The Structure of Production, Technological Change, and the Rate of Growth of Total Factor Productivity in the Bell System
The Structure of Production, Technological Change, and the Rate of Growth of Total Factor Productivity in the Bell System
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贝尔系统的生产结构、技术变革与全要素生产率增长率
DOI：
10.3386/w0358
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发表时间：
1979
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
Mark A. Schankerman
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
M. Nadiri;Mark A. Schankerman
这项初步研究的目标有三个。一是从总量层面对贝尔体系的生产结构进行实证分析。特别关注要素投入之间的替代模式以及总生产函数以规模经济为特征的程度。在这一点上，我们探讨了研发在贝尔系统中作为投入在生产过程中的作用，以及它与传统投入的互动。其次，我们考察了外部技术机会对贝尔系统生产结构的影响。这里的问题不仅包括这种技术变化的速度，而且还包括它改变投入的最佳水平和组合的程度，即外部技术变化的要素偏差。第三个目标是探讨贝尔体系内部规模经济与外部技术变化在决定全要素生产率(TFP)增长率方面的内在关系。具体地说，我们提出并说明了一种方法，将观察到的全要素生产率增长分为与规模经济相关的部分和包括技术变革在内的部分。我们通过使用1947-1976年期间的年度数据，首先在贝尔系统的总超对数成本函数中估计这些问题。规模经济的隐含估计值被用来探索全要素生产率增长的来源。
The objectives of this preliminary study are threefold. The first is to analyze empirically the production structure of the Bell System at the aggregate level. Particular attention is focused on the pattern of substitution among the factor inputs and the degree to which the aggregate production function is characterized by economies of scale. In this connection, we explore the role of research and development in the Bell System as an input in the production process, and its interaction with the traditional inputs. Second, we examine the impact of external technological chance on the production structure of the Bell System. The issues here include not only the rate of such technical change, but also the extent to which it alters the optimal level and mix of inputs, that is, the factor bias of external technical change. The third objective is to explore the inter relationship between scale economies internal to the Bell System and external technical change in determining the rate of growth of total factor productivity (TFP) . Specifically, we propose and illustrate a methodology for composing the observed growth of TFP into a part related to scale economies and a part included by technical change. We address these issues by first estimate in a an aggregate translog cost function for the Bell System, using annual data for the period 1947-1976. The implied estimate of the scale economies is then used to explore the sources of the growth of TFP.