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An Assessment of CES and Cobb-Douglas Production Functions: Working Paper 2008-05

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  • Eric Miller

Abstract

This paper surveys the empirical and theoretical literature on macroeconomic production functions and assesses whether the constant elasticity of substitution (CES) or the Cobb-Douglas specification is more appropriate for use in the CBO’s macroeconomic forecasts. The Cobb-Douglas’s major strengths are its ease of use and its seemingly good empirical fit across many data sets. Unfortunately, the Cobb-Douglas still fits the data well in cases where some of its fundamental assumptions are violated. This suggests that many empirical tests of the Cobb-Douglas are picking up a

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  • Eric Miller, 2008. "An Assessment of CES and Cobb-Douglas Production Functions: Working Paper 2008-05," Working Papers 19992, Congressional Budget Office.
    • Handle: RePEc:cbo:wpaper:19992
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    File URL: https://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/110th-congress-2007-2008/workingpaper/2008-05_0.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    5. Weshah Razzak & Elmostafa Bentour, 2012. "Do Developing Countries Benefit from Foreign Direct Investments?," EERI Research Paper Series EERI_RP_2012_07, Economics and Econometrics Research Institute (EERI), Brussels.
    6. Alessandro Mistretta & Francesco Zollino, 0. "Recent Trends in Economic Activity and TFP in Italy with a Focus on Embodied Technical Progress," Italian Economic Journal: A Continuation of Rivista Italiana degli Economisti and Giornale degli Economisti, Springer;Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association), vol. 0, pages 1-29.
    7. Nguyen Ngoc Thach, 2020. "How to Explain When the ES Is Lower Than One? A Bayesian Nonlinear Mixed-Effects Approach," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-17, February.
    8. Matthew K. Heun & João Santos & Paul E. Brockway & Randall Pruim & Tiago Domingos & Marco Sakai, 2017. "From Theory to Econometrics to Energy Policy: Cautionary Tales for Policymaking Using Aggregate Production Functions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-44, February.
    9. Muuz Hadush, 2017. "Implication of Animal Feed and Water Scarcity on Labor Allocation, Food Production and Per Capita Food Consumption in Tigrai Region, Ethiopia," Journal of Economic Development, Chung-Ang Unviersity, Department of Economics, vol. 42(4), pages 59-93, December.
    10. Nguyen Ngoc Thach, 2020. "Macroeconomic Growth in Vietnam Transitioned to Market: An Unrestricted VES Framework," Economies, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-15, July.
    11. Shahiduzzaman, Md. & Alam, Khorshed, 2014. "Information technology and its changing roles to economic growth and productivity in Australia," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 125-135.
    12. Matei, Ani & Matei, Lucica, 2011. "Knowledge marketing and development in the new knowledge-based economy," MPRA Paper 31474, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 10 Jun 2011.
    13. Briones Mendoza, Xavier Fernando & Molero Oliva, Leobaldo Enrique & Calderón Zamora, Oscar Xavier, 2018. "La función de producción Cobb-Douglas en el Ecuador," Revista Tendencias, Universidad de Narino, vol. 19(2), pages 45-73, July.
    14. Paul E. Brockway & Harry Saunders & Matthew K. Heun & Timothy J. Foxon & Julia K. Steinberger & John R. Barrett & Steve Sorrell, 2017. "Energy Rebound as a Potential Threat to a Low-Carbon Future: Findings from a New Exergy-Based National-Level Rebound Approach," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-24, January.
    15. Mr. Bas B. Bakker, 2015. "Employment and the Great Recession: The Role of Real Wages," IMF Working Papers 2015/229, International Monetary Fund.
    16. Paul E. Brockway & Matthew K. Heun & João Santos & John R. Barrett, 2017. "Energy-Extended CES Aggregate Production: Current Aspects of Their Specification and Econometric Estimation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-23, February.
    17. Lumengo Bonga‐bonga, 2009. "The South African Aggregate Production Function: Estimation Of The Constant Elasticity Of Substitution Function," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 77(2), pages 332-349, June.
    18. Małgorzata Gawrycka & Aneta Sobiechowska-Ziegert & Anna Szymczak, 2012. "The Impact of Technological and Structural Changes in the National Economy on the Labour-Capital Relations," Contemporary Economics, University of Economics and Human Sciences in Warsaw., vol. 6(1), March.
    19. Bittencourt, Mauricio Vaz Lobo & Sampaio, Armando Vaz, 2011. "Are Dual and Primal Estimations Equivalent in the Presence of Stochastic Errors in Input Demand?," Brazilian Review of Econometrics, Sociedade Brasileira de Econometria - SBE, vol. 31(2), December.
    20. Deniz GÜVERCİN, 2018. "Scale and Elasticity Properties of Turkish Agricultural Production Function: Political Economy Approach," Sosyoekonomi Journal, Sosyoekonomi Society, issue 26(37).
    21. David M. Williams, 2021. "Pay and Productivity in Canada: Growing Together, Only Slower than Ever," International Productivity Monitor, Centre for the Study of Living Standards, vol. 40, pages 3-26, Spring.
    22. Razzak Weshah A. & Bentour El M., 2013. "Do Developing Countries Benefit from Foreign Direct Investments? An Analysis of Some Arab and Asian Countries," Review of Middle East Economics and Finance, De Gruyter, vol. 9(3), pages 357-388, December.
    23. Sergey Baranov & Tatiana Skufina & Vera Samarina, 2023. "Influence of Underutilization of Production Capacities on the Dynamics of Russian GDP: An Assessment on the Basis of Production Functions," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-10, March.
    24. Enrica Di Stefano & Daniela Marconi, 2016. "Structural transformation and allocation efficiency in China and India," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 1093, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.

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