Scale Economies, Unemployment, and Industry Agglomeration

This paper tries to resolve the paradox raised by Corden and Findlay (1975). In this paper, it is assumed that Manufacture sector has scale economies. Both factor prices and product prices can adjust in a general equilibrium system. In a closed economy, this paper concludes that, with the expansion of capital stock both the unemployment rate and the absolute amount of unemployment will decrease. In an open economy, this paper sets up an asymmetric model, of which only one region has fixed wage rate. It will help us to investigate how the trading cost would affect the unemployment and output of the region, which may give some helpful policy implications.fixed wage rate, unemployment, agglomeration

Payment scale economies, competition, and pricing

Payment scale economies affect banking costs, competition in payment services, and pricing. Our scale measure relates operating cost to physical measures of European banking "output", finding large economies. This differs from relating total cost to the value of balance sheet assets (the conventional approach). Interest expenses are excluded since differences here are primarily due to mix, not scale. Also, since standard indicators of competition can give inconsistent results, a revenue-based frontier measure is developed and applied to European banks, with little difference evident across countries. Existing differences in bank prices (EC report) are associated with small differences in competition. JEL Classification: E41, C53Bank competition, European banks, frontier analysis, Payment scale economies

Who said large banks don't experience scale economies? Evidence from a risk-return-driven cost function

Earlier studies found little evidence of scale economies at large banks; later studies using data from the 1990s uncovered such evidence, providing a rationale for very large banks seen worldwide. Using more recent data, the authors estimate scale economies using two production models. The standard risk-neutral model finds little evidence of scale economies. The model using more general risk preferences and endogenous risk-taking finds large scale economies. The authors show that these economies are not driven by too-big-to-fail considerations. They evaluate the cost implications of breaking up the largest banks into banks of smaller size.Production (Economic theory) ; Risk ; Systemic risk ; Banks and banking

CONSOLIDATION IN U.S. MEATPACKING

Meatpacking consolidated rapidly in the last two decades: slaughter plants became much larger, and concentration increased as smaller firms left the industry. We use establishment-based data from the U.S. Census Bureau to describe consolidation and to identify the roles of scale economies and technological change in driving consolidation. Through the 1970's, larger plants paid higher wages, generating a pecuniary scale diseconomy that largely offset the cost advantages that technological scale economies offered large plants. The larger plants' wage premium disappeared in the 1980's, and technological change created larger and more extensive technological scale economies. As a result, large plants realized growing cost advantages over smaller plants, and production shifted to larger plants.Concentration, consolidation, meatpacking, scale economies, structural change, Industrial Organization, Livestock Production/Industries,

Market Structure, Scale Economies, and Industry Performance

We provide an extensive and general investigation of the effects on industry performance (profits and social welfare) of exogenously changing the number of firms in a Cournot framework. This amounts to an in-depth exploration of the well-known trade-off between competition and production efficiency. We establish that under scale economies, welfare is maximized by a finite number of firms. Our results shed light on several theoretical issues and policy debates in industrial organization, including the relationship between the Herfindahl index and social welfare, free versus socially optimal entry, concentration and profitability, destructive competition and natural monopoly. Our analytical approach combines simplicity with generality. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG - (Marktstruktur, Größenvorteile und Marktergebnis) In dem Beitrag wird im Rahmen eines Cournot-Ansatzes eine allgemeine Untersuchung der Auswirkungen der exogen sich ändernden Anzahl von Unternehmen auf das Marktergebnis (Gewinne und soziale Wohlfahrt) vorgestellt. Dabei wird in einer analytischen Betrachtung das bekannte Trade-off zwischen Wettbewerb und Produktionseffizienz herausgearbeitet. Es wird gezeigt, daß beim Vorliegen von Größenvorteilen die Wohlfahrt durch eine endliche Zahl von Firmen maximiert wird. Das Ergebnis beleuchtet verschiedene Aspekte der wirtschaftstheoretischen und industriepolitischen Diskussion, einschließlich der Beziehungen zwischen den Herfindahl-Index und der sozialen Wohlfahrt, freiem versus sozial optimalem Markteintritt, Konzentration und Profitabilität, ruinösem Wettbewerb und natürlichem Monopol. Der analytische Ansatz vereint Einfachheit mit Allgemeinheit.Cournot oligopoly; returns to scale; entry; equilibrium comparative statics

Market Structure, Scale Economies and Industry Performance

We provide an extensive and general investigation of the effects on industry performance (profits and social welfare) of exogenously changing the number of firms in a Cournot framework. This amounts to an in-depth exploration of the well-known trade-off between competition and production efficiency. We establish that under scale economies, welfare is maximized by a finite number of firms. Our results shed light on several theoretical issues and policy debates in industrial organization, including the relationship between the Herfindahl index and social welfare, free versus socially optimal entry, concentration and profitability, destructive competition and natural monopoly. Our analytical approach combines simplicity with generalityCournot oligopoly; Returns to scale; Entry; Equilibrium comparative statics

Cost Efficiency in the Swiss Gas Distribution Sector

This paper studies the cost structure of gas distribution utilities in Switzerland. Three stochastic frontier models are applied to a panel of 26 companies operating from 1996 to 2000. Efficiency is assumed to be constant over time. The analysis highlights the importance of output characteristics such as customer density and network size. The results suggest that the utilities could slightly reduce their operating costs by improving efficiency. There is no evidence of significant unexploited scale economies. However, our analysis indicates that the estimates of scale economies could be sensitive to the assumptions regarding the variation of output with output characteristics.cost efficiency; scale economies, gas distribution, stochastic frontier analysis

Scale economies in nonprofit provision, technology adoption and entry

We study competition between nonprofit providers that supply a collective service through increasing-returns-to-scale technologies under conditions of free entry. When providers adopt a not-for-profit mission, the absence of a residual claimant can impede entry, protecting the position of an inefficient incumbent. Moreover, when providers supply goods that are at least partly public in nature, they may be unable to sustain the adoption of more efficient technologies that feature fixed costs, because buyers (private donors) face individual incentives to divert donations towards charities that adopt inferior, lower-fixed-cost technologies. These incentives may give rise to a technological race to the bottom, where nonprofit providers forgo opportunities to exploit scale economies. In these situations, government grants in support of core costs can have a nonneutral effect on entry, technology adoption, and industry performance

Consolidation, Scale Economies and Technological Change in Japanese Banking

The paper examines the technological structure of the Japanese banking sector before the onset of the banking crisis and structural reforms of the 90s in order to shade light on the logic of the recent trend to consolidation in the industry. While diseconomies of scale are shown to be pervasive in the large banks, defying the rationale for consolidation, the paper presents evidence of an underlying technological progress that operates to significantly increase the industry’s efficient minimum size, generating economies at larger banks, thus justifying the ongoing trend in consolidation. The results suggest that, to the extent that consumers can benefit from lower costs of bank production, policies that promote a more concentrated banking structure might be consistent with public interest.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/40133/3/wp747.pd