About the Project
Understanding the origins of booms and busts in economic activity has been at the core of economic science for years. However, since the financial and global crisis that started in 2007, traditional macroeconomic approaches have not been able to provide much policy guidance and economists do not seem to agree on which policies to use for economic recovery. This research project wants to provide a new and different approach to analysing macroeconomic performance, by recognizing that large firms are remarkably important for the evolution of the aggregate economy [1]. Hence, limiting their exercise of market power should thus be an important policy concern if we want the economy to reach efficiency. Excessive exercise of monopoly will lead to losses of static efficiency, the usual deadweight loss, but also to dynamic efficiency losses, i.e. lack of innovation and new product introduction. Entry is still important to the extent that future champions have to start somewhere. Often they enter in sectors that subsequently show a very dynamic growth path. They are not that important for aggregate fluctuations in their own right, but blocking their entry, for example because incumbents engage in foreclosure practices, can have an important effect on longer term growth.
The current project wants to contribute to understanding the ‘granular origins’ of aggregate fluctuations (such as employment, GDP, exports, imports, etc.). By using unique (often confidential) micro data on firms, products and prices, we aim to address the following questions: What is the role of firm size, firm age, entry and exit for unemployment fluctuations? And how does regional concentration of economic activity affect firm growth and aggregate employment? What is the relationship between trade and firm growth and how does this impact on aggregate productivity growth and GDP? How should we think about trade in global supply chains and how vulnerable does it make aggregate growth? How important is the growth of cities for aggregate fluctuations? What is the role of firm level competitiveness (in terms of product quality and unit labour costs) for aggregate growth?
Reference: PHD-BLPRULMS-2019
The University of Liverpool Management School
The University of Liverpool Management School is a world leading centre for management and leadership training, education and research. The School is one of an elite group of institutions worldwide to be AACSB Accredited. The achievement of AACSB accreditation means that not only has the School met specific standards of excellence, but has also made a commitment to on-going improvement to ensure that the institution will continue to deliver high quality education to its students.
Part of the research intensive Russell Group of Universities, the Management School’s 150 international experts shape world-class academic thought and make a direct impact on a wide range of organisations and institutions. These experts publish in top-tier journals across many research areas and take a number of editorships in prestigious academic journals. Our investment in an excellent research environment and a flourishing cohort of PhD researchers coupled with our refreshingly interdisciplinary focus put the Management School at the forefront of academic research, making a difference to our many local, national and international partners.
References
[1] While the literature has explored the role of sectoral shocks in aggregate fluctuations (e.g. Long and Plosser, 1983), the role of firms in the aggregate business cycle has received relatively little attention.
References
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Bernard, A.B.; Van Beveren, I. and Vandenbussche, H. (2014). “Multi-product Exporters and the Margins of Trade”, Japanese Economic Review, forthcoming.
Christensen, C.M. (1997) “The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail.” Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA.
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Davis, S.J., Haltiwanger, J., Jarmin, R. and Miranda, J. (2007) ”Volatility and Dispersion in Business Growth Rates Publiccly traded versus Privately Held Firms, “ in Acemoglu, D. Rogoff, K. and Woodford, M., eds., NBER Macroeconomics Annual 2006 21 MIT Press Cambridge (MA), 107-80.
Gabaix, X. (2011) “The Granular Origins of Aggregate Fluctuations,” Econometrica 79 (3), 733-72.
Geurts, K. and Van Biesebroeck, J. (2014). “Job Creation, Firm Creation, and De Novo Entry”, CES Discussion Paper 14.25, Leuven.
di Giovanni, J. Levchenkov, A.A., and Mejean, I. (2014) “Firms, Destinations, and Aggregate Fluctuations,” Econometrica 82 (4), 1303-40.
Haltiwanger, J., Jarmin, R.S. and Miranda, J. (2013).”Who Creates Jobs? Small versus Large versus Young?” Review of Economics and Statistics, 95 (2), 347-61.
Konings, J. (1995a) “Job Creation and Job Destruction in the UK Manufacturing Sector,” Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics 57 (1), 5-24.
Konings, J. (1995b) “Gross Job Flows and the Revolution of Size in UK Establishments,” Small Business Economics 7, 213-20.
Long, J.B. and Plosser, C. (1983) “Real Business Cycles,” Journal of Political Economy 91 (1), 39-69
Moscarini, G. and Postel-Vinay, F. (2012) “The Contribution of Large and Small Employers to Job Creation in Times of High and Low Unemployment,” American Economic Review 102 (6), 2509-39.
Sutton, J. (2012) “Competing in Capabilities: The Globalization Process,” Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.
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