Firm-size distribution and price-cost margins in Dutch manufacturing

Industrial economists surmise a relation between the size distribution of firms and performance. Usually, attention is focused on the high end of the size distribution. The widely used four-firm seller concentration ratio, C4, ignores what happens at the low end of the size distribution. We investigate to what extent the level and the growth of small business presence influence price-cost margins in Dutch manufacturing. We use a large data set of 66 industries for a thirteen year period. This allows the investigation of both small business influences within a framework in which that of many other market structure variables is also studied. Evidence is shown that price-cost margins are influenced by large firm dominance, growth in small business presence, capital intensity, business cycle, international trade and buyer concentration.     

Business Dynamics and Efficiency in Industries and Regions: The Case of Spain

High rates of firm births and deaths are a pervasive phenomenon across industries and territories. Most studies have related the great turbulence at the fringe of practically all manufacturing industries to positive effects on the long-run performance of industries. According to these views business turbulence, although it has a relatively small incidence on net entry, leads to allocative improvement and stimulates innovation. The existing set of empirical studies does not reach clear conclusions, however, and many questions are still open. Our contribution analyses the relationship between business dynamics in manufacturing and the growth of total factor productivity in industries and regions. After a review of current literature on entry and exit it is argued that most models are tailored to suit the processes observed in industries and regions that are near the technological frontier, and we propose an approach that could be more representative of middle range economies such as Spain. According to this approach new firms are seen more as users of innovations than producers of innovations. We adopt a model based on a vintage capital framework in which new entrants embody the edge technologies available and exiting businesses are supposed to represent the most marginal obsolete plants. Both industries and regions are represented by a Hall's type production function which controls for imperfect competition and economies of scale. The results show that both entry and exit rates contribute positively to the growth of total factor productivity in industries and in regions.     

Information Technology and Establishment Size in America: Rybczynski Redivivus☆

The Rybczynski Theorem is one of the staples of international trade theory. In their article in this issue of the journal, J.J. Rosa and J. Hanoteau apply the theorem to a two-by-two world in which the two “industries” are small firms and large firms, and the two inputs are information and all other. The assumption that small firms are more information intensive, coupled with the fact that information has become pervasive in recent decades, allows them to derive the prediction that small firms will account for increasingly larger proportions of total output and employment in the economy. We highlight a couple of issues that we find problematic in the Rosa–Hanoteau study, and then develop two different empirical strategies to probe the connections between IT and the size distribution of establishments. First, we combine County Business Patterns with input–output data to explore whether the share of small plants has grown at a faster pace among industries that demand IT more heavily. Second, we explore, on an industry-by-industry basis and taking into account the potential endogeneity of IT location, whether clustering of IT firms in specific US counties is associated with a relatively large share of small establishments, on average, in those counties.     

Job Creation Process in a Transition Economy

In many European countries, SME policy is close to being a synonym for job creation. Most empirical research on the job-generation potential of small firms over the last decade has been done in the stable and favorable economic conditions of market economies. The paper investigates the role of small firms in more difficult circumstances. On an empirical data set for Slovenia, the paper tries to show that small firms have been the most important employer during the transition period, a finding that very likely can be extrapolated for other European transition economies. Over the last decade Slovenia has transformed from a labor-managed economic system to a market-oriented economy. If we compare the firm-size structure in a socialist-like economy to the firm-size structure in a mature market economy close to equilibrium, we notice a typical absence of small- and medium-sized firms, with the exception of craft shops. That was how Slovenia appeared in the early nineties. Charac-terized by the removal of administrative barriers, transition encouraged a spontaneous entrepreneurial wave through an expanding small business sector. The ensuing changes in employment distribution changed the firm-size structure.     

Factor substitution in small and large U.S. manufacturing establishments: 1977–82

The objective of this article is to assess the possibility of differences in factor substitution in the production of small and large U.S. manufacturing establishments. For empirical implementation, we specify and estimate separate three-factor translog production factors, using confidential plant-level data for five four-digit industries extracted from the U.S. Bureau of the Census Longitudinal Research Database. Our primary finding is that for most industries under study, small establishments appear to be at least as flexible as large establishments in factor substitution. This finding, together with our previous results on economies of scale (Nguyen and Reznek, 1991), suggests that for the five industries under examination, large size is not a necessary condition for efficient production.     

