Costs, Technology, and Productivity in the U.S. Automobile Industry

Ann F. Friedlaender, Clifford M. Winston and Kung Wang

Bell Journal of Economics, 1983, vol. 14, issue 1, pages 1-20

Abstract: This article analyzes the structure of costs, technology, and productivity in the U.S. automobile industry by estimating a general hedonic joint cost function for domestic automotive production for the Big Three American automobile producers: General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. In general it is found that costs are highly sensitive to the scale and composition of output, with General Motors and Chrysler experiencing an output configuration that exhibits increasing returns to scale and economies of joint production. On the other hand, Chrysler's recent productivity growth is found to be far below that of General Motors. Although Ford's cost structure is not so advantageous as General Motors', its recent productivity growth suggests that it can remain an effective competitor in the domestic automotive market.

View citations in EconPapers

Downloads: (external link)
http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0361-915X%2819832 ... O%3B2-V&origin=repec full text (application/pdf)
Access to full text is restricted to JSTOR subscribers. See http://www.jstor.org for details.

Related works:
Working Paper: Costs, Technology and Productivity in the U. S. Automobile Industry (1982)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://gemini.econ.umd.edu/cgi-bin/rje_online.cgi

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Bell Journal of Economics from The RAND Corporation
Series data maintained by ().