Determinants of Automobile Production: An Empirical Study

Adams, Kyle

Determinants of Automobile Production: An Empirical Study

Persistent URL

http://hdl.handle.net/10456/34182

Author(s)

Adams, Kyle

Date Issued

April 3, 2013

Abstract

Motor vehicles have been produced to move materials and people from one place to another since the 1800’s. As automobile ownership past from being a fad to a necessity in the United States, many people saw their chance to live the “American Dream.” The car was a symbol of freedom; you could simply go anywhere you wanted. This initial fad of individualism caused demand for the automobile to increase. To fulfill this demand, the first assembly line to mass-produce cars was launched by Henry Ford in the early 1900’s with the introduction of the Model-T. To present day US automakers still use Ford’s idea of an assembly line, with a few advances in technology. Annually the automobile industry continues to contribute to GDP and the supply of jobs to citizens. The industry as a whole has seen its ups and its downs in production since its inauguration. In this study I use different economic indicators to measure revenues, costs, technological change, impact of substitutes, and the state of the economy in the United States to measure the value gained due to the Automobile industry.

First Reader(s)

Casler, Stephen