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Competition and Car Longevity

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Author Info
Macauley, Molly () (Resources for the Future)
Hamilton, Bruce
Abstract

We examine determinants of the nearly 30 percent increase in the average age of domestically produced, registered automobiles since the mid-1960s. We find that very little of the increase in car longevity is attributable to improvements in the inherent durability of cars. Rather, we find that the temporal pattern of longevity improvement is highly correlated with the level of market concentration in the auto industry. In particular, we argue that the arrival of competition in the industry led to an increase in longevity largely by forcing a reduction in the price of auto maintenance and repair, which in turn induced consumers to maintain their cars into older age.

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Paper provided by Resources For the Future in its series Discussion Papers with number dp-98-20.

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Date of creation: 01 Mar 1998
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Handle: RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-98-20

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  1. Studies on the automobile industry
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. Alan Greenspan & Darrel Cohen, 1996. "Motor vehicle stocks, scrappage, and sales," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 96-40, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.). [Downloadable!]
  2. Eric W. Bond & Larry Samuelson, 1984. "Durable Good Monopolies with Rational Expectations and Replacement Sales," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 15(3), pages 336-345, Autumn. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Robert W. Hahn, 1995. "An Economic Analysis of Scrappage," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 26(2), pages 222-242, Summer. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. James Berkovec, 1985. "New Car Sales and Used Car Stocks: A Model of the Automobile Market," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 16(2), pages 195-214, Summer. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Anna Alberini & Winston Harrington & Virginia McConnell, 1995. "Determinants of Participation in Accelerated Vehicle-Retirement Programs," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 26(1), pages 93-112, Spring. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Goldberg, Pinelopi Koujianou, 1995. "Product Differentiation and Oligopoly in International Markets: The Case of the U.S. Automobile Industry," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 63(4), pages 891-951, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Bulow, Jeremy, 1986. "An Economic Theory of Planned Obsolescence," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 101(4), pages 729-49, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Bruce W Hamilton & Mary Burke, 1996. "The Coase Conjecture in Continuous Time: Imperfect Durability Endogenous Durability and Aftermarkets," Economics Working Paper Archive 362, The Johns Hopkins University,Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  9. Coase, Ronald H, 1972. "Durability and Monopoly," Journal of Law & Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 15(1), pages 143-49, April.
  10. Gruenspecht, Howard K, 1982. "Differentiated Regulation: The Case of Auto Emissions Standards," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 72(2), pages 328-31, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Schmalensee, Richard, 1979. "Market Structure, Durability, and Quality: A Selective Survey," Economic Inquiry, Oxford University Press, vol. 17(2), pages 177-96, April.
  12. Swan, Peter L, 1972. "Optimum Durability, Second-Hand Markets, and Planned Obsolescence," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 80(3), pages 575-85, May-June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. Schmalensee, Richard, 1974. "Market Structure, Durability, and Maintenance Effort," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 41(2), pages 277-87, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Rust, John, 1986. "When Is It Optimal to Kill Off the Market for Used Durable Goods?," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 54(1), pages 65-86, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  15. Berry, Steven & Levinsohn, James & Pakes, Ariel, 1995. "Automobile Prices in Market Equilibrium," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 63(4), pages 841-90, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  16. Timothy F. Bresnahan, 1986. "Crandall, Gruenspecht, Keeler, and Lave's Regulating the Automobile," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 17(4), pages 641-645, Winter. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  1. Robert H. Porter & Peter Sattler, 1999. "Patterns of Trade in the Market for Used Durables: Theory and Evidence," NBER Working Papers 7149, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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