Economic factors and the changing size distribution of breweries in Canada: 2011-2025

Don Cyr (), Joseph Kushner () and Tomson Ogwang ()
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Don Cyr: Goodman School of Business, Brock University
Joseph Kushner: Department of Economics, Brock University
Tomson Ogwang: Department of Economics, Brock University

Economics Bulletin, 2026, vol. 46, issue 3, 1161 - 1172

Abstract: In this paper we examine the association between economic factors and the size distribution of breweries in Canada between 2011 and 2025. Using Statistics Canada's grouped employment data, we first estimate Gini indices of brewery size inequality based on the Ortega et al. and Rohde functional forms of the Lorenz curve. We then examine the association between economic factors and the estimated Gini indices of the size distribution of breweries. Our empirical results, which are robust with respect to the choice of Lorenz curve functional form, reveal a significant general decrease in the degree of inequality in the size distribution of breweries over the 15-year period considered, which is consistent with the rapid growth in the number of small craft breweries in the Canadian beer sector. We also find that the decrease in brewery size inequality is largely explained by the growth in incomes.

Keywords: Firm size distribution; brewing industry; micro-breweries; Lorenz curve; Gini index (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L1 L2 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-09-30
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