Information Technology, Productivity and Asset Ownership: Evidence from Taxicab Fleets

Abstract:     
This paper develops a simple model that links the adoption of a productivity-enhancing technology to increased vertical integration and a less skilled workforce. We test the model’s key prediction using novel micro data on vehicle ownership patterns from the Economic Census during a period when computerized dispatching systems were first adopted by taxicab firms. Controlling for time-invariant firm-specific effects, firms increase the proportion of taxicabs under fleet-ownership by 12 percent when they adopt new computerized dispatching systems. Using increasingly stringent econometric tests, we verify that the baseline tests are indicative of a casual relationship between dispatching technology adoption and vertical integration. These findings suggest that increasing a firm’s productivity can lead to increased vertical integration, even in the absence of asset specificity.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 38

Keywords: asset ownership, productivity, information technology

JEL Classification: L22

working papers series