| dc.contributor.advisor |
Cooper, Russell W., 1955- |
| dc.creator |
Nguyen, Thang Quang, 1977-
|
| dc.date.accessioned |
2008-08-28T23:44:51Z |
| dc.date.available |
2008-08-28T23:44:51Z |
| dc.date.created |
2007 |
| dc.date.issued |
2008-08-28T23:44:51Z |
| dc.identifier.uri |
http://hdl.handle.net/2152/3389 |
| dc.description.abstract |
The dissertation has three main chapters on product quality innovation. First, we compare innovation effort and social welfare between monopoly, duopoly, and the social planner in a dynamic model with quality dependent on a continuous know-how stock. The technology frontier--the largest reachable know-how socks--does not always positively depend on competitiveness, i.e. a duopoly may technologically surpass the social planner. However, social welfare is always positively tied to competitiveness. Second, with a general equilibrium model, we derive a relative price function expressing productivity and quality effects, and develop a method for inferring relative quality changes. An application to services versus goods of the US from 1946-2006 provides evidence on aggregate quality changes and suggests us to incorporate quality variations when explaining relative prices. Third, we build a two-product model where productivity changes lead to reallocations of labor between quantity production and quality innovation. The correlation between relative productivity and relative quality is negative for low-range substitutability and positive for medium-range substitutability between two products. Looking at services versus goods of the US, the correlation is negative and productivity-driven quality can play a significant role in general quality development. |
| dc.format.medium |
electronic |
| dc.language.iso |
eng |
| dc.rights |
Copyright © is held by the author. Presentation of this material on
the Libraries' web site by University Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin was made
possible under a limited license grant from the author who has retained all copyrights in
the works. |
| dc.subject.lcsh |
Quality of products--Econometric models
|
| dc.subject.lcsh |
Quality control--Econometric models
|
| dc.subject.lcsh |
Competition--Econometric models
|
| dc.subject.lcsh |
Pricing--United States--Econometric models
|
| dc.subject.lcsh |
Industrial productivity--United States--Econometric models
|
| dc.subject.lcsh |
Service industries--United States--Econometric models
|
| dc.title |
Quality innovation: driving forces and implications for production, trade, and consumption |
| dc.description.department |
Economics
|
| dc.identifier.oclc |
180268750 |
| dc.identifier.recnum |
b6927096x |
| dc.type.genre |
Thesis |
| dc.type.material |
text |
| thesis.degree.department |
Economics
|
| thesis.degree.discipline |
Economics |
| thesis.degree.grantor |
The University of Texas at Austin |
| thesis.degree.level |
Doctoral |
| thesis.degree.name |
Doctor of Philosophy |
