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Testing the Production Approach to Markup Estimation

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  • Devesh Raval

Abstract

Under the production approach to markup estimation, any flexible input should recover the markup. I test this implication using manufacturing datasets from Chile, Colombia, India, Indonesia, the U.S., and Southern Europe, as well as store-level data from a major U.S. retailer, and overwhelmingly reject that markups estimated using labour and materials have the same distribution. For every dataset, markups estimated using labour are negatively correlated with markups estimated using materials, exhibit greater dispersion, and have opposite time trends. I continue to find stark differences in markups estimated using energy and non-energy raw materials. Non-neutral productivity differences across firms can explain these findings.

Suggested Citation

  • Devesh Raval, 2023. "Testing the Production Approach to Markup Estimation," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 90(5), pages 2592-2611.
  • Handle: RePEc:oup:restud:v:90:y:2023:i:5:p:2592-2611.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/restud/rdad002
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Traina, James, 2018. "Is Aggregate Market Power Increasing? Production Trends Using Financial Statements," Working Papers 272, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, George J. Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State.
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    3. Jaumandreu, Jordi & Doraszelski, Ulrich, 2019. "Using Cost Minimization to Estimate Markups," CEPR Discussion Papers 14114, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
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    Cited by:

    1. Mertens, Matthias, 2023. "Labor Market Power and Between-Firm Wage (In)Equality," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    2. Diane Coyle & John McHale & Ioannis Bournakis & Jen-Chung Mei, 2024. "Converging to Mediocrity: Trends in Firm-Level Markups in the United Kingdom 2008-2019," Working Papers 047, The Productivity Institute.
    3. Jordi Jaumandreu & Rigoberto Lopez, 2024. "Markups in US food manufacturing accounting for non‐neutral productivity," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 75(2), pages 573-591, June.
    4. Chen,Kuang-hui & Hashiguchi,Yoshihiro, 2024. "A Nonparametric Production Approach to Markup Estimation," IDE Discussion Papers 931, Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization(JETRO).
    5. Brummund, Peter & Makowsky, Michael D., 2024. "Monopsony and Local Religious Clubs: Evidence from Indonesia," IZA Discussion Papers 16999, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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