If firms were animals rather than economic entities, a behavioral scientist trying to describe their traits would observe that firms tend to be found in herds and usually migrate towards the biggest watering holes. This paper surveys the literature on the questions why firms grow stronger with...

This chapter discusses the cost concepts required for analyzing the role of technology in the determination of firm and industry structure. It focuses on the general multiproduct case, although important single product aspects of the problem are also discussed. An analysis of the role these cost...

U.S. dairy production is consolidating into fewer but larger farms. This report uses data from several USDA surveys to detail that consolidation and to analyze the financial drivers of consolidation. Specifically, larger farms realize lower production costs. Although small dairy farms realize...

This paper examines three alternative explanations for manufacturing specialization in rural areas: 1) the greater efficiency of very large plants; 2) the "localization" advantages identified with a number of firms in the same industry locating near each other; or 3) a strategy to gain...

Economies of scale are present in soybean production. In Brazil, the two largest producing regions have properties with different dimensions. In particular, the average size of properties in the South is much smaller than those in the country´s Mid‐West region. This study analyzes the...