U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Skip Header
Partners Researchers Educators Survey Respondents
News NAICS Codes Jobs About Us Contact Us Help
Topics
Data & Maps
Surveys & Programs
Resource Library
Search data, events, resources, and more
Topics
Browse our topics and subtopics to find information and data.
View All Topics and Subtopics Index A to Z
Age and Sex Business and Economy Education Emergency Management / Disasters Employment Families and Living Arrangements Geography Health Hispanic Origin Housing
Income and Poverty International Trade Migration/Geographic Mobility Population Population Estimates Public Sector Race Redistricting Research Voting and Registration
Data & Maps
Access demographic, economic and population data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Explore census data with visualizations and view tutorials.
Explore data on data.census.gov View all data resources
Census Academy Combining Data Data Equity Tools Data Tools and Apps Datasets Developers Experimental Data Products
Interactive Maps Mapping Files Profiles Related Sites Software Tables Training and Workshops Visualizations
Surveys & Programs
Our surveys provide periodic and comprehensive statistics about the nation. This data is critical for government programs, policies, and decision-making.
Survey Help View all Surveys & Programs
2020 Census 2030 Census American Community Survey (ACS) American Housing Survey (AHS) Annual Business Survey (ABS) Annual Survey of Manufactures (ASM) Census of Governments County Business Patterns (CBP) Current Population Survey (CPS)
Economic Census International Programs Metro and Micro Areas Population Estimates Population Projections Small Area Income and Poverty Statistics of U.S. Businesses Survey of Business Owners Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP)
Resource Library
Browse our collection of stories and more.
View all library resources Glossary
America Counts: Stories Audio Blogs By the Numbers Facts for Features Fact Sheets Infographics and Visualizations
Photos Publications Spotlights Stats for Stories Training (Census Academy) Videos Working Papers
Partners Researchers Educators Survey Respondents
News NAICS Codes Jobs About Us Contact Us Help
View All Topics and Subtopics Index A to Z
Age and Sex Business and Economy Education Emergency Management / Disasters Employment Families and Living Arrangements Geography Health Hispanic Origin Housing Income and Poverty International Trade Migration/Geographic Mobility Population Population Estimates Public Sector Race Redistricting Research Voting and Registration
Explore data on data.census.gov View all data resources
Census Academy Combining Data Data Equity Tools Data Tools and Apps Datasets Developers Experimental Data Products Interactive Maps Mapping Files Profiles Related Sites Software Tables Training and Workshops Visualizations
Survey Help View all Surveys & Programs
2020 Census 2030 Census American Community Survey (ACS) American Housing Survey (AHS) Annual Business Survey (ABS) Annual Survey of Manufactures (ASM) Census of Governments County Business Patterns (CBP) Current Population Survey (CPS) Economic Census International Programs Metro and Micro Areas Population Estimates Population Projections Small Area Income and Poverty Statistics of U.S. Businesses Survey of Business Owners Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP)
View all library resources Glossary
America Counts: Stories Audio Blogs By the Numbers Facts for Features Fact Sheets Infographics and Visualizations Photos Publications Spotlights Stats for Stories Training (Census Academy) Videos Working Papers

Heavy Tailed, but not Zipf: Firm and Establishment Size in the U.S.

Skip Navigation
Within Library

Heavy Tailed, but not Zipf: Firm and Establishment Size in the U.S.

Written by:
Working Paper Number CES-21-15

Abstract

CES_working_paper_series
Download Heavy Tailed, but not Zipf: Firm and Establishment Size in the U.S. [PDF - > 1MB]

Heavy tails play an important role in modern macroeconomics and international economics. Previous work often assumes a Pareto distribution for firm size, typically with a shape parameter approaching Zipf’s law. This convenient approximation has dramatic consequences for the importance of large firms in the economy. But we show that a lognormal distribution, or better yet, a convolution of a lognormal and a non-Zipf Pareto distribution, provides a better description of the U.S. economy, using confidential Census Bureau data. These findings hold even far in the upper tail and suggest heterogeneous firm models should more systematically explore deviations from Zipf’s law.

Others in Series

Working Paper
Combining Rules and Discretion in Economic Development Policy: Evidence on the Impacts of the California Competes Tax Credit
June 2021
Author MATTHEW FREEDMAN, SHANTANU KHANNA, AND DAVID NEUMARK
Working Paper Number CES-21-13
We study the impacts of a large state economic development program on job creation using ACS data.
Working Paper
School Discipline and Racial Disparities in Early Adulthood
June 2021
Author MILES DAVISON, ANDREW PENNER, EMILY PENNER, NIKOLAS PHARRIS-CIUREJ, SONYA R. PORTER, EVAN ROSE, YOTAM SHEM-TOV, AND PAUL YOO
Working Paper Number CES-21-14
We utilize novel data to document the links between high school discipline and important young adult outcomes.
Working Paper
A Note on the Locational Determinants of the Agricultural Supply Chain
July 2021
Author ANDERS VAN SANDT & CRAIG WESLEY CARPENTER
Working Paper Number CES-21-16
We explore the location decisions of several food and agricultural industries for employer and non-employer establishments.
Page Last Revised - October 8, 2021
✕
Is this page helpful?
Thumbs Up Image Yes Thumbs Down Image No
✕
NO THANKS
255 characters maximum 255 characters maximum reached
✕
Thank you for your feedback.
Comments or suggestions?

Top

Back to Header