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Sales and Markup Dispersion: Theory and Empirics

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  • Monika Mrázová
  • J. Peter Neary
  • Mathieu Parenti

Abstract

We derive exact conditions relating the distributions of firm productivity, sales, output, and markups to the form of demand in monopolistic competition. Applications include a new “CREMR” demand function (Constant Revenue Elasticity of Marginal Revenue): it is necessary and sufficient for the distributions of productivity and sales to have the same form (whether Pareto, lognormal, or Fréchet) in the cross section, and for Gibrat’s Law to hold over time; it implies a new class of distributions well-suited to capture the dispersion of markups; and it provides a parsimonious fit for the distributions of sales and markups superior to most widely-used alternatives.

Suggested Citation

  • Monika Mrázová & J. Peter Neary & Mathieu Parenti, 2018. "Sales and Markup Dispersion: Theory and Empirics," CESifo Working Paper Series 7433, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_7433
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    CREMR demands; Gibrat’s Law; heterogeneous firms; Kullback-Leibler divergence; lognormal versus Pareto distributions; sales and markup distributions;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F15 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Economic Integration
    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business
    • F12 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Models of Trade with Imperfect Competition and Scale Economies; Fragmentation

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