This essay examines the fate of the 100 largest industrial firms in the world in the year 1912 over the period to 1995. Disappearance and decline were the most common outcomes, but a few firms succeeded in growing considerably. There are no significant differences between the performance of...

This paper proposes that idiosyncratic firm-level fluctuations can explain an important part of aggregate shocks, and provide a microfoundation for aggregate productivity shocks. Existing research has focused on using aggregate shocks to explain business cycles, arguing that individual firm...

This paper proposes that idiosyncratic firm-level fluctuations can explain an important part of aggregate shocks, and provide a microfoundation for aggregate productivity shocks. Existing research has focused on using aggregate shocks to explain business cycles, arguing that individual firm...