Output Fluctuations at the Plant Level

Timothy F. Bresnahan, Valerie A. Ramey

NBER Working Paper No. 4105
Issued in June 1992
NBER Program(s):   EFG

This paper studies weekly output fluctuations from 1972 to 1983 at fifty final assembly plants in the U.S. automobile industry. The study makes use of a new data set that contains detailed information on plant operations. The main findings of the paper are: (1) Even at the simplest fabrication and assembly plant, there are a variety of margins on which production quantities are adjusted; (2) The production adjustment margins appear to have very different dynamic characteristics; and (3) The analysis of plant level data can lead to conclusions that are dramatically different from those reached using aggregated data, even though the data are driven by industry-wide shocks.

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Published: Bresnahan, Timothy F. and Valerie A. Ramey. "Output Fluctuations At The Plant Level," Quarterly Journal of Economics, 1994, v109(3), 593-624.

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