Competition and Productivity: Evidence from the Post WWII U.S. Cement Industry

46 Pages Posted: 9 Oct 2010

See all articles by Timothy Dunne

Timothy Dunne

Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland

Shawn D. Klimek

U.S. Census Bureau - Center for Economic Studies

James A. Schmitz

Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis

Date Written: September 1, 2010

Abstract

In the mid 1980s, the U.S. cement industry faced a large increase in foreign competition. Foreign cement producers began offering cement at very large discounts on U.S. prices. We show that productivity (measured by TFP) in the industry was falling during the 1960s and 1970s, but that following the increase in competition, productivity has reversed course and is growing strongly. When foreign competition was weak, productivity fell. When it was strong, productivity grew robustly. We explore the reasons for the large productivity increase. We argue that a large share of the productivity gains resulted from significant changes in management practices at plants.

Suggested Citation

Dunne, Timothy and Klimek, Shawn D. and Schmitz, James A., Competition and Productivity: Evidence from the Post WWII U.S. Cement Industry (September 1, 2010). US Census Bureau Center for Economic Studies Paper No. CES-WP-10-29, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1689076 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1689076

Timothy Dunne

Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland ( email )

PO Box 6387
Cleveland, OH 44101-1387
United States

Shawn D. Klimek (Contact Author)

U.S. Census Bureau - Center for Economic Studies ( email )

4600 Silver Hill Road
Washington, DC 20233
United States
(301) 763-2861 (Phone)
(301 763-5935 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.ces.census.gov

James A. Schmitz

Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis ( email )

90 Hennepin Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55480
United States

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