http://repub.eur.nl/res/aut/3761/ List of Publications en http://repub.eur.nl/static-eur/img/logo.png http://repub.eur.nl http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/15820/ 2004-05-01T00:00:00Z Several noted surveys on intra-industry dynamics have reached the conclusion from a large body of evidence that Gibrat's Law does not hold. However, almost all of these studies have been based on manufacturing or large scale services such as banking and insurance industries. There are compelling reasons to doubt whether these findings hold for small scale services such as the hospitality industries. In this paper we examine whether the basic tenet underlying Gibrat's Law– that growth rates are independent of firm size – can be rejected for the services as it has been for manufacturing. Based on a large sample of Dutch firms in the hospitality industries the evidence suggests that in most cases growth rates are independent of firm size. Validation of Gibrat's Law in some sub-sectors of the small scale services suggests that the dynamics of industrial organization for services may not simply mirror that for manufacturing. The present paper includes a survey of nearly 60 empirical studies on firm growth rates. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/15825/ 2003-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/6799/ 2002-08-14T00:00:00Z Several surveys on intra-industry dynamics have recently reached the conclusion from a large body of evidence that Gibrat's Law does not hold, i.e., the main finding is that firm growth decreases with firm size. However, almost all of these studies have been based on manufacturing. In this paper - in search of further evidence supporting the results recently obtained for a large sample of Dutch firms in the hospitality industry - we examine whether the assumption that growth rates are independent of firm size can be rejected for the services, as it has been for manufacturing, also in the case of Italy. Based on a large sample of Italian new-born firms in five business groups in the hospitality industry, the evidence suggests that growth rates are, in fact, independent of firm size in two business groups, while Gibrat's Law is rejected for the remaining three business groups and for the industry as a whole. These mixed results concerning Gibrat's Law in the services are consistent with the hypothesis that the dynamics of industrial organisation for services may not simply mirror that for manufacturing. Besides, the findings in this paper support the hypothesis that any general conclusion concerning Gibrat's Law cannot be reached without considering heterogeneity, at least among firms of different industries. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/153/ 2002-01-22T00:00:00Z Several noted surveys on intra-industry dynamics have recently reached the conclusion from a large body of evidence that Gibrat's Law does not hold. However, almost all of these studies have been based on manufacturing. There are compelling reasons to doubt whether these findings hold for the services. In this paper we examine whether the basic tenet underlying Gibrat's Law - that growth rates are independent of firm size - can be rejected for the services as it has been for manufacturing. Based on a large sample of Dutch firms the evidence suggests that growth rates are, in fact, independent of firm size. Validation of Gibrat's Law in the services suggests that the dynamics of industrial organisation for services may not simply mirror that for manufacturing. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/15883/ 2000-03-01T00:00:00Z The extent of β- and σ-convergence of average labor productivity across manufacturing industries in 18 OECD countries over the period 1972–1992 shows large inter-industry differences. One reason for these differences is knowledge and capital barriers preventing the occurrence of catch-up. We find the level of average labor productivity, as a proxy for these barriers, is correlated with the extent of convergence. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/7715/ 1999-08-24T00:00:00Z The extent of beta- and sigma-convergence of average labor productivity across manufacturing industries in 18 OECD-countries over the period 1972-1992 show large inter-industry differences. One reason for these differences is knowledge and capital barriers preventing catch-up to occur. We find the level of average labor productivity, as a proxy for these barriers, to be correlated with the extent of convergence. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/7779/ 1998-02-09T00:00:00Z A large literature has emerged focusing on the post-entry performance of firms and, in particular, on the links between firm growth, survival, size and age. While these studies have resulted in findings that are sufficiently consistent as to constitute Stylized Facts, virtually all of these studies are based on manufacturing. The purpose of this paper is to fill this gap in knowledge about the role of non- manufacturing in industrial organization, and in particular, in the post-entry performance of firms, or what happens to firms subsequent to entering an industry. We suggest theoretical reasons why the relationships between firm age and size on the one hand, and survival and growth on the other may, in fact, not be the same in services as they are for manufacturing. We use a longitudinal data base for Dutch firms in the retail and hotel and catering sectors to identify around 13,000 new-firm start-ups and 47,000 incumbents in the services and track them over subsequent years. We are then able test to see whether the Stylized Results identified based on manufacturing still hold in the services. The results suggest that the most fundamental relationships between firm size, age, survival and growth are strikingly different for services than for manufacturing. In terms of the dynamics of industrial organization, services may, in fact, not simply mirror the manufacturing sector.