This paper examines the relationship between the use of advanced technologies and productivity and productivity growth rates. We use data from the 1993 and 1988 Survey of Manufacturing Technology (SMT) to examine the use of advanced (computer based) technologies at two different points in time. We also are able to combine the survey data with the Longitudinal Research Database (LRD) to examine the relationships between plant performance, plant characteristics, and the use of advanced technologies. In addition, a subset of these plants were surveyed in both years, enabling us to directly associate changes in technology use with changes in plant productivity performance. The main findings of the study are as follows. First, diffusion is not the same across the surveyed technologies. Second, the adoption process is not smooth: plants added and dropped technologies over the six-year interval 1988-93. In fact, the average plant showed a gross change of roughly four technologies in achieving an average net increase of less than one new technology. In this regard, technology appears to be an experience good: plants experiment with particular technologies before deciding to add additional units or drop the technology entirely. We find that establishments that use advanced technologies exhibit higher productivity. This relationship is observed in both 1988 and 1993 even after accounting for other important factors associated with productivity: size, age, capital intensity, labor skill mix, and other controls for plant characteristics such as industry and region. In addition, the relationship between productivity and advanced technology use is observed both in the extent of technologies used and the intensity of their use. Finally, while there is some evidence that the use of advanced technologies is positively related to improved productivity performance, the data suggest that the dominant explanation for the observed cross-section relationship is that good performers are more likely to use advanced technologies than poorly performing operations.technology, productivity, JEL Classification: L1, L6, D92,
Abstract-We measure unit value electricity prices using 2 million annual observations on U.S. manufacturing plants from 1963 to 2000. These prices display tremendous cross-sectional dispersion, 85-95% of which reflects differences by plant location and purchase quantity. Spatial differentials decline markedly until the late 1980s for large purchasers but rise over time for small purchasers. Unit value price gaps between larger and smaller purchasers are enormous, diminish through the late 1970s, and then stabilize at still-high levels. There are major differences across states in cost and regulatory factors that we relate to the changing structure of unit value prices.
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Firn-specific and temporal patterns of technical efficiency of me interstate natural gas transmission industry during the implementation of the Natural Gas Policy Act are estimated by two alternative methodologies. A new panel stochastic frontier systems estimator exploits the potential exogeneity of certain regressors from firm effects. This allows for heterogeneity in slopes, as well as in intercepts. Patterns of technical efficiency based on the structural stochastic model are compared with those based on deterministic programming methods, data envelopment analysis. Concordant Endings based on these alternative methodologies suggest a perversive pattern of declining technical efficiency in the industry during the period of phased in wellhead price deregulation.
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