Turnover and Mobility among the 100 Largest Firms: An Update
Abstract
It is well known that aggregate concentration levels in the United States have been increasing over time (see Table 1). Although the economic importance of such concentration has long been controversial, this upward trend is, nonetheless, greeted by many with alarm (see, for example, John Blair, ch. 4). Since the potential dangers of aggregate concentration are likely to be magnified if the largest firms are solidly entrenched in their positions, an analysis of the turnover and mobility of these firms is of some import. Several early analyses in this Review indicated that the degree of mobility among large firms was falling and that large firms were increasingly able to maintain their positions over time.' The purpose of this study is to reexamine the data and to determine if these trends have continued. Section I reviews the results of the previous studies and concludes that the apparent diminution of turnover and mobility has ceased. Section II briefly considers some possible causes of the observed turnover and mobility, and Section III summarizes the results.
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