An empirical examination of alternative productivity growth measures : with an application to the steam generated fossil-fueled electric utility industry 1951-1978

Abstract

The objective of this dissertation is to examine the productivity growth of the steam generated fossil-fueled electric utility industry during the 1951 - 1978 period. This dissertation presents three alternative measures of productivity growth, each measure reflecting specific assumptions regarding the underlying production structure and behavioral specification of the industry. The examination of the productivity growth measures is preceded by a brief discussion regarding the specific productivity measures to be investigated and the contribution of the dissertation to the relevant economic literature. The structure of the dissertation allows for three separate investigations, each containing a review of the appropriate literature, presentation of a suitable theoretical and empirical model, an examination of an acceptable estimation technique, a discussion of the estimation results and the implications of these results based on previous empirical studies, and a summary. The major goal of this dissertation is to illustrate those questions regarding the productivity growth behavior of this industry should be answered by resorting to economic theory. The implementation of economic theory allows the researcher the opportunity to appropriately examine the problems associated with productivity growth measurement in this industry. The proper adjustment of the productivity growth measures will grant the researcher the freedom to obtain economically sound estimates of productivity growth for the steam generated fossil-fueled electric utility industry.