Reallocation and Technology: Evidence from the US Steel Industry

S-Tier
Journal: American Economic Review
Year: 2015
Volume: 105
Issue: 1
Pages: 131-71

Score contribution per author:

4.036 = (α=2.02 / 2 authors) × 4.0x S-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

We measure the impact of a drastic new technology for producing steel--the minimill--on industry-wide productivity in the US steel industry, using unique plant-level data between 1963 and 2002. The sharp increase in the industry's productivity is linked to this new technology through two distinct mechanisms: (i) the mere displacement of the older technology (vertically integrated producers) was responsible for a third of the increase in the industry's productivity, and (ii) increased competition, due the minimill expansion, drove a productivity resurgence at the surviving vertical integrated producers and, consequently, the productivity of the industry as a whole. (JEL D24, L13, L23, L61, M11, O31, O33)

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:aea:aecrev:v:105:y:2015:i:1:p:131-71
Journal Field
General
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-25