IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/atlecj/v33y2005i2p201-213.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Production Costs, Scale Economies, and Technical Change in U.S. Textile and Apparel Industries

Author

Listed:
  • Anusua Datta
  • Susan Christoffersen

Abstract

The elimination of quotas in textiles and apparel poses new threats from import competition. To survive, the sectors need to find least-cost methods of production. The production–cost structure of the U.S. textile and apparel industries is examined using a dual cost framework. A translog cost function is used to measure substitution elasticities between inputs, scale economies, and the nature of technical change. The scope for factor substitution in textiles remains limited with all substitution elasticities being less than unity. Labor and materials are complements in apparel production, but there is evidence of substitution between capital and labor. The rate of technical change is higher in textiles than in apparel. Given the intense import competition from low wage countries, in both industries, technical progress is labor saving. Overall, economies of scale are larger in apparel; however, scale economies have continued to increase in textiles. Copyright International Atlantic Economic Society 2005

Suggested Citation

  • Anusua Datta & Susan Christoffersen, 2005. "Production Costs, Scale Economies, and Technical Change in U.S. Textile and Apparel Industries," Atlantic Economic Journal, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 33(2), pages 201-213, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:atlecj:v:33:y:2005:i:2:p:201-213
    DOI: 10.1007/s11293-005-3768-8
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s11293-005-3768-8
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11293-005-3768-8?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Christensen, Laurits R & Jorgenson, Dale W & Lau, Lawrence J, 1973. "Transcendental Logarithmic Production Frontiers," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 55(1), pages 28-45, February.
    2. Fuss, Melvyn & McFadden, Daniel, 1978. "Production Economics: A Dual Approach to Theory and Applications (II): Applications of the Theory of Production," History of Economic Thought Books, McMaster University Archive for the History of Economic Thought, volume 2, number fuss1978a.
    3. Catherine J. Morrison Paul, 2003. "Cost Economies: A Driving Force for Consolidation and Concentration?," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 70(1), pages 110-127, July.
    4. Fuss, Melvyn & McFadden, Daniel & Mundlak, Yair, 1978. "A Survey of Functional Forms in the Economic Analysis of Production," Histoy of Economic Thought Chapters, in: Fuss, Melvyn & McFadden, Daniel (ed.),Production Economics: A Dual Approach to Theory and Applications, volume 1, chapter 4, McMaster University Archive for the History of Economic Thought.
    5. Yin Xia & Steven Buccola, 2003. "Factor Use and Productivity Change in the Alcoholic Beverage Industries," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 70(1), pages 93-109, July.
    6. Fuss, Melvyn & McFadden, Daniel (ed.), 1978. "Production Economics: A Dual Approach to Theory and Applications," Elsevier Monographs, Elsevier, edition 1, number 9780444850133.
    7. 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.
    8. Morrison, Catherine J, 1988. "Quasi-Fixed Inputs in U.S. and Japanese Manufacturing: A Generalized Leontief Restricted Cost Function Approach," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 70(2), pages 275-287, May.
    9. Fuss, Melvyn & McFadden, Daniel, 1978. "Production Economics: A Dual Approach to Theory and Applications (I): The Theory of Production," History of Economic Thought Books, McMaster University Archive for the History of Economic Thought, volume 1, number fuss1978.
    10. Lau, Lawrence J., 1986. "Functional forms in econometric model building," Handbook of Econometrics, in: Z. Griliches† & M. D. Intriligator (ed.), Handbook of Econometrics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 26, pages 1515-1566, Elsevier.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Magdalena Kapelko & Alfons Oude Lansink, 2015. "An international comparison of productivity change in the textile and clothing industry: a bootstrapped Malmquist index approach," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 48(4), pages 1499-1523, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sauer, J., 2007. "Monotonicity and Curvature – A Bootstrapping Approach," Proceedings “Schriften der Gesellschaft für Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften des Landbaues e.V.”, German Association of Agricultural Economists (GEWISOLA), vol. 42, March.
