Output Quality, Productivity, and Demand: Evidence from the Chinese Steel Industry

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Li, Jing; Li, Shengyu; Zhang, Hongsong
• 署名单位: University of Hong Kong; University of New South Wales Sydney; University of New South Wales Sydney
• 刊物名称: RAND JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0741-6261
• DOI: 10.1111/1756-2171.70063
• 发表日期: 2026
• 关键词: MARKET SELECTION; TRADE; DYNAMICS; prices; reallocation; FIRMS; differentiation; FRAMEWORK; inputs; IMPACT

摘要

Unobserved objective output quality complicates the analysis of firm productivity and demand because higher-quality products entail higher costs but offer greater consumption benefits. Using a panel of firms with output quality data, we decompose quantity-based productivity into fundamental productivity and the costs of quality, and separate the demand residual into fundamental demand and quality benefits. Fundamental demand accounts for most revenue variation, whereas quality's revenue-enhancing benefits are largely offset by its costs. During the 2008 global financial crisis, shifts in quality diverged from changes in fundamental productivity and demand, highlighting the role of quality in assessing firm and industry performance.