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Moore's Law and Learning-By-Doing

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  • Boyan Jovanovic
  • Peter L. Rousseau

Abstract

We model Moore's Law as efficiency of computer producers that rises as a by-product of their experience. We find that (1) Because computer prices fall much faster than the prices of electricity-driven and diesel-driven capital ever did, growth in the coming decades should be very fast, and that (2) The obsolescence of firms today occurs faster than before, partly because the physical capital they own becomes obsolete faster.

Suggested Citation

  • Boyan Jovanovic & Peter L. Rousseau, 2002. "Moore's Law and Learning-By-Doing," NBER Working Papers 8762, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:8762
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    Cited by:

    1. Barbara Annicchiarico & Luisa Corrado & Alessandra Pelloni, 2011. "Long‐Term Growth And Short‐Term Volatility: The Labour Market Nexus," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 79(s1), pages 646-672, June.
    2. Nuria Quella, 2006. "Intra- and Inter-sectoral Knowledge Spillovers and TFP Growth Rates," 2006 Meeting Papers 431, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    3. Christian Groth & Ronald Wendner, 2011. "Learning by Investing, Embodiment, and Speed of Convergence," EPRU Working Paper Series 2011-01, Economic Policy Research Unit (EPRU), University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics.
    4. Dan Su & Yang Yao, 2017. "Manufacturing as the key engine of economic growth for middle-income economies," Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(1), pages 47-70, January.
    5. Groth, Christian & Wendner, Ronald, 2014. "Embodied learning by investing and speed of convergence," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 245-269.
    6. J. Bradford DeLong, 2003. "Productivity Growth in the 2000s," NBER Chapters, in: NBER Macroeconomics Annual 2002, Volume 17, pages 113-158, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Howell, Bronwyn & Marriott, Lisa, 2002. "The Rural-Urban "Digital Divide" in New Zealand Progress Since September 2000," Working Paper Series 3895, Victoria University of Wellington, The New Zealand Institute for the Study of Competition and Regulation.
    8. Zhu Wang, 2006. "Learning, diffusion and the industry life cycle," Payments System Research Working Paper PSR WP 04-01, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.
    9. Eugene N. White, 2004. "Bubbles and Busts: The 1990s in the Mirror of the 1920s," FRU Working Papers 2004/09, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics. Finance Research Unit.
    10. Hritonenko, Natali & Yatsenko, Yuri, 2012. "Energy substitutability and modernization of energy-consuming technologies," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(5), pages 1548-1556.
    11. Driouchi, Ahmed & Harkat, Tahar, 2016. "Macroeconomic and School Variables to Reveal Country Choices of General and Vocational Education: A Cross-Country Analysis with focus on Arab Economies," MPRA Paper 73455, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Jovanovic, Boyan & Rousseau, Peter L., 2005. "General Purpose Technologies," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 18, pages 1181-1224, Elsevier.
    13. Nuria Quella, 2009. "Knowledge Spillovers and TFP Growth Rates," Department of Economics Working Papers 09-03, Stony Brook University, Department of Economics.
    14. J H Chen & T S Jan, 2005. "A system dynamics model of the semiconductor industry development in Taiwan," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 56(10), pages 1141-1150, October.
    15. Zhu Wang, 2008. "Income Distribution, Market Size and the Evolution of Industry," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 11(3), pages 542-565, July.
    16. François Gourio, 2005. "Operating Leverage,Stock Market Cyclicality,and the Cross-Section of Returns," Boston University - Department of Economics - Working Papers Series WP2005-002, Boston University - Department of Economics.
    17. Boyan Jovanovic, 2002. "EconomicDynamics Interviews Boyan Jovanovic on Technology Adoption," EconomicDynamics Newsletter, Review of Economic Dynamics, vol. 4(1), November.
    18. Giovanni Dosi & Richard Nelson, 2013. "The Evolution of Technologies: An Assessment of the State-of-the-Art," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 3(1), pages 3-46, June.
    19. Dosi, Giovanni & Nelson, Richard R., 2010. "Technical Change and Industrial Dynamics as Evolutionary Processes," Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, in: Bronwyn H. Hall & Nathan Rosenberg (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 0, pages 51-127, Elsevier.
    20. Carrie Jankowski & Richard D. Porter & Tara N. Rice, 2007. "Against the tide—currency use among Latin American immigrants in Chicago," Economic Perspectives, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, vol. 31(Q II), pages 2-21.
    21. Howell, Bronwyn & Obren, Mark, 2002. "Broadband Diffusion: Lags from Vintage Capital, Learning by Doing, Information Barriers and Network Effects," Working Paper Series 3896, Victoria University of Wellington, The New Zealand Institute for the Study of Competition and Regulation.
    22. Barbara Annicchiarico & Luisa Corrado & Alessandra Pelloni, 2008. "Volatility, Growth and Labour Elasticity," Working Paper series 32_08, Rimini Centre for Economic Analysis.
    23. Dosi, Giovanni & Grazzi, Marco & Mathew, Nanditha, 2017. "The cost-quantity relations and the diverse patterns of “learning by doing”: Evidence from India," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(10), pages 1873-1886.
    24. Hyunbae Chun & Jung-Wook Kim & Jason Lee & Randall Morck, 2004. "Patterns of Comovement: The Role of Information Technology in the U.S. Economy," NBER Working Papers 10937, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    25. Kim, Jin-Hyuk & Komatsu, Takehiko & Owan, Hideo, 2020. "The role of design method and process technology in stable outsourcing equilibria," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • O3 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights
    • N1 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations

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