Learning is often perceived as a cost-reducing endogenous by-product of production processes. In many applications this by-product is modeled as a learning curve; that is, a simple function of time or of cumulative production experience. In an earlier paper we presented an alternative explanation...

In this paper the problems of using aggregate monthly data to estimate learning curves are investigated. Here, aggregate monthly data on labor hours are assumed to contain some of both fixed and variable labor hours. They are also assumed to be influenced by fluctuating quantities of work in...

This paper deals with a model of the firm engaged in production to order. Models of this situation frequently conclude that the size of the order and production rate each influence the costs of production. Despite this fact, empirical work on production costs focus almost exclusively on either...