Globalisation and the Spatial Concentration of Production

(1240) Friederike Niepmann and Gabriel J. Felbermayr In new trade theory (NTT) models, freer trade tends to increase the spatial concentration of industrial production across countries. While nations with large home markets and central geographical location become increasingly attractive business locations, small peripheral countries gradually deindustrialise. Using data for 26 industries, 20 OECD countries and 20 years, we investigate the empirical validity of this claim. Separating out the role of home market size from geographical factors, and using various panel methods, we find robust evidence in line with theory. Freer trade has indeed magnified the importance of domestic demand and geographical location for the pattern of industrial production across the globe and has therefore exacerbated spatial disparities.     

Retail Philanthropy: Firm Size,Industry, and Business Cycle

This article investigates the effects of firm size, profitability, industry affiliation, and the business cycle on retailer philanthropy. The importance of industry and firm effects on giving was analyzed with regression models using industry-fixed effects as well as firm strategy variables. The analysis included instrumental variables methodology to account for simultaneity in the charitable giving–profits relationship. Data were gathered from the IRS Corporate Statistics of Income Sourcebook, data that provide firm size class measures covering the entire firm size distribution ranging from small retailers up to large multi-national retail firms. Retailer philanthropy was measured as the ratio of charitable contributions to total receipts. Important findings include a cubic relationship between retailer philanthropy and firm size; industry effects stronger than those observed for retail profit; and the absence of business cycle effects. The empirical research relating retail charitable giving to firm attributes including firm size and advertising, industry and business cycle factors are unique in the business ethics literature. Prior studies regarding the importance of industry on charitable giving utilized data across broad sectors of the economy. Firms from different sectors could be expected to differ in philanthropic approach due to differences in public contact as well as differences in public relations exposure. The strong industry effects reported for this sample of exclusively retail firms, with similar public contact, provide strong evidence for the importance of industry in determining firms’ charitable strategies.     

Trade costs and the Home Market Effect

Most of the theoretical and empirical studies on the Home Market Effect (HME) assume the existence of an “outside good” that absorbs all trade imbalances and equalizes wages. We study the consequences on the HME of removing this assumption. The HME is attenuated and, more interestingly, it becomes non-linear. The non-linearity implies that the HME is more important for very large and very small countries than for medium size countries. The empirical investigation conducted on a database comprising 25 industries, 25 countries, and 7 years confirms the presence of the HME and of its non-linear shape.     

Change in the size distribution of UK firms

This paper examines the extent of change and stability in the population of UK firms through time in terms of its size distribution, as defined by number of employees. It was empirically found that the distribution of employment by firm size remained surprisingly constant over the 1987–1989 period. A major implication of this finding is that in times of very high net job creation (involving high gross job creation and loss), factors are at work in the economy to keep the population distribution of firms (in terms of employment concentrations) more or less stable. It is hypothesised that a natural concentration exists for each different size band, and that as change takes place, the proportion of total employment based in the size band will tend towards this natural level.The rise in the proportion of employment in small firms, and the comparatively high job creation ability of small firms in recent times has come about in part because of negative rather than positive macro-economic influences. In recession, small firms in aggregate in spite of their individual volatility, are the most resilient. In prosperous times they do not increase their proportion of employment share, while in times of recession they do. Our results imply that large firms have a very significant, if not the most significant, bearing upon aggregate employment trends. On the other hand, small firms inherently have more potential to create jobs than large firms.The majority of public expenditure and legislative support for UK business is directed at large firms, as a result of culture and tradition. Even with the benefit of this support, large firms in recent decades have still performed badly, in job generation terms. In contrast, small firms have shown an inherent advantage in their ability to create jobs. A shift of government expenditure and legislative support from large to small firms would further enhance and realise the potential of small firms to benefit the economy and create jobs.     

同业业务发展、货币政策传导与银行风险承担

商业银行同业业务逐渐从传统信用拆借演变为类信贷业务,一些银行通过同业业务实施监管套利、风险资产出表,同业业务的快速发展对原有货币政策传导体系形成干扰,甚至改变了商业银行的风险承担渠道。使用25家A股上市银行2008-2018年数据,在理论和实证两个方面分析了同业业务发展对银行风险承担的影响。理论上,同业业务能够提高银行风险承担水平和强化货币政策风险承担渠道,上述影响并同时对于不同银行伴有异质性。实证结论验证了理论推演的假设:同业业务发展与银行风险承担水平正相关,并对货币政策银行风险承担渠道具有强化作用;同业业务对大型银行的风险承担水平影响有限,但对股份制银行和中小银行的风险承担水平表现了较强的正相关性。分析货币政策风险承担渠道,中小银行对货币宽松与否更为敏感,其同业业务发展程度与货币宽松情况表现出较强的相关性。根据上述研究结论,监管政策应当更加关注银行体系分层结构下的同业业务发展引导,尤其是对于股份制银行和中小银行,应当逐步引导同业业务占比较高银行压缩同业资产,鼓励商业银行业务回归本源,支持实体经济发展。     

