The distribution and regulation of Tobin’s q

Ellis Scharfenaker and Paulo L. dos Santos

Economics Letters, 2015, vol. 137, issue C, 191-194

Abstract: This paper reports on the empirical distribution of Tobin’s q for over 20,000 US-listed corporations between 1962 and 2014. Contemporaneous frequency distributions are shown to conform consistently to the Asymmetric Laplace function. We draw on the Principle of Maximum Entropy to develop an account of this distribution, whose mathematical form constitutes an innovative criterion for judging the empirical success of theorizations of the determinants of Tobin’s q.

Keywords: Tobin’s q; Statistical equilibrium; Asymmetric Laplace; Maximum entropy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C1 C16 E1 G1 L1 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:137:y:2015:i:c:p:191-194

DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2015.11.008

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