IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/rgscpp/v12y2020i2p319-348.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

How are the potential gains from economic activity transmitted to the labour factor: more employment or more wages? Evidence from the Portuguese context

Author

Listed:
  • Carlos Carreira
  • Luís Lopes

Abstract

The paper analyses the role of knowledge externalities in firms' employment and workers' wages. We test whether agglomeration economies and regional knowledge base exert a greater impact on wage growth than on employment growth, using spatial panel econometric techniques to control for unobserved spatial effects. Using a spatial panel for six Portuguese manufacturing industries, we found that regional knowledge spillovers, contrary to the theoretical assumptions, have a greater impact on employment in firms than on workers' wages. This analysis might enhance important policy debates about the effects of regional policies on employment and wages.

Suggested Citation

  • Carlos Carreira & Luís Lopes, 2020. "How are the potential gains from economic activity transmitted to the labour factor: more employment or more wages? Evidence from the Portuguese context," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(2), pages 319-348, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:rgscpp:v:12:y:2020:i:2:p:319-348
    DOI: 10.1111/rsp3.12269
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/rsp3.12269
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/rsp3.12269?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Carreira, Carlos & Teixeira, Paulino, 2011. "Entry and exit as a source of aggregate productivity growth in two alternative technological regimes," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 135-150, June.
    2. Carlos Carreira & Paulino Teixeira, 2016. "Entry and exit in severe recessions: lessons from the 2008–2013 Portuguese economic crisis," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 46(4), pages 591-617, April.
    3. Francesca Mameli & Alessandra Faggian & Philip Mccann, 2014. "Estimation of Local Employment Growth: Do Sectoral Aggregation and Industry Definition Matter?," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(11), pages 1813-1828, November.
    4. Combes, Pierre-Philippe & Démurger, Sylvie & Li, Shi & Wang, Jianguo, 2020. "Unequal migration and urbanisation gains in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    5. Bernard Fingleton & Simonetta Longhi, 2013. "The Effects Of Agglomeration On Wages: Evidence From The Micro-Level," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(3), pages 443-463, August.
    6. Rui Baptista & João Leitão (ed.), 2015. "Entrepreneurship, Human Capital, and Regional Development," International Studies in Entrepreneurship, Springer, edition 127, number 978-3-319-12871-9, November.
    7. Blien, Uwe & Suedekum, Jens & Wolf, Katja, 2006. "Local employment growth in West Germany: A dynamic panel approach," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(4), pages 445-458, August.
    8. Combes, Pierre-Philippe & Gobillon, Laurent, 2015. "The Empirics of Agglomeration Economies," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 247-348, Elsevier.
    9. Antony Potter & H. Doug Watts, 2014. "Revisiting Marshall's Agglomeration Economies: Technological Relatedness and the Evolution of the Sheffield Metals Cluster," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(4), pages 603-623, April.
    10. Harrison, Rupert & Jaumandreu, Jordi & Mairesse, Jacques & Peters, Bettina, 2014. "Does innovation stimulate employment? A firm-level analysis using comparable micro-data from four European countries," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 29-43.
    11. Simonetta Longhi & Peter Nijkamp & Jacques Poot, 2006. "Spatial Heterogeneity And The Wage Curve Revisited," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(4), pages 707-731, October.
    12. Ehrl, Philipp, 2013. "Agglomeration economies with consistent productivity estimates," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(5), pages 751-763.
    13. Carlos Carreira & Luís Lopes, 2015. "Are Small Firms More Dependent on the Local Environment than Larger Firms? Evidence from Portuguese Manufacturing Firms," International Studies in Entrepreneurship, in: Rui Baptista & João Leitão (ed.), Entrepreneurship, Human Capital, and Regional Development, edition 127, chapter 0, pages 263-280, Springer.
    14. D'Costa, Sabine & Overman, Henry G., 2014. "The urban wage growth premium: Sorting or learning?," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 168-179.
    15. Combes, Pierre-Philippe & Magnac, Thierry & Robin, Jean-Marc, 2004. "The dynamics of local employment in France," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(2), pages 217-243, September.
    16. Inácio Fernandes de Araújo & Eduardo Gonçalves & Eduardo Almeida, 2019. "Effects of dynamic and spatial externalities on local growth: Evidence from Brazil," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 98(2), pages 1239-1259, April.
    17. Luisa Corrado & Bernard Fingleton, 2012. "Where Is The Economics In Spatial Econometrics?," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(2), pages 210-239, May.
    18. Ana Catarina Pimenta & Manuel Coutinho Pereira, 2019. "Aggregate educational mismatches in the Portuguese labour market," Economic Bulletin and Financial Stability Report Articles and Banco de Portugal Economic Studies, Banco de Portugal, Economics and Research Department.
