This paper studies the productivity effects of corporate diversification. I estimate a model that allows diversification decisions to affect future productivity. I apply the model to a panel of U.S. manufacturing firms to measure the impact of diversification on productivity. My estimates suggest that diversification plays a key role in explaining differences in productivity across productive units and time. The average productivity effect of diversification is estimated to be positive at the productive unit level. However, the effect varies considerably across productive units and sectors of activity, depending crucially on already attained productivity.

中文翻译：

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企业多元化对生产力的影响*

本文研究了企业多元化对生产力的影响。我估计了一个允许多元化决策影响未来生产力的模型。我将该模型应用于一组美国制造企业，以衡量多元化对生产率的影响。我的估计表明，多样化在解释不同生产单位和时间之间的生产率差异方面发挥着关键作用。据估计，在生产单位层面，多元化对平均生产率的影响是积极的。然而，不同生产单位和活动部门的影响差异很大，主要取决于已经达到的生产率。