Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/2445/224742
Sectoral markups, factor substitution and factor-augmenting technical progress
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We measure sectoral price markups, elasticities of substitution between capital and labor, and rates of factor-augmenting technical change in the United States from 1947 to 2010. Our approach utilizes the user cost of capital to decompose firms' operating surplus into capital payments and profits, enabling a direct computation of sectoral price markups. The results reveal that these markups are time-varying and exhibit a positive trend since 1980 in both manufacturing and services, mirroring the observed behavior of markups in the aggregate economy. Additionally, we estimate the elasticities of substitution and the rates of technical progress for each sector. We find that the estimated values of these technological parameters vary significantly depending on the assumption regarding the market structure of sectoral goods: perfect or imperfect competition.
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ALONSO CARRERA, Jaime, FREIRE SERÉN, María Jesús and RAURICH, Xavier. Sectoral markups, factor substitution and factor-augmenting technical progress. UB Economics – Working Papers. 2025 E25/483. [consulted: 16 of August of 2026]. Available at: https://hdl.handle.net/2445/224742