We use data from a sample of day care centers to estimate the relationships between cost and the quality of the child care service provided, and between revenue and quality. We use a measure of child care quality derived from an instrument designed by developmental psychologists. This measure of...

This paper provides a statistical test to assess the adequacy of static equilibrium models. The test is based on a restricted cost function framework together with the envelope conditions which characterize static equilibrium for the quasi-fixed factors. We also show how restricted cost function...

We formulate a variable cost function model in which certain inputs are treated as quasi-fixed, and develop a simple statistical test of whether optimization occurs for the quasi-fixed inputs. It is shown how to retrieve characteristics of the long-run cost function from the variable cost...

We propose a new measure of the cost of information structures in rational inattention problems, the "neighborhood-based" cost functions, given that many applications involve states with a topological structure. These cost functions summarize the results of a sequential information sampling...

This paper presents several techniques for recovering cost function estimates for electricity generation from a model of optimal bidding behavior in a competitive electricity market. Two techniques are developed based on different models of the price-setting process in a competitive electricity...

This paper focuses on how changes in the economic and regulatory environment have affected production costs and product characteristics in the automobile industry. We estimate cost functions characteristics. Then we examine how this cost surface has changed over time and how these changes relate...

Using a newly compiled data set, this paper provides insights into the characteristics of the child care industry. First, there is no difference in average quality of the services produced between nonprofit and for-profit centers. This indicates that nonprofit status cannot be taken as a signal...

Using a newly compiled data set, this paper estimates multi- product translog cost functions for 399 child care centers from California, Colorado, Connecticut, and North Carolina. Quality of child care is controlled by a quality index, which has been shown to be positively related to child...

One of the fundamental facts of the environment hospitals face is uncertainty over demand for their services. This uncertainty leads hospitals to hold excess standby capacity to avoid turning away patients. In this paper we reformulate the theory of cost and production to take account of this...