Galtonian regression, company age and job generation 1986-95

We study the growth of employment at the company level using a very large d atabase of company accounts. More than 31 000 independent companies were st udied over 1986-95, though we concentrate on the 8 103 companies which surv ived throughout the period. We find that smaller companies grew relatively to larger ones in each of the cyclical phases studied, 1986 89, 1989 - 92 a nd 1993 - 95, Bur their advantage diminished steadily. Despite the negative effect of size on employment growth, and downsizing amongst the largest co mpanies, over half the net new jobs created in survivors were in companies with more than 500 employees.