    19. Olivier Bargain & Kristian Orsini & Andreas Peichl, 2012. "Comparing Labor Supply Elasticities in Europe and the US: New Results," Working Papers halshs-00805736, HAL.
    20. Henderson, Vernon & Kuncoro, Ari & Turner, Matt, 1995. "Industrial Development in Cities," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 103(5), pages 1067-1090, October.
    21. Klevorick, Alvin K. & Levin, Richard C. & Nelson, Richard R. & Winter, Sidney G., 1995. "On the sources and significance of interindustry differences in technological opportunities," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 185-205, March.
    22. Raffaele Paci & Stefano Usai, 2008. "Agglomeration economies, spatial dependence and local industry growth," Revue d'économie industrielle, De Boeck Université, vol. 0(3), pages 87-109.
    23. Edward L. Glaeser & Glenn Ellison, 1999. "The Geographic Concentration of Industry: Does Natural Advantage Explain Agglomeration?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(2), pages 311-316, May.
    24. Mario Forni & Sergio Paba, 2002. "Spillovers and the growth of local industries," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(2), pages 151-171, June.
    25. Beaudry, Catherine & Schiffauerova, Andrea, 2009. "Who's right, Marshall or Jacobs? The localization versus urbanization debate," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 318-337, March.
    26. Grimpe, Christoph & Sofka, Wolfgang, 2009. "Search patterns and absorptive capacity: Low- and high-technology sectors in European countries," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(3), pages 495-506, April.
    27. Andrew Perumal, 2017. "42 Years of Urban Growth and Industry Composition," Atlantic Economic Journal, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 45(2), pages 133-147, June.
    28. repec:edn:sirdps:345 is not listed on IDEAS
    29. Michael Fritsch & Viktor Slavtchev, 2007. "Universities and Innovation in Space," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(2), pages 201-218.
    30. Federico Cingano & Fabiano Schivardi, 2004. "Identifying the Sources of Local Productivity Growth," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 2(4), pages 720-742, June.
    31. Audretsch, David B. & Feldman, Maryann P., 2004. "Knowledge spillovers and the geography of innovation," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: J. V. Henderson & J. F. Thisse (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 61, pages 2713-2739, Elsevier.
    32. Andersson, Martin & Klaesson , Johan & Larsson , Johan P, 2014. "The Sources of the Urban Wage Premium by Worker Skills," Papers in Innovation Studies 2014/6, Lund University, CIRCLE - Centre for Innovation Research.
    33. James P. LeSage, 2014. "What Regional Scientists Need to Know about Spatial Econometrics," The Review of Regional Studies, Southern Regional Science Association, vol. 44(1), pages 13-32, Spring.
    34. Olivier Bargain & Kristian Orsini & Andreas Peichl, 2014. "Comparing Labor Supply Elasticities in Europe and the United States: New Results," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 49(3), pages 723-838.
    35. Fafchamps, Marcel & Hamine, Said El, 2017. "Firm productivity, wages, and agglomeration externalities," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(2), pages 291-305.
    36. Dias, Daniel A. & Robalo Marques, Carlos & Richmond, Christine, 2016. "Misallocation and productivity in the lead up to the Eurozone crisis," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 46-70.
    37. Combes, Pierre-Philippe & Magnac, Thierry & Robin, Jean-Marc, 2004. "The dynamics of local employment in France," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(2), pages 217-243, September.
    38. Solmaria Halleck Vega & J. Paul Elhorst, 2015. "The Slx Model," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(3), pages 339-363, June.
    39. Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), 2015. "Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, Elsevier, edition 1, volume 5, number 5.
    40. Frank G. van Oort & Martijn J. Burger & Joris Knoben & Otto Raspe, 2012. "Multilevel Approaches And The Firm-Agglomeration Ambiguity In Economic Growth Studies," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(3), pages 468-491, July.
    41. O'Connor, Sean & Doyle, Eleanor & Doran, Justin, 2018. "Diversity, employment growth and spatial spillovers amongst Irish regions," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 260-267.
    42. Glaeser, Edward L & Mare, David C, 2001. "Cities and Skills," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 19(2), pages 316-342, April.
    43. Henderson, Vernon & Lee, Todd & Lee, Yung Joon, 2001. "Scale Externalities in Korea," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(3), pages 479-504, May.
    44. Combes, Pierre-Philippe, 2000. "Economic Structure and Local Growth: France, 1984-1993," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(3), pages 329-355, May.
    45. Thomas Doring & Jan Schnellenbach, 2006. "What do we know about geographical knowledge spillovers and regional growth?: A survey of the literature," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(3), pages 375-395.
    46. Combes, Pierre-Philippe & Duranton, Gilles & Gobillon, Laurent, 2008. "Spatial wage disparities: Sorting matters!," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(2), pages 723-742, March.
    47. Henri L.F. Groot & Jacques Poot & Martijn J. Smit, 2016. "Which Agglomeration Externalities Matter Most And Why?," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 756-782, September.
