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Understanding the Variations in Gibrat's Law with a Markov-Perfect Dynamic Industry Model

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  • Ana Sofia Domingues Rodrigues
  • Christopher A. Laincz

Abstract

Gibrat's Law of proportionate effect, as applied to firms, states that the growth rate of a firm is independent of its size. Empirical work on firm dynamics finds crucial deviations from Gibrat's Law such as smaller firms growing faster than larger firms (Evans, 1987, and Hall, 1987), a negative relationship between the variance of growth rates and size (Dunne and Hughes, 1994), and first-order positive autocorrelation in the growth rates (Kumar, 1995). Moreover, the degree of deviation from Gibrat's Law varies across industries. This paper contributes to our understanding of the forces that make Gibrat's Law a close, but imperfect approximation of firm size distributions and seeks to determine potential sources of cross-industry variation. Here, we employ an extension of the Ericson-Pakes (1995) theoretical framework that allows for firm growth developed by Laincz (2004a). By varying key parameters, the simulations demonstrate potential sources for the various, and sometimes conflicting, results on Gibrat's Law uncovered in the empirical literature

Suggested Citation

  • Ana Sofia Domingues Rodrigues & Christopher A. Laincz, 2004. "Understanding the Variations in Gibrat's Law with a Markov-Perfect Dynamic Industry Model," Computing in Economics and Finance 2004 173, Society for Computational Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:sce:scecf4:173
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Evans, David S, 1987. "The Relationship between Firm Growth, Size, and Age: Estimates for 100 Manufacturing Industries," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(4), pages 567-581, June.
    2. John Sutton, 1997. "Gibrat's Legacy," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 35(1), pages 40-59, March.
    3. Francesca Lotti & Enrico Santarelli, 2004. "Industry Dynamics and the Distribution of Firm Sizes: A Nonparametric Approach," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 70(3), pages 443-466, January.
    4. Richard Ericson & Ariel Pakes, 1995. "Markov-Perfect Industry Dynamics: A Framework for Empirical Work," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 62(1), pages 53-82.
    5. Jovanovic, Boyan, 1982. "Selection and the Evolution of Industry," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 50(3), pages 649-670, May.
    6. D.B. Audretsch & L. Klomp & E. Santarelli & A.R. Thurik, 2004. "Gibrat's Law: Are the Services Different?," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 24(3), pages 301-324, May.
    7. McCloughan, Patrick, 1995. "Simulation of Concentration Development from Modified Gibrat Growth-Entry-Exit Processes," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(4), pages 405-433, December.
    8. Mansfield, Edwin, 1985. "How Rapidly Does New Industrial Technology Leak Out?," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(2), pages 217-223, December.
    9. Hart, Peter E & Oulton, Nicholas, 1996. "Growth and Size of Firms," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 106(438), pages 1242-1252, September.
    10. Mansfield, Edwin & Schwartz, Mark & Wagner, Samuel, 1981. "Imitation Costs and Patents: An Empirical Study," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 91(364), pages 907-918, December.
    11. 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.
    12. Laincz, Christopher A., 2005. "Market structure and endogenous productivity growth: how do R&D subsidies affect market structure?," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 29(1-2), pages 187-223, January.
    13. Hall, Bronwyn H, 1987. "The Relationship between Firm Size and Firm Growth in the U.S. Manufacturing Sector," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(4), pages 583-606, June.
    14. Francesca Lotti & Enrico Santarelli, 2004. "Industry Dynamics and the Distribution of Firm Sizes: A Nonparametric Approach," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 70(3), pages 443-466, January.
    15. Kumar, M S, 1985. "Growth, Acquisition Activity and Firm Size: Evidence from the United Kingdom," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(3), pages 327-338, March.
    16. repec:nsr:niesrd:77 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Ajit Singh & Geoffrey Whittington, 1975. "The Size and Growth of Firms," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 42(1), pages 15-26.
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    Cited by:

    1. Kontsevoy, Denis, 2013. "Empirical analysis of Russian commercial banks growth dynamics," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 29(1), pages 67-81.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Gibrat's Law; Firm Size Distribution; Entry; Exit;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms
    • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets

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