Heavyweights - the impact of large businesses on productivity growth

Arbeitspapier

The idea of an industrial policy that promotes large businesses—heavyweights—as the best way to compete in a globalized world has become, again, en vogue among European politicians. The only apparent controversy about the idea revolves around whether it is better to promote national champions or, instead, European champions. Empirical evidence on the issue is rare and contradictory. A uniquely rich industry-level dataset for Germany is used in this paper to test whether large business size in an industry fosters growth in terms of total factor productivity (TFP). The results suggest that the overall effects of firm size on TFP growth are negative.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: CESifo Working Paper ; No. 2135

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms ; Industrial Organization and Macroeconomics: Industrial Structure and Structural Change; Industrial Price Indices ; Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes ; Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity: General
• Subject: firm size ; productivity growth ; total factor productivity ; innovation ; Betriebsgröße ; Produktivität ; Innovation ; Großunternehmen ; Makroökonomischer Einfluss ; Wirtschaftswachstum ; Schätzung ; Deutschland

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Falck, Oliver
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo)
• (where): Munich
• (when): 2007

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/26179
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:44 AM CET