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Using Firm Optimization to Evaluate and Estimate Returns to Scale

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Author Info
Gorodnichenko, Yuriy () (University of California, Berkeley)

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Abstract

At the firm level, revenue and costs are well measured but prices and quantities are not. This paper shows that because of these data limitations estimates of returns to scale at the firm level are for the revenue function, not production function. Given this observation, the paper argues that, under weak assumptions, micro-level estimates of returns to scale are often inconsistent with profit maximization or imply implausibly large profits. The puzzle arises because popular estimators ignore heterogeneity and endogeneity in factor/product prices, assume perfect elasticity of factor supply curves or neglect the restrictions imposed by profit maximization (cost minimization) so that estimators are inconsistent or poorly identified. The paper argues that simple structural estimators can address these problems. Specifically, the paper proposes a full-information estimator that models the cost and the revenue functions simultaneously and accounts for unobserved heterogeneity in productivity and factor prices symmetrically. The strength of the proposed estimator is illustrated by Monte Carlo simulations and an empirical application. Finally, the paper discusses a number of implications of estimating revenue functions rather than production functions and demonstrates that the profit share in revenue is a robust non-parametric economic diagnostic for estimates of returns to scale.

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Paper provided by Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in its series IZA Discussion Papers with number 3368.

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Length: 74 pages
Date of creation: Feb 2008
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Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp3368

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Related research
Keywords: production function identification returns to scale covariance structures

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
C23 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Models with Panel Data
C33 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Models with Panel Data
D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Capital and Total Factor Productivity; Capacity

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Full references

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. Benoit Dostie, 2006. "Wages, Productivity and Aging," Cahiers de recherche 0645, CIRPEE. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Gorodnichenko, Yuriy & Grygorenko, Yegor, 2008. "Are Oligarchs Productive? Theory and Evidence," IZA Discussion Papers 3282, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
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