Profits in the Long Run asks two questions: Are there persistent differences in profitability across firms? If so, what accounts for them? This book answers these questions using data for the 1000 largest US manufacturing firms in 1950 and 1972. It finds that there are persistent differences in prof[...]

Do company profits eventually converge on a common, competitive level? How long does the convergence process take? This book seeks to answer these questions through a comparison of company profitability using time-series data compiled at the firm level and at the industry level in Canada, France, Ja[...]