Using firm-level data from the US Census Longitudinal Business Database (LBD), this paper exhibits novel evidence about a wave of specialization experienced by US firms in the 1980s and 1990s. Specifically: 1) Firms, especially innovating ones, decreased production scope, i.e., the number of...

After impressive growth in the 2000s, China's productivity has more recently stagnated. We use firm-level data to analyze productivity and firm dynamism trends from 2003 to 2018. We document six facts that together show a decline in China’s business dynamism. We show that (i) the revenue share...

We provide the first direct estimates of distribution expenses incurred by manufacturing plants and assess their importance for aggregate output. Using a novel measure from the Indian Annual Survey of Industries, we document three key facts: (1) distribution expenses are large – they amount to...

We show theoretically and empirically that standard methods give downward biased estimates of productivity growth if technical change is factor-biased. We show how to correct for this bias and construct more reliable measures of the productivity gains from technical progress. We consider two...

Korea’s economy has leaped to high-income status thanks to several decades of sustained high growth. However, population aging and shifts in global demand provide headwinds for future growth and Korea now faces the effects of COVID-19 on economic activity. This paper asseses the expected drag...

Rodrik (2016) pointed out that late industrializing countries are experiencing a lower peak at lower income levels in the manufacturing employment share hump-shaped path. The present study develops a theoretical model to analyze the dynamics of industrialization and deindustrialization in...

Authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has issued $900 billion in loans through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Empirical studies show that small businesses with black owners faced more discrimination...

Local weather shocks have been shown to affect local economic output, however, little is known about their propagation through production networks. Using a six-sector global dataset over the past fifty years, this paper examines the effect of weather fluctuations and extreme weather events on...

This paper asks whether increasing productivity in the electricity sector can yield larger long-run GDP gains than suggested by electricity's small share of aggregate economic activity. We answer this question using a dynamic multi-sector model in which electricity is a strong complement to...

We study the properties of business expectations and uncertainty in 39 developing and emerging economies. Our evidence comes from 31,000 businesses responding to the World Bank Group Business Pulse and Enterprise Surveys. The surveys elicit three-point subjective probability distributions about...