What Drives the Size Distribution of Firms in Developing Countries

摘要

Using industrial census data from 85 developing countries, statistical evidence on the relationship between the distribution of manufacturing activity across different sized firms and shifts in sectoral composition of output and intra-industry structural change. This is an important first step in tracing the influence of economic policy on the role played by smaller firms in the economy. The paper finds that in most industries, the composition of output is more important for the prevailing size distribution of enterprise than intra-industry structural changes. The paper also finds that in industry sectors where economies of scale do not foster large firm dominance, policy non-neutralities, as between enterprise size categories, can significantly influence intra-industry firm size distribution.