EH.Net Abstracts in Economic History

                ABSTRACTS IN ECONOMIC HISTORY
                    (c) 1999 EH.Net
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Name:  Sukkoo Kim
Email:  soks at wueconc.wustl.edu
Institution:  Washington University in St. Louis and NBER

Co-author:

Title:  The Growth of Modern Business Enterprises in the Twentieth Century

Internet Address of abstracted work:

By mail:
Sukkoo Kim
Department of Economics
Washington University
Campus Box 1208
One Brookings Drive
St. Louis, MO 63130-4899 USA

Language:  English

Abstract:
This paper uses the census bureau's Enterprise Statistics to document the
growth of the modern multi-unit firm in the American economy. The data show
that, although the great majority of American business enterprises operated
as traditional single-unit firms, a small number of modern multi-unit firms
exerted a significant influence on the American economy. By the second half
of the twentieth century, these multi-unit firms accounted for over half of
all employees. In addition, the paper uses a unique Federal Trade
Commission data on retail chain stores, as well as data from the Enterprise
Statistics, to examine the rise of multi-unit firms in distribution and in
production. These data sources suggest that economies in marketing, rather
than those of scale and scope, explain the rise of the modern multi-unit
business enterprise.

Bibliography:  Kim, Sukkoo.  "The Growth of Modern Business Enterprises in
the Twentieth Century."   Research in Economic History, Vol. 19, 1999,
forthcoming.

Subject:  B
Geographical Area:  7
Country/Region:  USA
Time Period:  0

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