Survival of the fittest or does size matter: What are the main drivers of Productivity in Brazil?

Luna, Ivette and Hiratuka, Celio and Haddad Netto, Elias Youssef (2016): Survival of the fittest or does size matter: What are the main drivers of Productivity in Brazil?

Abstract

This article aims to explore learning and selection effects of productivity change for three classes of firm’s sizes in Brazilian manufacturing and service sectors from 1996 to 2011. The methodology is based on the Price Equation. Our results support the international evidence about the weak intensity of the selection effect to explain aggregate productivity change for medium and large size firms. Small firms, however, are much more affected. Besides, size, measured by number of employees, appears to be a good proxy for capital intensity. There are as well signs that the learning effect is highly correlated with the economic cycle.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Productivity, innovation, evolutionary theory, productive structure
• Subjects: D - Microeconomics > D2 - Production and Organizations > D22 - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis; L - Industrial Organization > L1 - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance > L11 - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure ; Size Distribution of Firms; L - Industrial Organization > L6 - Industry Studies: Manufacturing > L60 - General; L - Industrial Organization > L8 - Industry Studies: Services > L80 - General

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