Large firms contribute disproportionately to the economic performance of countries: they are more productive, pay higher wages, enjoy higher profits and are more successful in international markets. The differences between European countries in terms of the size of their firms are stark. Firms...

Studies measuring barriers to firm growth assume economies are closed, ignoring information on firm exports. We argue that this information is key to interpret data and improve the accuracy of model predictions. To show this, we develop a dynamic model with export and domestic barriers. We show...

The international trade literature finds strong links between firm growth and export decisions. In spite of this, the literature analyzing cross-country differences in firm growth commonly abstracts from trade. We develop a tractable, dynamic model to understand the consequences of this...

This paper studies the differences in firm size distributions between European countries. We start by documenting large differences using the EFIGE database: in the countries under most severe distress in the sample (Italy and Spain) firms are relatively small compared with the remaining...

We study the reaction of non-exporters to openness. While static models suggest non-exporters lose from openness, dynamic ones where firms can innovate allow for gains from internalizing future exports. Developing a tractable model with productivity choices where both effects are present, we...