Civic capital and the size distribution of plants: Short-run dynamics and long-run equilibrium

Mathias Burker and Gaetano Alfredo Minerva

No 7, Working Papers from University of California, Davis, Department of Economics

Abstract: We characterize how the size distribution of plants, within narrowly defined industries, changed in Italy over a ten-year time span, and relate this to the stock of civic capital at the provincial level. Data on plant size come from the 1991 and 2001 Italian censuses. Civic capital turns out to have a positive effect on both the average and standard deviation of size. Looking at several precise points of the plant size distribution, we find that it shifts toward the right and becomes more dispersed where civic capital is high. The potential endogeneity of current civic capital is addressed by instrumenting it with historical variables. Our main conclusion is that the geographic variation in the stock of civic capital poses substantial constraints on plants? ability to expand. Understanding this is the key for the implementation of effective industrial policies.

Keywords: Civic capital; Cooperation; Opportunism; Plant size distribution; Trust. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A13 D23 L20 R12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 42
Date: 2012-03-27
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Civic capital and the size distribution of plants: short-run dynamics and long-run equilibrium (2014)
Working Paper: Civic Capital and the Size Distribution of Plants: Short-Run Dynamics and Long-Run Equilibrium (2012)
Working Paper: Civic Capital and the Size Distribution of Plants: Short-Run Dynamics and Long-Run Equilibrium (2012)
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