Production Function Estimation: Reviving the Primal
指出基于对偶性的生产函数估计未充分利用信息，导致统计效率损失，并建议改进现有估计方法。适合关注生产函数估计方法的计量经济学研究者。
MUCH OF THE DISCUSSION ON THE ESTIMATION of production functions is related to the fact that inputs may be endogenous and therefore direct estimators of the production functions may be inconsistent. One way to overcome this problem has been to apply the concept of duality. The purpose of this note is to point out that estimates based on duality, unlike direct estimators of the production function, do not utilize all the available information and therefore are statistically inefficient and the loss in efficiency may be sizeable. Examination of the sources of input variability suggests generalizations of currently used estimators. A SIMPLE MODEL Duality theory is a microtheory and as such its empirical implications are related to firm, rather than market, data. Our discussion is conducted within this framework and we ignore further complications that arise from the use of aggregate market data. The conceptual problems in the choice of estimators can be presented in terms of a well known simple model. Whatever other virtues more complex models possess, the problems discussed here are not resolved by the added complexity. Let the production function be