Entry Barriers, Idiosyncratic Distortions, and the Firm Size Distribution

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Fattal-Jaef, Roberto N.
• 署名单位: The World Bank
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL-MACROECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1945-7707
• DOI: 10.1257/mac.20200234
• 发表日期: 2022
• 页码: 416-468
• 关键词: Misallocation; markups; finance; GROWTH

摘要

This paper studies the interaction between barriers to firm entry and distortions to allocative efficiency in a standard model of firm dynamics. We derive a strategy to infer entry barriers based on cross-country differences in the firm size distribution and idiosyncratic distortions. The inferred barriers resemble regulation-based indicators in advanced economies but are substantially higher in middle-and low-income countries. Regulation-based indicators cannot account for cross-country differences in average firm size and underestimate the aggregate productivity gains associated with their removal by up to 8 percent on average. (JEL D21, D24, H25, L11, L60)