Estimates of the Returns to Scale for US Manufacturing

This paper derives estimates of the degree of the returns to scale for 2-digit US manufacturing industries using the cost-based primal and dual equations implied by firms' cost-minimization problem. The purpose is to reconcile the cyclical behavior of the primal and dual productivity residuals by allowing for increasing returns and imperfect competition. We find significant differences in estimates fomr the primal and dual equations, the latter implying the presence of a larger degree of the returns to scale, especially for non-durable goods industries.