stochastic frontier model with determinants of persistent and transient inefficiency," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 5-9.
    19. Schmidt, Peter, 1975. "The Small Sample Effects of Various Treatments of Truncation Remainders in the Estimation of Distributed Lag Models," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 57(3), pages 387-389, August.
    20. Schmidt, Peter, 1978. "On the Statistical Estimation of Parametric Frontier Production Functions: Rejoinder," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 60(3), pages 481-482, August.
    21. Schmidt, Peter & Knox Lovell, C. A., 1979. "Estimating technical and allocative inefficiency relative to stochastic production and cost frontiers," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 9(3), pages 343-366, February.
    22. Aigner, Dennis & Lovell, C. A. Knox & Schmidt, Peter, 1977. "Formulation and estimation of stochastic frontier production function models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 6(1), pages 21-37, July.
    23. Robert E. Lucas & Jr., 1967. "Adjustment Costs and the Theory of Supply," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 75, pages 321-321.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Centorrino, Samuele & Pérez-Urdiales, María, 2023. "Maximum likelihood estimation of stochastic frontier models with endogeneity," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 234(1), pages 82-105.
    2. Aditi Bhattacharyya, 2012. "Adjustment of inputs and measurement of technical efficiency: A dynamic panel data analysis of the Egyptian manufacturing sectors," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 42(3), pages 863-880, June.
    3. Parmeter, Christopher F., 2021. "Is it MOLS or COLS?," Efficiency Series Papers 2021/04, University of Oviedo, Department of Economics, Oviedo Efficiency Group (OEG).
    4. repec:eee:labchp:v:1:y:1986:i:c:p:473-522 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Resti, Andrea, 1997. "Evaluating the cost-efficiency of the Italian Banking System: What can be learned from the joint application of parametric and non-parametric techniques," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 21(2), pages 221-250, February.
    6. Mamonov Mikhail E. & Parmeter Christopher F. & Prokhorov Artem B., 2022. "Dependence modeling in stochastic frontier analysis," Dependence Modeling, De Gruyter, vol. 10(1), pages 123-144, January.
    7. Desai, Anand & Ratick, Samuel J. & Schinnar, Arie P., 2005. "Data envelopment analysis with stochastic variations in data," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 147-164, June.
    8. Mai, Nhat Chi, 2015. "Efficiency of the banking system in Vietnam under financial liberalization," OSF Preprints qsf6d, Center for Open Science.
    9. Indranil Bardhan & William Cooper & Subal Kumbhakar, 1998. "A Simulation Study of Joint Uses of Data Envelopment Analysis and Statistical Regressions for Production Function Estimation and Efficiency Evaluation," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 9(3), pages 249-278, March.
    10. Eswaramoorthy, K., 1991. "U.S. livestock production and factor demand: a multiproduct dynamic dual approach," ISU General Staff Papers 1991010108000010523, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    11. Luis R. Murillo‐Zamorano, 2004. "Economic Efficiency and Frontier Techniques," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(1), pages 33-77, February.
    12. Amjadi, Golnaz & Lundgren, Tommy, 2022. "Is industrial energy inefficiency transient or persistent? Evidence from Swedish manufacturing," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 309(C).
    13. Mohamed El Arbi Chaffai, 1989. "Estimation de frontières de production et de l'inefficacité technique. Application aux entreprises tunisiennes," Économie et Prévision, Programme National Persée, vol. 91(5), pages 67-73.
    14. Isabelle Piot-Lepetit & Dominique Vermersch, 1992. "Mesure non paramétrique des efficacités : une approche duale," Post-Print hal-02349955, HAL.
    15. Tom Kompas & Tuong Nhu Che & R. Quentin Grafton, 2004. "Technical efficiency effects of input controls: evidence from Australia's banana prawn fishery," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(15), pages 1631-1641.
    16. Allan Persky, 1989. "An Uncertain Fine for Pollution as a Fixed Cost That Affects Output," The American Economist, Sage Publications, vol. 33(1), pages 24-27, March.
    17. Kumbhakar, Subal C. & Wang, Hung-Jen, 2006. "Pitfalls in the estimation of a cost function that ignores allocative inefficiency: A Monte Carlo analysis," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 134(2), pages 317-340, October.
    18. Aparicio, Juan & Kapelko, Magdalena, 2019. "Accounting for slacks to measure dynamic inefficiency in data envelopment analysis," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 278(2), pages 463-471.
    19. Su, Hung-Chung & Kao, Ta-Wei (Daniel) & Linderman, Kevin, 2020. "Where in the supply chain network does ISO 9001 improve firm productivity?," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 283(2), pages 530-540.
    20. Stefano Mainardi, 2021. "Parametric and Semiparametric Efficiency Frontiers in Fishery Analysis: Overview and Case Study on the Falkland Islands," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 79(2), pages 169-210, June.
    21. Silva, Elvira & Lansink, Alfons Oude & Stefanou, Spiro E., 2015. "The adjustment-cost model of the firm: Duality and productive efficiency," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 245-256.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Adjustment costs; Factor demand; Frontier production theory; Firm-specific capital;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D21 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Theory
    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • D25 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Intertemporal Firm Choice: Investment, Capacity, and Financing

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:empeco:v:64:y:2023:i:6:d:10.1007_s00181-023-02378-x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.