Technological change and concentration of firms: an empirical application to the food industry of Lombardy.

This study represents an empirical evaluation of the technical progress effects on the Lombardy food industry considering different sized companies. It is possible to find in industrial economic literature different evidences about the relationship between technical progress and company size. We use a sample of companies in the period 1985–91 to analyse this relationship. To measure the economic effects of technical progress some proxy indicators are adopted, considering mainly the changes in labour productivity. Moreover, we utilise a concentration index to describe the structural evolution of Lombardy food industry. The results show that a technical progress effect can be identified in the increase of real labour productivity during the period analysed. The most important contribution to this growth is provided by the largest companies and the technological efficiency appears to be connected to the size of the company. But also the small and medium companies demonstrate a significant propensity to adopt innovative technologies.