Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/92483 
Year of Publication: 
2013
Series/Report no.: 
CSIO Working Paper No. 0117
Publisher: 
Northwestern University, Center for the Study of Industrial Organization (CSIO), Evanston, IL
Abstract: 
We document the evolution of productivity in a steel mini mill with fixed capital, producing an unchanged product with Leontief technology. Despite almost un- changed production conditions, output doubles within the sample period (12 years). We decompose the gains into: downtime reductions, more rounds of production per time, and more output per run. After attributing productivity gains to investment and an incentive plan, we are left with a large unexplained component. Learning by experimentation, or tweaking, seems to be behind the continual and gradual process of productivity growth. The findings suggest that capacity is not well defined, even in batch-oriented manufacturing.
Subjects: 
productivity
growth
steel mini mill
investment
incentive
learning- by-doing
JEL: 
D24
M52
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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