Sangam: A Confluence of Knowledge Streams

Sunk Costs, Market Contestability, and the Size Distribution of Firms

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dc.creator Kessides, Ioannis N.
dc.creator Tang, Li
dc.date 2012-03-30T07:28:52Z
dc.date 2012-03-30T07:28:52Z
dc.date 2010
dc.date.accessioned 2023-02-18T19:43:30Z
dc.date.available 2023-02-18T19:43:30Z
dc.identifier Review of Industrial Organization
dc.identifier 0889938X
dc.identifier http://hdl.handle.net/10986/4622
dc.identifier.uri http://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/CUHPOERS/250104
dc.description In this paper we offer a new economic explanation for the observed inter-industry differences in the size distribution of firms. Our empirical estimates based on three temporal (1982, 1987, and 1992) cross-sections of the four-digit US manufacturing industries indicate that increased market contestability, as signified by low sunk costs, tends to reduce the dispersion of firm sizes. These findings provide support for one of the key predictions of the theory of contestable markets: that market forces under contestability would tend to render any inefficient organization of the industry unsustainable and, consequently, tighten the distribution of firms around the optimum.
dc.language EN
dc.relation http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo
dc.rights World Bank
dc.subject Production, Pricing, and Market Structure
dc.subject Size Distribution of Firms L110
dc.subject Industry Studies: Manufacturing: General L600
dc.title Sunk Costs, Market Contestability, and the Size Distribution of Firms
dc.type Journal Article
dc.type Journal Article
dc.coverage United States


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