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The U.S. establishment-size distribution: secular changes and sectoral decomposition

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  • Samuel E. Henly
  • Juan M. Sanchez

Abstract

This article studies the U.S. establishment-size distribution from 1974?2006. The main findings are: (i) the size of the ?representative? establishment is relatively constant; (ii) the size distribution has become slightly more evenly distributed; (iii) the relative stability of aggregate statistics obscures important movements in the manufacturing and service sectors; (iv) both intra- and intersector changes contribute to aggregate changes; and (v) changes in the size distribution of firms are similar to those of establishments. These findings will be useful to calibrate and test models with firms/establishments heterogeneity.

Suggested Citation

  • Samuel E. Henly & Juan M. Sanchez, 2009. "The U.S. establishment-size distribution: secular changes and sectoral decomposition," Economic Quarterly, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, vol. 95(Fall), pages 419-454.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedreq:y:2009:i:fall:p:419-454:n:v.95no.4
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Nezih Guner & Gustavo Ventura & Xu Yi, 2008. "Macroeconomic Implications of Size-Dependent Policies," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 11(4), pages 721-744, October.
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    5. Chang-Tai Hsieh & Peter J. Klenow, 2009. "Misallocation and Manufacturing TFP in China and India," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 124(4), pages 1403-1448.
    6. Diego Restuccia & Richard Rogerson, 2008. "Policy Distortions and Aggregate Productivity with Heterogeneous Plants," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 11(4), pages 707-720, October.
    7. Robert E. Lucas Jr., 1978. "On the Size Distribution of Business Firms," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 9(2), pages 508-523, Autumn.
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    9. Banerjee, Abhijit V. & Duflo, Esther, 2005. "Growth Theory through the Lens of Development Economics," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 7, pages 473-552, Elsevier.
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    12. Laura Alfaro & Andrew Charlton & Fabio Kanczuk, 2009. "Plant Size Distribution and Cross-Country Income Differences," NBER Chapters, in: NBER International Seminar on Macroeconomics 2008, pages 243-272, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    Cited by:

    1. Jeremy Greenwood & Juan M. Sanchez & Cheng Wang, 2010. "Financing Development: The Role of Information Costs," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(4), pages 1875-1891, September.
    2. Dinlersoz, Emin & Greenwood, Jeremy, 2016. "The rise and fall of unions in the United States," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 129-146.
    3. Shigeru Fujita & Makoto Nakajima, 2016. "Worker Flows and Job Flows: A Quantitative Investigation," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 22, pages 1-20, October.
    4. Emin M. Dinlersoz & Jeremy Greenwood, 2012. "The Rise and Fall of Unions in the U.S," NBER Working Papers 18079, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Stankov, Petar & Vasilev, Aleksandar, 2019. "Business reform outcomes: Why so different?," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 41(6), pages 1109-1127.

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