The Effect of Industrial Structure on Learning by Doing in Nuclear Power Plant Operation

Lester, Richard K.; McCabe, Mark J.

doi:10.2307/2555966

Cited by 88 publications

(55 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Still, this diversity of designs provides a possible technology was evolving rapidly. Still, this diversity of designs provides a possible explanation for the lack of immediate evidence of learning-by-doing (Lester and explanation for the lack of immediate evidence of learning-by-doing (Lester and McCabe 1993). McCabe 1993).…”

Section: Learning-by-doing Learning-by-doingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prospects for Nuclear Power

Davis

2012

Journal of Economic Perspectives

102

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Nuclear power has long been controversial because of concerns about nuclear accidents, storage of spent fuel, and how the spread of nuclear power might raise risks of the proliferation of nuclear weapons. These concerns are real and important. However, emphasizing these concerns implicitly suggests that unless these issues are taken into account, nuclear power would otherwise be cost effective compared to other forms of electricity generation. This implication is unwarranted. Throughout the history of nuclear power, a key challenge has been the high cost of construction for nuclear plants. Construction costs are high enough that it becomes difficult to make an economic argument for nuclear even before incorporating these external factors. This is particularly true in countries like the United States where recent technological advances have dramatically increased the availability of natural gas. The chairman of one of the largest U.S. nuclear companies recently said that his company would not break ground on a new nuclear plant until the price of natural gas was more than double today's level and carbon emissions cost $25 per ton. This comment summarizes the current economics of nuclear power pretty well. Yes, there is a certain confluence of factors that could make nuclear power a viable economic option. Otherwise, a nuclear power renaissance seems unlikely.

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Section: Learning-by-doing Learning-by-doingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prospects for Nuclear Power

Davis

2012

Journal of Economic Perspectives

102

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“…Experience is typically represented as total cumulative production, but the scope of experience may encompass a plant, a firm (or subset thereof), a collection of empirical studies e.g. (Irwin and Klenow 1994), Jarmin 1994), Jarmin 1996), and including those ofthe electric sector, Zimmennan (1982), Joskow and Rose (1985), and Lester and McCabe (1993).…”

Section: Learning Curve Fundamentalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimates of Learning by Doing in the Manufacture of Electric Power Gas Turbines

Boyd

2002

Energy Studies Review

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This paper investigates LBO in prices and heat rates of gas turbines. We test whether the LBO spills over from production experience with smaller units. Progress ratios range from 0.83 to 0.95 for price and 0.89 to 0.94 for the heat rate. We do not find that learning spills over from the smaller size class. Since lower heat rates have an upward effect on price, the two learning effects offset one another so that the reduced form of experience on price is not significantly different from zero. The net result is that LBO has a large effect, but does not result in lower prices per se. The effects of cumulative experience are simultaneous increases in the performance, which tends to increase the value hence the price, and reductions in production costs, which allow the better unit to be sold for roughly the same price as the newer unit. ABSTRACTThis paper investigates LBO in prices and heat rates of gas turbines. We test whether the LBO spills over from production experience with smaller units. Progress ratios range from 0.83 to 0.95 for price and 0.89 to 0.94 for the heat rate. We do not find that learning spills over from the smaller size class. Since lower heat rates have an upward effect on price, the two learning effects offset one another so that the reduced form of experience on price is not significantly different from zero. The net result is that LBO has a large effect, but does not result in lower prices per se. The effects of cumulative experience are simultaneous increases in the performance, which tends to increase the value hence the price, and reductions in production costs, which allow the better unit to be sold for roughly the same price as the newer unit.

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“…One likely source might be the makers of other, closely related car models. Prior research, after all, has found that knowledge transfer occurs within similar categories of nuclear power plants (Lester and McCabe 1993), pharmaceutical research programs (Henderson and Cockburn 1996), and semiconductors (Udayagiri and Balakrishnan 1993). In the automobile industry, the opportunity to share similar information and technology could potentially occur among car models within the same product ''family,'' called a vehicle platform.…”

Section: Hypothesis 2 Quality Improvement During the Average Car Modmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organizational Learning and the Transfer of Knowledge: an Investigation of Quality Improvement.

Levin

1997

AMPROC

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Whereas most prior research on the learning curve has focused on improvements in efficiency, this paper deals with the impact of learning on product quality. The key data are measures of automobile reliability published in Consumer Reports. Analysis yields three findings: (1) Quality improves over the production life of a car model with the same kind of regularity as an efficiency learning curve. Thus, there is a quality learning curve.(2) Unlike in the efficiency domain, however, learning in the domain of product reliability is primarily a function of time, and not of how many cars have gone down the assembly line. Thus, quality depends not on the accumulation of production experience per se, but on the intensity of ''off-line'' quality improvement activities and on the transfer of knowledge from the general environment over time. (3) In contrast to the traditional injunction, ''do not buy a new car in its first year of production,'' the opposite advice actually seems to apply: In any given year, the newest car models have the best quality. That is, new car-model designs typically include significant quality improvements that are more than enough to outweigh any disruption created in manufacturing by the new model's introduction and that even surpass the incremental improvements made to older, existing car models.

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The Effect of Industrial Structure on Learning by Doing in Nuclear Power Plant Operation

Cited by 88 publications

References 16 publications

Prospects for Nuclear Power

Prospects for Nuclear Power

Estimates of Learning by Doing in the Manufacture of Electric Power Gas Turbines

Organizational Learning and the Transfer of Knowledge: an Investigation of Quality Improvement.

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