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How Firms Grow

Author

Listed:
  • Yaniv Yedid-Levi

    (The University of British Columbia)

  • Stefanie Haller

    (University College Dublin)

  • Doireann Fitzgerald

    (Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis)

Abstract

We document a new set of facts about firm dynamics, separating true dynamics from the appearance of dynamics driven by selection. Conditional on survival, total revenue and the number of markets a firm participates in grow with age. However TFP grows very slowly. Meanwhile, there is no statistically significant relationship between prices and age. We use these facts to motivate a model of firm dynamics, where firms differ in their efficiency, and face frictions in entering and expanding sales in markets. This allows us to address the following question: Do successful firms grow because they produce more efficiently, or because they sell more at a given level of efficiency?

Suggested Citation

  • Yaniv Yedid-Levi & Stefanie Haller & Doireann Fitzgerald, 2017. "How Firms Grow," 2017 Meeting Papers 1294, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    • Handle: RePEc:red:sed017:1294
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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