The RAND Journal of Economics · 1984 · 577 citations · 10 references
BusinessBusiness EconomicsEconomicsEconometricsMicroeconomicsPricing TheoryCompetitive PricingLearning CurvesPricing AnalyticsPricing DecisionsPricing For New ProductsPricing New ProductsCapital Intensity Of IndustryLearningLearning Curve ModelingLearning Curve Slope AnalysisLearning From PricesLearning In MarketsLearning-based PricingProduct Market Concentration
The study uses data on 37 chemical products to test hypotheses about learning curves and industrial price behavior. The analysis finds a strong, consistent learning effect driven by cumulative output and investment, with small economies of scale, slope variations tied to R&D and capital intensity, and market concentration shaping price flexibility and timing.
Data on 37 chemical products are used to test a number of hypotheses about the learning curve and industrial price behavior. The results document a strong and consistent learning effect. Learning is found to be a function of cumulated industry output and cumulated investment rather than calendar time. Standard economies of scale appear significant but small in magnitude relative to the learning effect. Variations in the slope of the learning curve are linked to differences in R&D expenditures and capital intensity. Market concentration is found to be a strong influence on price flexibility and the timing of learningrelated price changes.
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A GENERAL DISTRIBUTION THEORY FOR A CLASS OF LIKELIHOOD CRITERIA
George E. P. Box · Biometrika · 1949 · 1.1K citations
The Learning Curve and Competition
A. Michael Spence · The Bell Journal of Economics · 1981 · 842 citations
Reliability of Progress Curves in Airframe Production
Armen A. Alchian · Econometrica · 1963 · 531 citations
Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Industrial Engineering +17