Productivity distribution, firm heterogeneity, and agglomeration: Evidence from firm-level data

Toshihiro Okubo and Eiichi Tomiura

No DP2011-06, Discussion Paper Series from Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration, Kobe University

Abstract: This paper empirically examines how productivity distributions of firms vary across regions based on Japan's manufacturing census data. We find that firm productivity is distributed with wide dispersions, especially in core regions. Our firm-level estimates demonstrate that the productivity distribution of firms tends to be noticeably left-skewed, deviating from the normal distribution, especially in regions with weak market potential but also in agglomerated or urbanized regions. These findings suggest that agglomeration economies are likely to accommodate heterogeneous firms that co-exist in the same region.

Keywords: Agglomeration; Productivity; Gamma distribution; Heterogeneity; Firm-level data (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L11 R12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 32 pages
Date: 2011-02
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-bec, nep-eff, nep-geo, nep-int and nep-ure
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https://www.rieb.kobe-u.ac.jp/academic/ra/dp/English/DP2011-06.pdf First version, 2011 (application/pdf)

Related works:
Working Paper: Productivity Distribution, Firm Heterogeneity, and Agglomeration: Evidence from firm-level data (2010)
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