Dispersion and Heterogeneity of Firm Performances in Nine French Service Industries, 1984-1987

57 Pages Posted: 11 Apr 2004 Last revised: 9 Jul 2022

See all articles by Elisabeth Kremp

Elisabeth Kremp

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); Banque de France - Direction des Entreprises

Jacques Mairesse

National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE) - Center for Research in Economics and Statistics (CREST); Maastricht University - United Nations and Maastricht Economic Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (UNU-MERIT); National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Date Written: March 1991

Abstract

In the present study, we have taken advantage of the wealth of information provided by the French annual survey of market services to construct a panel sample of data on about 2300 large firms, from 1984 to 1987, in nine selected service industries (at the four digit level of the industrial classification) . We have contrasted the average performances of firms across industries, in terms of labor productivity ratios and profitability margins, both in levels and in growth rates. We have compared these averages indicators for more or less inclusive sample definitions, going from the survey of all firms to a 'balanced' and "cleaned' panel data sample of large firms, and for the two kinds of averages usually considered in macro and micro-analyses. We, then proceeded to show that the differences across industries in average productivity and profitability are usually small when compared to the range of individual differences within industries, and have investigated to what extent the extreme variability in individual performances could be accounted for by other heterogeneity factors, besides the industry effects.

Suggested Citation

Kremp, Elisabeth M. and Mairesse, Jacques, Dispersion and Heterogeneity of Firm Performances in Nine French Service Industries, 1984-1987 (March 1991). NBER Working Paper No. w3665, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=295665

Elisabeth M. Kremp (Contact Author)

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Banque de France - Direction des Entreprises

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Paris Cedex 01 75049
France

Jacques Mairesse

National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE) - Center for Research in Economics and Statistics (CREST) ( email )

15 Boulevard Gabriel Peri
Malakoff Cedex, 1 92245
France

Maastricht University - United Nations and Maastricht Economic Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (UNU-MERIT)

Keizer Karelplein 19
6211 TC Maastricht
Netherlands

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

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