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Is firm growth proportional? An appraisal of firm size distribution

Author

Listed:
  • Francesca Lotti

    (Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies - Pisa, Italy)

  • Enrico Santarelli

    (Economics Department, University of Bologna)

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to shed light on the phenomenon of firm growth, analyzing the evolution of young firms within some selected industries. We find that the firm size distribution is fairly skewed to the right during the infancy stage, whereas it converges towards a more symmetric distribution, via selection mechanisms, with the passing of time.

Suggested Citation

  • Francesca Lotti & Enrico Santarelli, 2001. "Is firm growth proportional? An appraisal of firm size distribution," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 12(6), pages 1-7.
    • Handle: RePEc:ebl:ecbull:eb-01l10006
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. John Sutton, 1997. "Gibrat's Legacy," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 35(1), pages 40-59, March.
    2. Stephen Hymer & Peter Pashigian, 1962. "Firm Size and Rate of Growth," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 70, pages 556-556.
    3. Peter Hart & Nicholas Oulton, 1999. "Gibrat, Galton and Job Generation," International Journal of the Economics of Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(2), pages 149-164.
    4. Ijiri, Yuji & Simon, Herbert A, 1974. "Interpretations of Departures from the Pareto Curve Firm-Size Distributions," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 82(2), pages 315-331, Part I, M.
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    6. Boeri, Tito & Bellmann, Lutz, 1995. "Post-entry behaviour and the cycle: Evidence from Germany," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 13(4), pages 483-500, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Alex Coad, 2007. "Firm Growth: a Survey," Post-Print halshs-00155762, HAL.
    2. Peter Huber & Michael Pfaffermayr, 2007. "The Anatomy of the Firm Size Distribution: The Evolution of its Variance and Skewness," WIFO Working Papers 295, WIFO.
    3. Peter Huber & Michael Pfaffermayr, 2010. "Testing for Conditional Convergence in Variance and Skewness: The Firm Size Distribution Revisited," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 72(5), pages 648-668, October.
    4. Aziza Garsaa & Nadine Levratto, 2015. "Do labor tax rebates facilitate firm growth? An empirical study on French establishments in the manufacturing industry, 2004–2011," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 45(3), pages 613-641, October.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • L1 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance
    • L6 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Manufacturing

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