Imperfect Competition and Total Factor Productivity Growth in U.S. Food Processing

This article examines the role of imperfect competition in determining total factor productivity growth (TFPG) by bringing together a New Empirical Industrial Organization (NEIO) model and the TFPG model of Nadiri and Mamuneas (1998). Applying the integrated model to 1973-92 data from 29 food processing industries revealed that changes in markups, economies of scale, and demand growth contributed positively to TFPG while the disembodied technical change was a negative contributor. Furthermore, the TFPG estimates are starkly different from the conventional (Solow's residual) TFPG measures, underscoring the need to account for imperfect competition, returns to scale, and demand in analyses of this type.