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The Elasticities of Complementarity and Substitution

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Author Info
Peter Broer () (Faculty of Economics, Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam)

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Abstract

This paper argues that the conventional definition of the elasticity of complementarity is not well suited to deal with the case of increasing returns. It proposes a slightly different formula, that uses a distance function formulation instead of a production function. The proposed definition coincides with the Hicksian measure in case the production function displays constant returns. It is more informative in case returns to scale are not constant, as it disentangles entry effects and substitution effects of factor supplies. The new definition is also preferable in that it is fully symmetric with the definition of the elasticity of substitution.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Tinbergen Institute in its series Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers with number 04-101/1.

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Date of creation: 14 Sep 2004
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Handle: RePEc:dgr:uvatin:20040101

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Web page: http://www.tinbergen.nl/

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Related research
Keywords: distance function; elasticity of complementarity; returns to scale; tangency condition;

Find related papers by JEL classification:
D21 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior
D43 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure and Pricing - - - Oligopoly and Other Forms of Market Imperfection
L16 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Industrial Organization and Macroeconomics; Macroeconomic Industrial Structure

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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. Diewert, W E, 1971. "An Application of the Shephard Duality Theorem: A Generalized Leontief Production Function," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 79(3), pages 481-507, May-June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Blanchard, Olivier Jean & Summers, Lawrence H, 1988. "Beyond the Natural Rate Hypothesis," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 78(2), pages 182-87, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Syrquin, Moshe & Hollender, Gideon, 1982. "Elasticities of Substitution and Complementarity: The General Case," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 34(3), pages 515-19, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Deaton, Angus, 1979. "The Distance Function in Consumer Behaviour with Applications to Index Numbers and Optimal Taxation," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 46(3), pages 391-405, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Sato, Ryuzo & Koizumi, Tetsunori, 1973. "On the Elasticities of Substitution and Complementarity," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 25(1), pages 44-56, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Hicks, John, 1970. "Elasticity of Substitution Again: Substitutes and Complements," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 22(3), pages 289-96, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
(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. Bas Jacobs & Lans Bovenberg, 2008. "Optimal Taxation of Human Capital and the Earnings Function," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
  2. Stern, David I., 2009. "Interfuel Substitution: A Meta-Analysis," MPRA Paper 13734, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
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This page was last updated on 2009-12-10.

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