The distribution of firm sizes is known to be heavy tailed. In order to account for this stylized fact, previous studies have focused mainly on growth through investments in a company's own operations (internal growth). Thereby, the impact of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) on the firm size...

Custom software is distinct from other types of capital in that it is non-rival—once a firm makes an investment in custom software, it can be used simultaneously across its many establishments. Using confidential US Census data, we document that while firms with more establishments are more...

This paper examines a homogeneous-good Bertrand-Edgeworth oligopoly model to explore the role of firm size and number in pricing. We consider the price impact of merger, break up, investment, divestment, entry and exit. A merger leads to higher prices only when it increases the size of the...

The Pareto distribution has been used to describe firm sizes in many theoretical models for its convenience and empirical validity. We provide estimates of the Pareto parameters across industries and investigate the determinants of the shape of the firm size distribution in Brazil. The Pareto...