Search Theory and the Manufacturing Progress Function
用随机搜索理论解释制造进步函数，发现单位成本与累计产出呈幂函数关系，并解释了初期改进慢、最终成本下降停止等现象，对研究生产效率和技术进步的学者有用。
A theory based upon random search within a fixed population of technological possibilities is used to explain the manufacturing progress function. The theory is consistent with the power function relation between unit costs and cumulative output that has frequently been observed. It is also consistent with initial rates of improvement smaller than those predicted later by the power function relation, the eventual cessation of cost reduction, and an irregularity of improvements. Existing theories in the literature either fail to agree with the main empirical phenomena or else assume precisely what they attempt to explain.