ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that variations in productivity must be understood in terms of the power that producers have to set prices as well. It provides the conceptual apparatus necessary for understanding industry level variations in productivity as value produced. Ronald Burt's work has suggested that corporate profits are constrained not only by the degree of product market concentration but also by the degree of concentration a firm faces among its consumers. The "structural power" of an industry conceptualized as the degree of dependence of other industries, and the society in general, upon its output, and the concentration of commodity and consumer markets, should both effect the actual value earned by the firm for the products it sells. The "structural power" of an industry in terms of all interindustry activity in the economy was the second best predictor of variations in manufacturing productivity in the final model. Productivity will be measured as total value added divided by full-time equivalent employees.