    2. Sauer, Johannes, 2006. "Monotonicity And Curvature - A Bootstrapping Approach," 46th Annual Conference, Giessen, Germany, October 4-6, 2006 14948, German Association of Agricultural Economists (GEWISOLA).
    3. Perekhozhuk, Oleksandr, 2007. "Marktstruktur und Preisbildung auf dem ukrainischen Markt für Rohmilch," Studies on the Agricultural and Food Sector in Transition Economies, Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO), volume 41, number 92322.
    4. Taining Wang & Jinjing Tian & Feng Yao, 2021. "Does high debt ratio influence Chinese firms’ performance? A semiparametric stochastic frontier approach with zero inefficiency," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 61(2), pages 587-636, August.
    5. Stefan Profit & Stefan Sperlich, 2004. "Non-uniformity of job-matching in a transition economy - A nonparametric analysis for the Czech Republic," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(7), pages 695-714.
    6. Martin, Juan Carlos & Voltes-Dorta, Augusto, 2007. "Marginal Cost Estimations In Airports. Multiproductive Cost Functions And Stochastic Frontiers: An International Airports Case Study," 48th Annual Transportation Research Forum, Boston, Massachusetts, March 15-17, 2007 207931, Transportation Research Forum.
    7. M. Ishaq Nadiri & Ingmar Prucha, 2001. "Dynamic Factor Demand Models and Productivity Analysis," NBER Chapters, in: New Developments in Productivity Analysis, pages 103-172, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Hamermesh, Daniel S., 1987. "The demand for labor in the long run," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & R. Layard (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 8, pages 429-471, Elsevier.
    9. Eric Heyer & Florian Pelgrin & Arnaud Sylvain, 2004. "Translog ou Cobb-Douglas? Le rôle des durées d'utilisation des facteurs," Staff Working Papers 04-19, Bank of Canada.
    10. Eswaramoorthy, K., 1991. "U.S. livestock production and factor demand: a multiproduct dynamic dual approach," ISU General Staff Papers 1991010108000010523, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    11. Luis R. Murillo‐Zamorano, 2004. "Economic Efficiency and Frontier Techniques," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(1), pages 33-77, February.
    12. Ewis, Nabil A., 1983. "A Neoclassical Analysis of the Demand for Cereals in Egypt," Working Papers 243426, University of California, Davis, Agricultural Development Systems: Egypt Project.
    13. Pla, Josep M., 1988. "Ensemble des possibilités de production, fonction de production et fonction de coût : une présentation de la dualité," L'Actualité Economique, Société Canadienne de Science Economique, vol. 64(3), pages 416-441, septembre.
    14. repec:eee:labchp:v:1:y:1986:i:c:p:429-471 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Arcand, Jean-Louis & Ai, Chunrong & Ethier, Francois, 2007. "Moral hazard and Marshallian inefficiency: Evidence from Tunisia," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(2), pages 411-445, July.
    16. Cardenas, Gabriela & Vedenov, Dmitry V. & Houston, Jack E., 2005. "Analysis of Production Efficiency of Mexican Coffee-Producing Districts," 2005 Annual meeting, July 24-27, Providence, RI 19470, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    17. Crompton, Paul & Lesourd, Jean-Baptiste, 2008. "Economies of scale in global iron-making," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 74-82, June.
    18. McDonald, John & Snooks, G. D., 1986. "Domesday Economy: A New Approach to Anglo-Norman History," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198285243, Decembrie.
    19. Patrik Söderholm, 2000. "Environmental Regulations and Interfuel Substitution in the Power Sector: A Generalized Leontief Model," Energy & Environment, , vol. 11(1), pages 1-23, January.
    20. Ryu, Hang Keun, 2011. "Subjective model selection rules versus passive model selection rules," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 28(1-2), pages 459-472, January.
    21. Gabriele Dono & Luca Giraldo & Simone Severini, 2012. "The Cost of Irrigation Water Delivery: An Attempt to Reconcile the Concepts of Cost and Efficiency," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 26(7), pages 1865-1877, May.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    L10; L23; L67;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L10 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - General
    • L23 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Organization of Production
    • L67 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Manufacturing - - - Other Consumer Nondurables: Clothing, Textiles, Shoes, and Leather Goods; Household Goods; Sports Equipment

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:atlecj:v:33:y:2005:i:2:p:201-213. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.