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Gibrat’s Law

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Abstract

Gibrat’s law states that a great deal of the evolution of firm size distribution over time is due to the action of chance. While chance is still seen as an important driver of the size of firms, recent studies call for chance to be supplemented by some more structured models in order to explain the observed patterns of firm size evolution.

This chapter was originally published in The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd edition, 2008. Edited by Steven N. Durlauf and Lawrence E. Blume

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Mata, J. (2008). Gibrat’s Law. In: The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_1239-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_1239-2

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-349-95121-5

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Gibrat’s Law
    Published:
    03 April 2017

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_1239-2

  2. Original

    Gibrat’s Law
    Published:
    13 October 2016

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_1239-1