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Product Substitutability and Productivity Dispersion

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  • Chad Syverson

Abstract

There are tremendous across-plant differences in measured productivity levels, even within narrowly defined industries. Most of the literature attempting to explain this heterogeneity has focused on technological (supply-side) factors. However, an industry's demand structure may also influence the shape of its plant-level productivity distribution. This paper explores the role of one important element of demand, product substitutability. The connection between substitutability and the productivity distribution is intuitively straightforward. When industry consumers can easily switch between suppliers, it is more difficult for relatively inefficient (high-cost) producers to profitably operate. Increases in product substitutability truncate the productivity distribution from below, implying less productivity dispersion and higher average productivity levels in high-substitutability industries. I demonstrate this mechanism in a simple industry equilibrium model, and then test it empirically using plant-level data from U.S. manufacturing industries. I find that as predicted, product substitutability measured in several ways is negatively related to within-industry productivity dispersion and positively related to industries' median productivity levels.

Suggested Citation

  • Chad Syverson, 2003. "Product Substitutability and Productivity Dispersion," NBER Working Papers 10049, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:10049
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Chad Syverson, 2004. "Market Structure and Productivity: A Concrete Example," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 112(6), pages 1181-1222, December.
    2. Marcus Asplund & Volker Nocke, 2003. "Firm Turnover in Imperfectly Competitive Markets," PIER Working Paper Archive 03-010, Penn Institute for Economic Research, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania.
    3. Jean Tirole, 1988. "The Theory of Industrial Organization," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262200716, December.
    4. F. Biesmans, 1977. "A Survey," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(1), pages 5-36, January.
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D2 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations
    • L0 - Industrial Organization - - General

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