Employment change in the small business sector: Evidence from five manufacturing industries

This paper examines the scale and nature of employment flows into and out of the small business sector (SBS) in five United Kingdom manufacturing industries over the period 1979–85. It first provides a taxonomic framework for analysing these flows. It then draws on specially prepared analyses from the Annual Census of Production (ACOP) for the UK to show that the SBS in each industry has experienced very substantial turbulence: although the SBS (across all five industries) lost only four per cent of 1979 employment over the period, movement in and out each represented about half of 1979 employment. Most gains and losses were in the very small size bands. The paper also briefly explores the relationship between births and deaths and industrial characteristics across the five industries. The study raises questions about the causes and costs of high turbulence in the SBS. It also demonstrates the potential value of the ACOP data base for longitudinal studies of business in the UK.

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Explaining National Differences in the Size and Industry Distribution Employment

What forces determine national differences in the size and industry distribution of employment? We stress the role of the economic policy environment as determined by business taxes, employment security laws, credit market regulations, the national pension system, wage-setting institutions and the size of the public sector. We characterize these aspects of the economic environment in Sweden prior to 1990–91 and compare them to the situation in other European countries and the United States. Our characterization and international comparisons show that Swedish policies and institutions strongly disfavored less capital-intensive firms, smaller firms, entry by new firms, and individual and family ownership of business.

We also compile evidence that these forces affect outcomes. Taking the U.S. industry distribution as a benchmark that reflects a comparatively neutral set of policies and institutions, Sweden's employment distribution in the mid-1980s is sharply tilted away from low-wage industries and industries with greater employment shares for smaller firms and establishments. Compared to other European countries, Sweden has an unusually high share of employment in large firms. Furthermore, the Swedish rate of self- employment in the 1970s and 1980s is the lowest among all OECD countries.

The institutional and policy factors emphasized by our study differ greatly across countries. This fact suggests that our approach can be fruitfully applied to other studies of national differences in industry and size structures and their evolution over time. As an example, the tax reform wave of the 1980s – which largely evened out cross-country differences in corporate taxation among OECD countries – offers some basis for projecting a movement towards greater similarity among wealthy countries in the size and industry distribution of employment.

     

Business Survival and Success of Young Small Business Owners

Little empirical evidence provides insight in person-oriented drivers of business survival and success of small business owners. In this paper I perform a duration analysis of business survival amongst young white (self-employed) small business owners in the U.S. Compulsory exits are distinguished from voluntary exits. This enables an alternative definition of business success: the longer one can survive and prevent inLvoluntary exit, the more successful one is. Potential drivers of survival are derived from recent empirical evidence in related studies. The potential drivers of success are also derived from historical economic thinkers such as Marshall and Schumpeter. The estimated hazard rates are affected by characteristics of the small business owner and business conditions.     

Empirical Analysis of Business Growth Factors Using Swedish Data

Empirical research conducted on the U.S., German, Australian, and Scottish economies has shown that age, size, location, legal form, and industry are related to business growth. Much of this research has focused on manufacturing firms, thus providing little information about the effect of industrial sector differences on these factors. We seek to both confirm that small independent firms demonstrate the greatest growth rates and to explore the effects of the industrial sector on this conclusion.
This article uses Swedish data to replicate previous research while using a different definition of business to enhance the study of effects from industry, international versus domestic businesses, and domestic versus foreign ownership. Results show that business age, beginning size, ownership form, industrial sector, and legal form are the most important factors related to growth. Although business growth differs among industrial sectors, youth, ownership independence, and small size are major factors that underlie growth across all industries.     

The mediating role of commitment in healthcare B2B marketing

Business to business transactions in pharmaceutical and healthcare industries may differ from those in other industries in terms of relational marketing factors such as customer acquisition and retention. Purchasing representatives, including medical physicians, may differ in their levels of commitment; this difference plays a mediating role in satisfaction, dependence, and intention to repurchase. This article begins by analyzing the structural relationships among these three variables: commitment, satisfaction, and dependence. The relationships are dichotomized into two dimensions: individual and organizational, and marketing performance is measured as repurchase intention. A critical literature review was conducted to identify key variables and derive their constructs. The subsequent empirical analyses have far-reaching implications from a marketing perspective.     

