This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

Stability and Turbulence in the Size Distribution of Firms: Evidence from Dutch Manufacturing

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Orietta Marsili
Abstract

This paper examines the shape of the firm size distribution over time and across sectors, using a longitudinal data set of manufacturing firms in the Netherlands in 1978--1998. Although the size distribution is highly skewed and resembles the Pareto law, a variety of patterns emerge across sectors, with the lognormal providing a better fit in some sectors. The size distribution and the underlying firm dynamics evolve over time. In the long term, the distribution has become less skewed and thinner at the tails, the slope of the Pareto law has declined, and mobility of firms at the lower tail has increased. In addition, the slope of the Pareto law tends to become steeper in correspondence with an economic recession, with peaks of mobility of firms at different size classes.

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://taylorandfrancis.metapress.com/link.asp?target=contribution&id=K8453650396TM01N
File Format: text/html
File Function:
Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version under "Related research" (further below) or search for a different version of it.

Publisher Info
Article provided by Taylor and Francis Journals in its journal International Review of Applied Economics.

Volume (Year): 20 (2006)
Issue (Month): 2 (April)
Pages: 255-272
Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Handle: RePEc:taf:irapec:v:20:y:2006:i:2:p:255-272

Contact details of provider:
Web page: http://taylorandfrancis.metapress.com/link.asp?target=journal&id=102219

Order Information:
Web: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/subscription.html

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (Christopher F. Baum).

Related research
Keywords: Size distribution; Zipf plot; market turbulence; Pareto law;

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:

  1. Henrekson, M. & Johansson, D., 1998. "Institutional Effects on the Evolution of the Size Distribution of Firms," Research Institute of Industrial Economics Working Papers 497, Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN).
    Other versions:
  2. F. M. Scherer & Dietmar Harhoff & J, rg Kukies, 2000. "Uncertainty and the size distribution of rewards from innovation," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 10(1), pages 175-200. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Eaton, Jonathan & Eckstein, Zvi, 1997. "Cities and growth: Theory and evidence from France and Japan," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(4-5), pages 443-474, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  4. Ijiri, Yuji & Simon, Herbert A, 1971. "Effects of Mergers and Acquisitions on Business Firm Concentration," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 79(2), pages 314-22, March-Apr. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Danny Quah, 1992. "Empirical cross-section dynamics in economic growth," Discussion Paper / Institute for Empirical Macroeconomics 75, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  6. Toke Reichstein & Morten Berg Jensen, 2003. "Analyzing the Distributions of the Stochastic Firm Growth Approach," DRUID Working Papers 03-12, DRUID, Copenhagen Business School, Department of Industrial Economics and Strategy/Aalborg University, Department of Business Studies. [Downloadable!]
  7. Scherer, F. M. & Harhoff, Dietmar, 2000. "Technology policy for a world of skew-distributed outcomes," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(4-5), pages 559-566, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Geroski, Paul A, 1999. "The Growth of Firms in Theory and in Practice," CEPR Discussion Papers 2092, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Hall, Bronwyn H, 1987. "The Relationship between Firm Size and Firm Growth in the U.S. Manufacturing Sector," Journal of Industrial Economics, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 35(4), pages 583-606, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  10. Brock, W A, 1999. "Scaling in Economics: A Reader's Guide," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press, vol. 8(3), pages 409-46, September.
  11. Krugman, Paul, 1995. "Innovation and agglomeration: Two parables suggested by city-size distributions," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 7(4), pages 371-390, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Dosi, Giovanni, et al, 1995. " Learning, Market Selection and the Evolution of Industrial Structures," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 7(6), pages 411-36, December.
  13. 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 315-31, Part I, M. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. repec:cup:cbooks:9780521465618 is not listed on IDEAS
  15. Giulio Bottazzi & Giovanni Dosi & Marco Lippi & Fabio Pammolli & Massimo Riccaboni, 2001. "Innovation and Corporate Growth in the Evolution of the Drug Industry," LEM Papers Series 2001/02, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  16. Jose A. F. Machado & Jose Mata, 2000. "Box-Cox quantile regression and the distribution of firm sizes," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 15(3), pages 253-274. [Downloadable!]
Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Moscarini, Giuseppe & Postel-Vinay, Fabien, 2009. "Large Employers Are More Cyclically Sensitive," IZA Discussion Papers 4014, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? There are NEP reports in over 80 fields that deliver new research to your email.

This page was last updated on 2009-11-14.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.