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Dissecting the Size Distribution of Establishments Across Countries

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Abstract

We present a detailed description of cross-country differences in the size distribution of establishments as measured by Enterprise Surveys of the World Bank (2006-2010). We find that poorer countries tend to have smaller establishments, and hence a higher proportion of employment is allocated to such plants. We also find that, conditional on the level of per capita GDP, there is still a wide variation in the size distribution of establishments. We show that financial frictions and other costs imposed on the business environment can account for a sizeable part of such variation. Additionally, we exploit the richness of the data-set to document cross-sector differences in the size distribution of establishments. We show that establishments in manufacturing and construction tend to be larger on average than in retail and other services.

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  • Manuel Garcia-Santana & Roberto Ramos, 2012. "Dissecting the Size Distribution of Establishments Across Countries," Working Papers wp2012_1204, CEMFI.
    • Handle: RePEc:cmf:wpaper:wp2012_1204
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    Cited by:

    1. François Gourio & Nicolas Roys, 2014. "Size‐dependent regulations, firm size distribution, and reallocation," Quantitative Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 5, pages 377-416, July.
    2. Nadine Riedel & Martin Simmler, 2021. "Large and influential: Firm size and governments’ corporate tax rate choice," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 54(2), pages 812-839, May.
    3. Nadine Riedel & Martin Simmler, 2018. "Large and Influential: Firm Size and Governments' Corporate Tax Rate Choice," CESifo Working Paper Series 6904, CESifo.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Plant size distribution; enterprise environment.;

    JEL classification:

    • L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms
    • L53 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - Enterprise Policy
    • O47 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Empirical Studies of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence

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