Learning by Necessity: Government Demand, Capacity Constraints, and Productivity Growth
研究了企业在面临产能约束时如何适应需求冲击，发现政府购买增加会提高生产线层面的全要素生产率，且生产率提升集中在产能约束更紧的工厂，作者称之为“必要之学习”。
This paper studies how firms adapt to demand shocks when facing capacity constraints. I show that increases in government purchases raise total factor productivity in quantity units at the production line level. Productivity gains are concentrated in plants facing tighter capacity constraints, a phenomenon I call “learning by necessity.” Evidence is based on newly digitized archival data on US World War II aircraft production. Shifts in demand across aircraft with different strategic roles provide an instrument for aircraft demand. I show that plants adapted to surging demand by improving production methods, outsourcing, and combating absenteeism, primarily when facing tighter capacity constraints.