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! ]

Firm Dynamics with Infrequent Adjustment and Learning

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Eugenio Pinto (University of Maryland)
Abstract

Recent empirical findings have emphasized post entry growth of survivors, as opposed to exit of inefficient and small firms, as the main source of growth over time in the average size of a cohort of entering firms. In this paper, as an explanation for the significant growth of survivors, we suggest the interaction of adjustment costs with learning by entering firms about their true efficiency. Initial uncertainty about true profitability makes entering firms prudent since they want to avoid incurring superfluous costs on jobs that prove to be excessive ex post. We propose a decomposition of the change in a cohort’s average size into a survivor component and a selection component. For the 1988 cohort of entrants in the Portuguese economy, we conclude that survivors have the highest contribution to changes in the cohort's average size. However, initial selection is stronger and the survivor’s component is much smaller in Services than in Manufacturing. A calibration of the model suggests that proportional costs and the fixed entry cost are key parameters in matching the evidence on firm dynamics. Firms in Manufacturing learn relatively less initially about their efficiency, and are subject to much larger adjustment costs than firms in Services

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://www.wam.umd.edu/~eugenio/firm.pdf
Our checks indicate that this address may not be valid because: 404 Not Found (http://www.wam.umd.edu/~eugenio/firm.pdf [302 Found]--> http://terpconnect.umd.edu/~eugenio/firm.pdf). If this is indeed the case, please notify (Christopher F. Baum)
File Format: application/pdf
File Function: main text
Download Restriction: no

Publisher Info
Paper provided by Society for Computational Economics in its series Computing in Economics and Finance 2006 with number 467.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Length:
Date of creation: 04 Jul 2006
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:sce:scecfa:467

Contact details of provider:
Email:
Web page: http://comp-econ.org/
More information through EDIRC

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

Related research
Keywords: Adjustment Costs; Learning; Young Firms;

Find related papers by JEL classification:
E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomics: Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution
L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms
L16 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Industrial Organization and Macroeconomics; Macroeconomic Industrial Structure

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

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. Mata, Jose & Portugal, Pedro, 1994. "Life Duration of New Firms," Journal of Industrial Economics, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 42(3), pages 227-45, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Dunne, Timothy & Roberts, Mark J & Samuelson, Larry, 1989. "The Growth and Failure of U.S. Manufacturing Plants," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 104(4), pages 671-98, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  3. Christopher L. Foote, 1998. "Trend Employment Growth And The Bunching Of Job Creation And Destruction," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 113(3), pages 809-834, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  4. Hopenhayn, Hugo & Rogerson, Richard, 1993. "Job Turnover and Policy Evaluation: A General Equilibrium Analysis," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 101(5), pages 915-38, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Tauchen, George, 1986. "Finite state markov-chain approximations to univariate and vector autoregressions," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 177-181. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Boyan Jovanovic & Dmitriy Stolyarov, 2000. "Optimal Adoption of Complementary Technologies," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 90(1), pages 15-29, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  7. Rui Albuquerque & Hugo A. Hopenhayn, 2004. "Optimal Lending Contracts and Firm Dynamics," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 71(2), pages 285-315, 04. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  8. Mata, Jose & Portugal, Pedro & Guimaraes, Paulo, 1995. "The survival of new plants: Start-up conditions and post-entry evolution," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 13(4), pages 459-481, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  9. Daniel S. Hamermesh & Gerard A. Pfann, 1996. "Adjustment Costs in Factor Demand," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 34(3), pages 1264-1292, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  10. Ericson, Richard & Pakes, Ariel, 1995. "Markov-Perfect Industry Dynamics: A Framework for Empirical Work," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 62(1), pages 53-82, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Dunne, Timothy & Roberts, Mark J & Samuelson, Larry, 1989. "Plant Turnover and Gross Employment Flows in the U.S. Manufacturing Sector," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 7(1), pages 48-71, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  12. Jovanovic, Boyan, 1982. "Selection and the Evolution of Industry," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 50(3), pages 649-70, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. Cabral, Luis, 1995. "Sunk Costs, Firm Size and Firm Growth," Journal of Industrial Economics, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 43(2), pages 161-72, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Russell W. Cooper & John C. Haltiwanger, 2000. "On the Nature of Capital Adjustment Costs," NBER Working Papers 7925, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  15. Thomas F. Cooley & Vincenzo Quadrini, 2001. "Financial Markets and Firm Dynamics," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(5), pages 1286-1310, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  16. Davis, Steven J & Haltiwanger, John C, 1992. "Gross Job Creation, Gross Job Destruction, and Employment Reallocation," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 107(3), pages 819-63, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  17. Bee Yan Aw & Xiaomin Chen & Mark J. Roberts, 1997. "Firm-level Evidence on Productivity Differentials, Turnover, and Exports in Taiwanese Manufacturing," NBER Working Papers 6235, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  18. Eric Bartelsman & Stefano Scarpetta & Fabiano Schivardi, 2003. "Comparative Analysis of Firm Demographics and Survival: Micro-Level Evidence for the OECD Countries," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 348, OECD, Economics Department. [Downloadable!]
  19. Russel W. Cooper & John C. Haltiwanger & Jonathan Willis, 2004. "Dynamics of Labor Demand: Evidence from Plant-level Observations and Aggregate Implications," NBER Working Papers 10297, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  20. Hopenhayn, Hugo A, 1992. "Entry, Exit, and Firm Dynamics in Long Run Equilibrium," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 60(5), pages 1127-50, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Full references

Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? Over five million full texts a year are downloaded through IDEAS.

This page was last updated on 2009-11-13.

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.