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Using the Survey of Plant Capacity to Measure Capital Utilization

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  • Yuriy Gorodnichenko
  • Matthew Shapiro

Abstract

Most capital in the United States is idle much of the time. By some measures, the average workweek of capital in U.S. manufacturing is as low as 55 hours per 168 hour week. The level and variability of capital utilization has important implications for understanding both the level of production and its cyclical fluctuations. This paper investigates a number of issues relating to aggregation of capital utilization measures from the Survey of Plant Capacity and makes recommendations on expanding and improving the published statistics deriving from the Survey of Plant Capacity. The paper documents a number of facts about properties of capital utilization. First, after growing for decades, capital utilization started to fall in mid 1990s. Second, capital utilization is a useful predictor of changes in capacity utilization and other factors of production. Third, adjustment of productivity measures for variable capital utilization improves statistical and economic properties of these measures. Fourth, the paper constructs weights to aggregate firm level capital utilization rates to industry and economy level, which is the major enhancement to available data.

Suggested Citation

  • Yuriy Gorodnichenko & Matthew Shapiro, 2011. "Using the Survey of Plant Capacity to Measure Capital Utilization," Working Papers 11-19, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    • Handle: RePEc:cen:wpaper:11-19
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    File URL: https://www2.census.gov/ces/wp/2011/CES-WP-11-19.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    13. J. Beaulieu & Joe Mattey, 1998. "The Workweek of Capital and Capital Utilization in Manufacturing," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 10(2), pages 199-223, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Huo, Zhen & Levchenko, Andrei A. & Pandalai-Nayar, Nitya, 2023. "Utilization-adjusted TFP across countries: Measurement and implications for international comovement," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    2. John G. Fernald & J. Christina Wang, 2016. "Why Has the Cyclicality of Productivity Changed? What Does It Mean?," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 8(1), pages 465-496, October.
    3. Mark Bils & Yongsung Chang & Sun-Bin Kim, 2022. "How Sticky Wages in Existing Jobs Can Affect Hiring," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 14(1), pages 1-37, January.
    4. Kim, Daisoon, 2021. "Economies of scale and international business cycles," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    5. Christoph Boehm & Nitya Pandalai Nayar, 2018. "Are supply curves convex? Implications for state-dependent responses to shocks," 2018 Meeting Papers 336, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    6. Michalis Nikiforos, 2021. "The Endogeneity-to-Demand of the National Emergency Utilization Rate," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_989, Levy Economics Institute.
    7. Mark Bils & Peter J. Klenow & Benjamin A. Malin, 2013. "Testing for Keynesian Labor Demand," NBER Macroeconomics Annual, University of Chicago Press, vol. 27(1), pages 311-349.
    8. Pablo Ottonello, 2015. "Capital Unemployment, Financial Shocks, and Investment Slumps," 2015 Meeting Papers 1153, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    9. Cette Gilbert & Lecat Rémy & Ahmed Jiddou Ahmed Ould, 2016. "How do firms adjust production factors to the cycle?," The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics, De Gruyter, vol. 16(2), pages 361-394, June.
    10. Santiago J. Gahn, 2020. "Is there a decreasing trend in capacity utilisation in the US economy? Some new evidence," Working Papers PKWP2006, Post Keynesian Economics Society (PKES).
    11. Josh Martin & Kyle Jones, 2023. "An Occupation and Asset-Driven Approach to Capital Utilization Adjustment in Productivity Statistics," NBER Chapters, in: Technology, Productivity, and Economic Growth, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Woo, Jinhee, 2020. "Do news shocks increase capital utilization?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 128-137.
    13. Michalis Nikiforos, 2021. "Notes on the accumulation and utilization of capital: Some empirical issues," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 72(4), pages 679-695, November.
    14. Michalis Nikiforos, 2019. "On the "Utilization Controversy": A Rejoinder and Some Comments," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_940, Levy Economics Institute.
    15. Michalis Nikiforos, 2020. "Notes on the Accumulation and Utilization of Capital: Some Empirical Issues," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_953, Levy Economics Institute.
    16. Villa Stefania, 2012. "Capital Utilization and the Amplification Mechanism," The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics, De Gruyter, vol. 12(1), pages 1-22, September.
    17. Josh Martin & Kyle Jones, 2022. "An Occupation and Asset Driven Approach to Capital Utilisation Adjustment in Productivity Statistics," Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence (ESCoE) Discussion Papers ESCoE DP-2022-11, Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence (ESCoE).
    18. Christopher J. Nekarda & Valerie A. Ramey, 2020. "The Cyclical Behavior of the Price‐Cost Markup," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 52(S2), pages 319-353, December.

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