Small Steps for Workers, a Giant Leap for Productivity

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Hendel, Igal; Spiegel, Yossi
• 署名单位: Northwestern University; Tel Aviv University; Center for Economic & Policy Research (CEPR); Leibniz Association; Zentrum fur Europaische Wirtschaftsforschung (ZEW)
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL-APPLIED ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1945-7782
• DOI: 10.1257/app.6.1.73
• 发表日期: 2014
• 页码: 73-90
• 关键词: lowell

摘要

We document the evolution of productivity in a steel mini mill with fixed capital, producing an unchanged product with Leontief technology working 24/7. Despite-almost-unchanged production conditions, output doubled 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.