This paper analyzes the evolution of firm size distribution in the U.S. manufacturing industries over 35 years from 1963 to 1997. Firm size distribution undergoes systematic changes, the magnitude and the direction of which depend on whether an industry experiences a phase of growth, shakeout, stability, or decline. The observed patterns have implications for the theories of industry dynamics a...

This paper explores the firm growth rate distribution in a Gibrat's Law context. The aim is to provide an empirical exploration of the determinants of firm growth. The work is novel in two respects. First, rather than limiting the analysis to focus on the conditional mean growth level, we investigate the complete shape of the distribution. Second, we show that the differences in the firm growth...

The field of modern biotechnology is thought to have largely begun in 1980, when the United States Supreme Court ruled that a genetically-modified microorganism could be patented. The growth of the Biotechnology industry has stimulated extensive research on its determinants. One of the areas which has attracted a fair amount of attention is the distribution of firm size within an industry. What...

Pharmaceuticals is a relatively large and mature industry, and of growing significance. The industry has stimulated extensive research on determinants of its growth and development. Specifically, the distribution of firm size has attracted significant attention, due to its relevance as an indicator of degree of industrial concentration. A large part of this literature has focused, since the ear...

T he U.S. distribution of labor earnings is highly skewed to the right. Roughly, the lowest 50 percent of U.S. households, as measured by individual labor earnings, make 10 percent of total labor earnings. The next lowest 30 percent earn approximately 30 percent and highest 10 percent make 40 percent.1 Earnings are also related to a person’s position within a firm and employment at a particular...

Suppose firms are subject to decreasing returns and permanent idiosyncratic productivity shocks. Suppose also firms can only stay in business by continuously paying a fixed cost. New firms can enter. Firms with a history of relatively good productivity shocks tend to survive and others are forced to exit. This paper identifies assumptions about entry that guarantee a stationary firm size distri...