Do Financial Constraints Matter for Foreign Market Entry? A Firm‐level Examination

Recent theoretical and empirical contributions stress the importance of financial development for international trade. This paper investigates whether financial constraints matter for foreign market entry at the firm level using dynamic panel data techniques. Dynamic Probit and Tobit models that account for state dependence and unobserved heterogeneity are used to analyse the effect of financial indicators on export activities. The empirical framework tests for heterogeneous effects among different quartiles of the size and productivity distribution, across previous exporters and potential starters, and across different types of industries as those are predicted by theoretical models. The empirical analysis is applied to a large panel dataset of French manufacturing firms over the years 1998–2005. The data contain a high share of small firms that are usually the most likely to be financially constrained. Although financial indicators are significantly correlated with export status and export share, there is no evidence that financial constraints have a direct impact on foreign market participation or sales in foreign markets once observed and unobserved firm heterogeneity is controlled for. This result is robust to using alternative estimation techniques and also holds for subgroups of firms that are more likely to face financial constraints and industries that are more dependent on financial factors.     

Survival of New Plants in Different Industry Environments in Norwegian Manufacturing: AS Semi-Proportional Cox Model Approach

Using a rich plant level data set from Norwegian manufacturing we analyse possible determinants of survival for ten plant cohorts during the period 1977–92. By specifying a semi-proportional hazards model of plant exit, we are able to accommodate for structural differences between entrepreneurial entrants and new plants of existing firms. Industry heterogeneity in terms of plant size, capital intensity and productivity is also accounted for in the model. According to our estimated models, there are significant structural differences between new small firms and new plants of existing firms. For example, the size of the plant relative to the industry average had less influence on the survival probability for entrepreneurial entrants. Hence, the empirical results suggest that the two types of entrants establish themselves in different market niches with distinct technological characteristics. The results underscore the necessity of adjusting for the dissimilar environments facing plants which enter different industries.     

Measuring Ethnic Community Involvement: Development and Initial Testing of an Index*

This paper builds on the work of Chaganti and Greene, who distinguish between ethnic minority entrepreneurs/small business owners who are very involved with their ethnic community and those who are not. We extend their work by developing an Index of Ethnic Community Involvement based not only on personal but also business characteristics. We utilize a large sample size (698 interviews with entrepreneurs), drawn from five ethnic groups, and develop a valid and reliable (0.69) Index of Ethnic Involvement (IEI) with a strong emphasis on social capital theory. Our initial analysis shows the IEI predicts some personal and business characteristics. Future development will include building regression models to predict business outcomes. The IEI, when fully developed, promises to be useful for targeting assistance, education and training programs, and policy initiatives for entrepreneurs and small business owners according to the level of ethnic community involvement.     

Revealing Entrepreneurial Talent

A society’s allocation of working time to entrepreneurial, organizational and learning activities is the main factor behind technical change and economic growth. Building on Lucas (1978) and Kihlstrom and Laffont (1979), in this paper I offer evidence that the amount of working time spent by small business owners in entrepreneurial activities affects the performance of the business and reveals their entrepreneurial talent. The intuition is that it is reasonable to allocate more of our time to those activities where we realize we are more productive. As actual consumption choices reveal consumer preferences, the varying entrepreneurial content of the activities performed is a signal of an individual’s ability as entrepreneur. The results obtained suggest that the allocation of working time by small business owners: (a) throws light on their behavioral patterns; (b) is related to the owner’s human capital and to firm size; and (c) has a significant correlation with business performance. The main finding of my analysis, confirming previous studies on this topic, is that education is an important part of entrepreneurial human capital. Moreover, the latter is the main factor that can sustain small firms’ competitiveness in a globalizing economy. The entrepreneur is at the same time one of the most intriguing and one of the most elusive characters in the cast that constitutes the subject of economic analysis (Baumol, 1965, p. 64). I would like to acknowledge valuable comments from T. Cameron, G. Gagliani and two anonymous referees. The usual disclaimer applies.     

International differences in production techniques: Implications for the factor content of trade

This paper examines how production techniques differ across countries, factors, and industries and considers its implications for previous empirical evidence on the Vanek prediction. I find that production techniques differ substantially across countries and factors, but differ much less across industries within a country. Davis and Weinstein (2001) argue that modeling cross-industry differences (multiple-cone specialization) improves the fit of the Vanek prediction; however, their test statistics are unchanged when one restricts techniques to be identical across industries within a country. Thus, the bulk of world factor content of trade does not arise from specialization.