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Productivity, Market Power and Capacity Utilization When Spot Markets are Complete

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  • Benjamin Eden
  • Zvi Griliches

Abstract

Our test of price-taking behavior looks at the choice of capacity rather than the choice of output. It is motivated by a complete spot markets model in which goods are distinguished by the selling probabilities in addition to other characteristics. When output is explained by total man-hours and a capacity utilization proxy, the coefficient of the first variable is the elasticity of capacity with respect to fixed labor. Under competition and risk neutrality this coefficient is equal to an average labor share. We use this observation to interpret Abbot-Griliches-Hausman's regressions and to argue that once the capacity utilization proxy is included in the regression, Hall's data at the manufacturing level fail to reject the joint hypothesis of competition and risk neutrality. It is also argued that the coefficient of total man-hours does not tell us anything about monopoly power once the capacity utilization proxy is omitted from the regression.

Suggested Citation

  • Benjamin Eden & Zvi Griliches, 1991. "Productivity, Market Power and Capacity Utilization When Spot Markets are Complete," NBER Working Papers 3697, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:3697
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    1. Fay, Jon A & Medoff, James L, 1985. "Labor and Output over the Business Cycle: Some Direct Evidence," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 75(4), pages 638-655, September.
    2. Eden, Benjamin, 1990. "Marginal Cost Pricing When Spot Markets Are Complete," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(6), pages 1293-1306, December.
    3. Julio J. Rotemberg & Lawrence H. Summers, 1990. "Inflexible Prices and Procyclical Productivity," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 105(4), pages 851-874.
    4. Prescott, Edward C, 1975. "Efficiency of the Natural Rate," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 83(6), pages 1229-1236, December.
    5. Gerard R. Butters, 1977. "Equilibrium Distributions of Sales and Advertising Prices," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 44(3), pages 465-491.
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    1. Klette, Tor Jakob & Griliches, Zvi, 1996. "The Inconsistency of Common Scale Estimators When Output Prices Are Unobserved and Endogenous," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 11(4), pages 343-361, July-Aug..
    2. Eden, Benjamin, 1994. "The Adjustment of Prices to Monetary Shocks When Trade Is Uncertain and Sequential," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 102(3), pages 493-509, June.
    3. David H. Good & M. Ishaq Nadiri & Robin C. Sickles, 1996. "Index Number and Factor Demand Approaches to the Estimation of Productivity," NBER Working Papers 5790, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Zvi Griliches & Jacques Mairesse, 1995. "Production Functions: The Search for Identification," NBER Working Papers 5067, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Sbordone, Argia M., 1996. "Cyclical productivity in a model of labor hoarding," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 331-361, October.
    6. Miguel Jimenez & Domenico J. Marchetti, 2000. "Interpreting the Procyclical Productivity of Manufacturing Sectors: Can We Really Rule Out External Effects:," Econometric Society World Congress 2000 Contributed Papers 1319, Econometric Society.
    7. Perekhozhuk, O. & Chezhia, G. & Glauben, T., 2018. "Testing for oligopsony power in the Kazakh grain processing industry: A Hall approach," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 275964, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    8. Benjamin Eden, 2014. "Demand uncertainty and efficiency," Vanderbilt University Department of Economics Working Papers 14-00011, Vanderbilt University Department of Economics.
    9. Jesus Felipe & John S.L. McCombie, 2013. "The Aggregate Production Function and the Measurement of Technical Change," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 1975.
    10. Dennis W. Carlton, 1998. "A Critical Assessment of the Role of Imperfect Competition in Macroeconomics," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Steven Brakman & Hans Ees & Simon K. Kuipers (ed.), Market Behaviour and Macroeconomic Modelling, chapter 3, pages 73-104, Palgrave Macmillan.
    11. Jesus Felipe & J. S. L. McCombie, 2002. "A Problem with Some Estimations and Interpretations of the Mark-up in Manufacturing Industry," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(2), pages 187-215.
    12. Eden,Maya, 2016. "The week," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7598, The World Bank.

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