Comparative productivity of Japanese and U.S. steel producers, 1958±1993

Using historical, ®rm-level data, this study compares the productivity of Japanese and U.S. integrated steel producers. In recent decades Japanese producers have demonstrated higher labor productivity than their U.S. counterparts, due largely to higher investment. Calculations of multifactor productivity suggest that the American ®rms, nevertheless, maintain a small advantage in overall ef®ciency. One implication is that steel producers in Japan may have invested too heavily in capital equipment, while American companies invested too little. In both countries, productivity differences among integrated steel producers appear small relative to those found among auto manufacturers. # 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. JEL classi®cation: D24; L61