Chapter
| NBER International Seminar on Macroeconomics 2008
|
2009
Plant-Size Distribution and Cross-Country Income Differences
by
Laura Alfaro, Andrew Charlton and Fabio Kanczuk
|
Abstract
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.
Keywords: Factories, Labs, and Plants;
Developing Countries and Economies;
Wages;
Resource Allocation;
Mathematical Methods;