TY  - JOUR
AU  - Bresnahan,Timothy F.
AU  - Ramey,Valerie A.
TI  - Output Fluctuations at the Plant Level
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 4105
PY  - 1992
Y2  - June 1992
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w4105
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w4105.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Timothy F. Bresnahan
Stanford University
Department of Economics, Room 325
579 Serra Mall
Stanford, CA  94305-6072
Tel: 650/723-3712
Fax: 650/725-5702
E-Mail: tbres@stanford.edu

Valerie A. Ramey
Department of Economics, 0508
University of California, San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla, CA 92093-0508
Tel: 858/534-2388
Fax: 858/534-7040
E-Mail: VRAMEY@UCSD.EDU
AB  - 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.
ER  -