Project Details
Projekt
Superstar Firms (Part of the Research Unit International Division of Labour (IDoL): New Challenges for Workers, Firms, and Policy Makers
Subject Area
Economic Policy, Applied Economics
Economic Theory
Economic Theory
Term
since 2026
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 550491480
This project investigates how market power in labour and product markets shapes firm behavior, productivity measurement, wage setting, and international strategies, with a particular focus on multi-product firms. It comprises three interrelated sub-projects: the first explores how monopsony and output market power distort standard productivity metrics and affect firms’ spatial expansion and multinational decisions; the second examines how a firm’s product scope influences its wage-setting behaviour, probing whether wage markdowns stem from non-wage amenities or strategic relocation options; and the fourth analyses how financial frictions impact the scale and scope of superstar exporters, emphasizing their effects on internal product allocation and export dynamics. Combining theoretical modelling with rich administrative data from Portugal and Denmark, the project aims to deepen our understanding of how firms' internal organisation and external constraints jointly determine productivity, wage outcomes, and trade patterns of international superstar firms. As part of the newly founded Research Unit IDoL, this research will benefit from significant synergies with other projects within the unit. Specifically, it will gain valuable insights from the projects "Services", "Firm Organisation", "Innovation and Technology", and "Taxation and Redistribution". Additionally, the "Data and Research Infrastructure" project will provide crucial input by offering support in data management.
DFG Programme
Research Units
