The structure of production, technological change, and the rate of growth of total factor productivity: A case study of Southern California Edison Company, Inc

Thesis/Dissertation · Sun Dec 31 23:00:00 EST 1989

OSTI ID:5367786

Boothe, J A

There is increasing concern over the growth in productivity in today's economy. This concern is of the utmost importance among state utility commissions charged with scrutinizing the costs of firms under their jurisdiction. Coupled with this concern is the realization that many of the industries under their jurisdiction are facing, and will continue to face in the future, increasing levels of competition. This study addresses the dual concerns of (1) analyzing productivity growth for a regulated firm, and (2) doing so in a manner which allows the management of the firm to control the implementation of cost savings due to growth in productivity. This study develops an econometrically based cost model to examine the question of productivity growth. The theoretical transcendental logarithmic (translog) cost model is developed to examine the structure of production for a California regulated electric utility, Southern California Edison Company. The empirical results indicate that Edison's cost structure is well approximated by the translog specification.

• Research Organization: California Univ., Santa Barbara, CA (United States)
• OSTI ID: 5367786
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
290200* -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Economics & Sociology
296000 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Electric Power
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
ECONOMY
ELECTRIC UTILITIES
NORTH AMERICA
PRICING REGULATIONS
PRODUCTIVITY
PUBLIC UTILITIES
REGULATIONS
TECHNOLOGY IMPACTS
USA