Small business in German manufacturing

✍ Scribed by Joachim Schwalbach

• Book ID: 104756974
• Publisher: Springer US
• Year: 1989
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 518 KB
• Volume: 1
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0921-898X
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00398631

✦ Synopsis

The study provides empirical evidence about the determinants of the size distribution and the importance of small business in German manufacturing industries. The adopted empirical model distinguishes short-run from longrun effects and estimates the rate of adjustment when a departure from long-run equilibrium occurs. The results show a significant impact of industry-specific factors on the presence of small plants and the size distribution of plants. Foremost, technological factors, like scale economies, limit the prosperity of small business. In addition, industries with a high intensity of investments in advertising and R&D, and large domestic and foreign output volumes are dominated by large business. The dynamic analysis revealed that departures from long-run equilibrium are only of a very short duration.