We develop a span-of-control model where managerial skills are endogenous and the outcome of investments over the life cycle of managers. We calibrate this model to U.S. plant-size data to quantify the effects of distortions that are correlated with the size of production units, and how these...

A large portion of differences in output per capita across countries is explained by differences in total factor productivity (TFP). In this article, we summarize a recent literature — and the articles in this special issue on misallocation and productivity — that focus on the...

This paper evaluates the size of these effects when distortions affect not only resource allocation but also the evolution of firm level productivity itself. To this end, we partially endogenize the evolution of firm level productivity in a standard heterogeneous firm model by allowing firms to...

Financial frictions distort the allocation of resources among productive units--all else equal, firms whose financing choices are affected by such frictions face higher borrowing costs than firms with ready access to capital markets. As a result, input choices may differ systematically across...

Using data on formal manufacturing plants in India, we report a large but imprecise speedup in productivity growth starting in the early 1990s (e.g., 1993-2007 compared to 1980-1992). We trace it to productivity growth within large plants (200 workers or more), as opposed to reallocation across...

In this paper, we measure TFP losses in China's non-agricultural economy associated with labour and capital misallocation across provinces and sectors between 1985-2007. We also decompose the overall loss into factor market distortions within provinces (between state and non-state sectors) and...

We present a dynamic model in which firms accumulate wealth to avoid bankruptcy and to overcome financing constraints that affect their fixed operational costs and the costs of becoming an exporter. Financing constraints not only affect firms directly when they are binding, but also indirectly,...

We examine the link between trade liberalization and aggregate productivity, with a focus on improved market selection resulting from a reduction in trade barriers and in the dispersion of these barriers across producers. Our analysis exploits tariff changes across sectors after the Colombian...

How important is financial development for economic development? A costly state verification model of financial intermediation is presented to address this question. The model is calibrated to match facts about the U.S. economy, such as the intermediation spreads and the firm-size distributions...

Hsieh and Klenow (2009) argue that a large fraction of aggregate TFP differences between the U.S. and the developing countries of China and India can be explained by factor misallocation. Their interpretation is that this misallocation is due to institutions and policies in these developing...