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Variety and the evolution of refinery processing

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Author Info
Nguyen, P.
Saviotti, P.P.
Trommetter, M.
Bourgeois, B.

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Abstract

Evolutionary theories of economic development stress the role of variety as both a determinant and a result of growth. In this paper we develop a measure of variety, based on Weitzman's maximum likelihood procedure. This measure is based on the distance between products, and indicates the degree of differentiation of a product population. We propose a generic method, which permits to regroup the products with very similar characteristics values before choosing randomly the product models to be used to calculate Weitzman's measure. We apply the variety measure to process characteristics of oil refining. The results obtained for this technology show classic evolutionary specialization patterns that can be understood on the basis of niche theory. Here the changes in variety are related to changes in the range of the services the technology considered can deliver, range which plays a role similar to that of the size of the habitat of a biological species.

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File URL: http://www.grenoble.inra.fr/Docs/pub/A2004/gael2004-28.pdf
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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Grenoble Applied Economics Laboratory (GAEL) in its series Working Papers with number 200428.

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Date of creation: 2004
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Handle: RePEc:gbl:wpaper:200428

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Related research
Keywords: TECHNOLOGICAL EVOLUTION; REFINERY PROCESSES; NICHE THEORY; WEITZMAN MEASURE;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
L15 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Information and Product Quality
L93 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Air Transportation
Q40 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - General

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. Utterback, James M. & Suarez, Fernando F., 1993. "Innovation, competition, and industry structure," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 1-21, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Ralf Ruhwedel & Michael Funke, 2001. "Product Variety and Economic Growth Empirical Evidence for the OECD Countries," Quantitative Macroeconomics Working Papers 20104, Hamburg University, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Kelvin J. Lancaster, 1966. "A New Approach to Consumer Theory," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 74, pages 132. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Chris Freeman & Luc Soete, 1997. "The Economics of Industrial Innovation, 3rd Edition," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 3, volume 1, number 0262061953.
  5. Mark Bils & Peter J. Klenow, 2001. "The Acceleration of Variety Growth," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(2), pages 274-280, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Frenken, Koen & Saviotti, Paolo P. & Trommetter, Michel, 1999. "Variety and niche creation in aircraft, helicopters, motorcycles and microcomputers," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 28(5), pages 469-488, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Saviotti, P. P. & Metcalfe, J. S., 1984. "A theoretical approach to the construction of technological output indicators," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 13(3), pages 141-151, June. [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. Martin Woerter, 2009. "Industry diversity and its impact on the innovation performance of firms," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 19(5), pages 675-700, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Carolina Castaldi & Roberto Fontana & Alessandro Nuvolari, 2009. "‘Chariots of fire’: the evolution of tank technology, 1915–1945," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 545-566, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  3. Ulrich Witt, 2008. "Symbolic Consumption and the Social Construction of Product Characteristics," Papers on Economics and Evolution 2008-15, Max Planck Institute of Economics, Evolutionary Economics Group. [Downloadable!]
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