Behind the Learning Curve: A Sketch of the Learning Process

This exploratory paper sketches some of the behavioral processes that give rise to the learning curve. Using data from two manufacturing departments in an electronic equipment company, we construct a model of productivity improvement as a function of cumulative output and two managerial variables—engineering changes and workforce training. Exploration of this model highlights the complex relationship between first-order and second-order learning.

• 저널Management Science · 37(3) · 267–281
• 토픽Labor market dynamics and wage inequality · Economics and Econometrics
• DOI10.1287/mnsc.37.3.267
• 저자Patrick Adler, Kim B. Clark