This paper presents a quantitative model of productivity dispersion to explain why inefficient producers are slowly selected out of the ready-mix concrete industry. Measured productivity dispersion between the 10th and 90th percentile falls from a 4 to 1 difference using OLS, to a 2 to 1...

Fluctuations in demand cause some plants to exit a market and other to enter.Would eliminating these fluctuations reduce plant turnover? A structural model of entry and exit in concentrated markets is estimatedfor the ready-mix concrete industry, using plant level data from the U.S. Census. The...