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The Industry Life-Cycle of the Size Distribution of Firms

Author

Listed:
  • Emin Dinlersoz

    (Census Bureau)

  • Glenn MacDonald

    (Wahington University)

Abstract

This paper analyzes the evolution of the distributions of output and employment across firms in U.S. manufacturing industries from 1963 until 1997. The firm size distribution changes significantly as an industry goes through stages of its life-cycle. The evolutions of the employment and output distributions also differ significantly, but display strong inter-industry regularities, including that the nature of the evolution depends on whether the industry is experiencing growth, shakeout, maturity, or decline. The observed patterns have implications for theories of industry dynamics and evolution. (Copyright: Elsevier)

Suggested Citation

  • Emin Dinlersoz & Glenn MacDonald, 2009. "The Industry Life-Cycle of the Size Distribution of Firms," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 12(4), pages 648-667, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:red:issued:07-107
    DOI: 10.1016/j.red.2009.01.001
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. repec:eee:transa:v:106:y:2017:i:c:p:1-11 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Bos Jaap W.B. & Stam Erik, 2011. "Gazelles, Industry Growth and Structural Change," Research Memorandum 018, Maastricht University, Maastricht Research School of Economics of Technology and Organization (METEOR).
    3. Nicholas Argyres & Lyda Bigelow & Jack A. Nickerson, 2015. "Dominant designs, innovation shocks, and the follower's dilemma," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(2), pages 216-234, February.
    4. Segarra, Agustí & Teruel, Mercedes, 2012. "An appraisal of firm size distribution: Does sample size matter?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 82(1), pages 314-328.
    5. Finbarr Livesey, 2012. "Rationales for Industrial Policy Based on Industry Maturity," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 12(3), pages 349-363, September.
    6. Natália Barbosa & Ana Paula Faria & Vasco Eiriz, 2014. "Industry- and firm-specific factors of innovation novelty," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press, vol. 23(3), pages 865-902.
    7. Heinrich, Torsten & Dai, Shuanping, 2016. "Diversity of firm sizes, complexity, and industry structure in the Chinese economy," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 90-106.
    8. Barbosa, Natália & Faria, Ana Paula, 2011. "Innovation across Europe: How important are institutional differences?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(9), pages 1157-1169.
    9. Qi Li & Patrick Paul Walsh, 2009. "The Firm Size Distribution in a Small Open Economy: Theory and Evidence," Working Papers 200920, Geary Institute, University College Dublin.
    10. Christian Cordes & Tong-Yaa Su & Pontus Strimling, 2015. "Going Through a Crisis: Firm Devekopment and Firm SIze Distributions," Papers on Economics and Evolution 2015-06, Philipps University Marburg, Department of Geography.
    11. Moutinho, Ricardo & Au-Yong-Oliveira, Manuel & Coelho, Arnaldo & Manso, José Pires, 2015. "Beyond the “Innovation's Black-Box”: Translating R&D outlays into employment and economic growth," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 45-58.
    12. Forbes, Daniel P. & Kirsch, David A., 2011. "The study of emerging industries: Recognizing and responding to some central problems," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 26(5), pages 589-602, September.
    13. MORITA, Hodaka & TANG, Cheng-Tao, 2017. "Asset Specificity, Human Capital Acquisition, and Labor Market Competition," Discussion paper series HIAS-E-42, Hitotsubashi Institute for Advanced Study, Hitotsubashi University.
    14. Jaap W. B. Bos & Erik Stam, 2014. "Gazelles and industry growth: a study of young high-growth firms in The Netherlands," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press, vol. 23(1), pages 145-169, February.
    15. repec:wsi:ijitmx:v:14:y:2017:i:05:n:s0219877017500274 is not listed on IDEAS

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Firm size distribution; Industry evolution; Industry dynamics; Manufacturing industries;

    JEL classification:

    • L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms
    • L60 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Manufacturing - - - General

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