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Dispersion in Dispersion: Measuring Establishment-Level Differences in Productivity

Author

Listed:
  • Cindy Cunningham
  • Lucia Foster
  • Cheryl Grim
  • John Haltiwanger
  • Sabrina Wulff Pabilonia
  • Jay Stewart
  • Zoltan Wolf

Abstract

We describe new experimental productivity statistics, Dispersion Statistics on Productivity (DiSP), jointly developed and published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the Census Bureau. Productivity measures are critical for understanding economic performance. Official BLS productivity statistics, which are available for major sectors and detailed industries, provide information on the sources of aggregate productivity growth. A large body of research shows that within-industry variation in productivity provides important insights into productivity dynamics. This research reveals large and persistent productivity differences across businesses even within narrowly defined industries. These differences vary across industries and over time and are related to productivity-enhancing reallocation. Dispersion in productivity across businesses can provide information about the nature of competition and frictions within sectors, and about the sources of rising wage inequality across businesses. Because there were no official statistics providing this level of detail, BLS and the Census Bureau partnered to create measures of within-industry productivity dispersion. These measures complement official BLS aggregate and industry-level productivity growth statistics and thereby improve our understanding of the rich productivity dynamics in the U.S. economy. The underlying microdata for these measures are available for use by qualified researchers on approved projects in the Federal Statistical Research Data Center (FSRDC) network. These new statistics confirm the presence of large productivity differences and we hope that these new data products will encourage further research into understanding these differences.

Suggested Citation

  • Cindy Cunningham & Lucia Foster & Cheryl Grim & John Haltiwanger & Sabrina Wulff Pabilonia & Jay Stewart & Zoltan Wolf, 2020. "Dispersion in Dispersion: Measuring Establishment-Level Differences in Productivity," Economic Working Papers 530, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
    • Handle: RePEc:bls:wpaper:530
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    Cited by:

    1. Jangho Yang & Brian Cozzarin & Torsten Heinrich, 2025. "Productivity dispersion and firm growth in Canada," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 35(1), pages 35-70, January.
    2. Nicholas Bloom & Scott W. Ohlmacher & Cristina J. Tello-Trillo & Melanie Wallskog, 2021. "Pay, Productivity and Management," NBER Working Papers 29377, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Gonzales-Rocha, Erick & Mendez-Guerra, Carlos, 2018. "Increasing productivity dispersion: Evidence from light manufacturing in Brazil," MPRA Paper 88478, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Diane Coyle & Jen‐Chung Mei, 2023. "Diagnosing the UK productivity slowdown: which sectors matter and why?," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 90(359), pages 813-850, July.
    5. Yang, Jangho & Heinrich, Torsten & Winkler, Julian & Lafond, François & Koutroumpis, Pantelis & Farmer, J. Doyne, 2019. "Measuring productivity dispersion: a parametric approach using the Lévy alpha-stable distribution," MPRA Paper 96474, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Nilsson, Pia & Andersson, Hans & Heldt, Tobias, 2025. "The Role of Specialized Knowledge and ‘Know-How’ for Firm Total Factor Productivity: Evidence from Breeding and Racing in the Equine Industry," Working Paper Series 1522, Research Institute of Industrial Economics, revised 19 May 2025.
    7. Dominic Smith & G. Jacob Blackwood & Michael D. Giandrea & Cheryl Grim & Jay Stewart & Zoltan Wolf, 2025. "National Chains and Trends in Retail Productivity Dispersion," Working Papers 25-64, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    8. Lucia Foster & Cheryl Grim & John C. Haltiwanger & Zoltan Wolf, 2019. "Innovation, Productivity Dispersion, and Productivity Growth," NBER Chapters, in: Measuring and Accounting for Innovation in the Twenty-First Century, pages 103-136, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Bairy, Gaurav Gopal & Raj, Prateek & Yayavaram, Sai, 2025. "Asymmetry and heterogeneity in inter-industry productivity spillovers," Working Papers 360, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, George J. Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State.
    10. Benjamin Schoefer & Oren Ziv, 2024. "Productivity, Place, and Plants," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 106(5), pages 1167-1186, September.
    11. Evguenia Bessonova & Anna Tsvetkova, 2019. "Productivity convergence trends within Russian industries: firm-level evidence," Bank of Russia Working Paper Series wps51, Bank of Russia.
    12. Bessonova, E. & Tsvetkova, A., 2020. "Productivity growth and inefficient firms' exit from the market," Journal of the New Economic Association, New Economic Association, vol. 48(4), pages 185-196.
    13. Jangho Yang & Torsten Heinrich & Julian Winkler & François Lafond & Pantelis Koutroumpis & J. Doyne Farmer, 2025. "Measuring productivity dispersion: a parametric approach using the Lévy alpha-stable distribution," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 34(1), pages 79-117.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles

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