Plant-Size Distribution and Cross-Country Income Differences

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We investigate, using plant-level data for 79 developed and developing countries, whether differences in the allocation of resources across heterogeneous plants are a significant determinant of cross-country differences in income per worker. For this purpose, we use a standard version of the neoclassical growth model augmented to incorporate monopolistic competition among heterogeneous plants. For our preferred calibration, the model explains 58% of the log variance of income per worker. This figure should be compared to the 42% success rate of the usual model.

Published: Plant-Size Distribution and Cross-Country Income Differences, Laura Alfaro, Andrew Charlton, Fabio Kanczuk, in NBER International Seminar on Macroeconomics 2008 (2009), University of Chicago Press

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This paper was revised on December 5, 2011

Acknowledgments

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