Output Fluctuations at the Plant Level / Timothy F. Bresnahan, Valerie A. Ramey.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bresnahan, Timothy F.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Ramey, Valerie A.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w4105.

NBER working paper series no. w4105

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 1992.

Summary:

This paper studies weekly output fluctuations from 1972 to 1983 at fifty final assembly plants in the U.S. automobile industry. The study makes use of a new data set that contains detailed information on plant operations. The main findings of the paper are: (1) Even at the simplest fabrication and assembly plant, there are a variety of margins on which production quantities are adjusted; (2) The production adjustment margins appear to have very different dynamic characteristics; and (3) The analysis of plant level data can lead to conclusions that are dramatically different from those reached using aggregated data, even though the data are driven by industry-wide shocks.

Notes:

Print version record

June 1992.