    48. Jose-Luis Hervas-Oliver & Francisca Sempere-Ripoll & Ronald Rojas Alvarado & Sofia Estelles-Miguel, 2018. "Agglomerations and firm performance: who benefits and how much?," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(3), pages 338-349, March.
    49. Liang, Jiaochen & Goetz, Stephan J., 2018. "Technology intensity and agglomeration economies," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(10), pages 1990-1995.
    50. Huang, Qiong & Chand, Satish, 2015. "Spatial spillovers of regional wages: Evidence from Chinese provinces," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 97-109.
    51. Malerba, Franco & Orsenigo, Luigi, 1997. "Technological Regimes and Sectoral Patterns of Innovative Activities," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 6(1), pages 83-117.
    52. Federico Belotti & Gordon Hughes & Andrea Piano Mortari, 2017. "Spatial panel-data models using Stata," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 17(1), pages 139-180, March.
    53. Paul Verstraten & Gerard Verweij & Peter J. Zwaneveld, 2019. "Complexities in the spatial scope of agglomeration economies," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(1), pages 29-55, January.
    54. J. Elhorst, 2010. "Applied Spatial Econometrics: Raising the Bar," Spatial Economic Analysis, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(1), pages 9-28.
    55. Carlos Carreira & Paulino Teixeira, 2016. "Entry and exit in severe recessions: lessons from the 2008–2013 Portuguese economic crisis," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 46(4), pages 591-617, April.
    56. Quah, Danny T., 1996. "Empirics for economic growth and convergence," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 40(6), pages 1353-1375, June.
    57. LeSage, James P. & Pace, Robert Kelley, 2011. "Pitfalls in Higher Order Model Extensions of Basic Spatial Regression Methodology," The Review of Regional Studies, Southern Regional Science Association, vol. 41(1), pages 13-26, Summer.
    58. Kirsi Mukkala, 2004. "Agglomeration economies in the finnish manufacturing sector," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(21), pages 2419-2427.
    59. Cassia, Lucio & Colombelli, Alessandra & Paleari, Stefano, 2009. "Firms' growth: Does the innovation system matter?," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 20(3), pages 211-220, September.
    60. Cieślik Andrzej & Ghodsi Mahdi, 2015. "Agglomeration externalities, market structure and employment growth in high-tech industries: Revisiting the evidence," Miscellanea Geographica. Regional Studies on Development, Sciendo, vol. 19(3), pages 76-81, September.
    61. Paul Bishop & Peter Gripaios, 2010. "Spatial Externalities, Relatedness and Sector Employment Growth in Great Britain," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(4), pages 443-454.
    62. repec:bla:jindec:v:50:y:2002:i:2:p:151-71 is not listed on IDEAS
    63. Nadine LEVRATTO, 2014. "Does firm creation depend on local context? A focus on the neighbouring effects," Working Papers 40, Réseau de Recherche sur l’Innovation. / Research Network on Innovation.
    64. Michiel Evers & Ruud Mooij & Daniel Vuuren, 2008. "The Wage Elasticity of Labour Supply: A Synthesis of Empirical Estimates," De Economist, Springer, vol. 156(1), pages 25-43, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Antonio Carlos Campos & Luís Lopes & Carlos Carreira, 2024. "Spatial Autocorrelation of Exports and R&D Expenditures in Portugal," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(2), pages 8632-8653, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Carlos Carreira & Luís Lopes, 2018. "Regional knowledge spillovers: a firm-based analysis of non-linear effects," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(7), pages 948-958, July.
    2. Carlos Carreira & Luís Lopes, 2016. "Collecting new pieces to the regional knowledge spillovers puzzle: high-tech versus low-tech industries," GEMF Working Papers 2016-06, GEMF, Faculty of Economics, University of Coimbra.
    3. Combes, Pierre-Philippe & Gobillon, Laurent, 2015. "The Empirics of Agglomeration Economies," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 247-348, Elsevier.
    4. Carlos Carreira & Luís Lopes, 2016. "Collecting new pieces to the regional knowledge spillovers puzzle: high-tech versus low-tech industries," GEMF Working Papers 2016-06, GEMF, Faculty of Economics, University of Coimbra.
    5. Giulio Cainelli & Andrea Fracasso & Giuseppe Vittucci Marzetti, 2015. "Spatial agglomeration and productivity in Italy: A panel smooth transition regression approach," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 94, pages 39-67, November.
    6. Peters, Jan Cornelius, 2016. "Quantifying the effect of labor market size on learning externalities," Economics Working Papers 2016-11, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Department of Economics.
    7. Beaudry, Catherine & Schiffauerova, Andrea, 2009. "Who's right, Marshall or Jacobs? The localization versus urbanization debate," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 318-337, March.
    8. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/1kv8mtgl748r0ahh12air9erdc is not listed on IDEAS
    9. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/1kv8mtgl748r0ahh12air9erdc is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Mohamed Amara, 2019. "Firm Performance and Agglomeration Effects: Evidence from Tunisian Firm-level Data," Working Papers 1297, Economic Research Forum, revised 2019.
    11. Emanuela Marrocu & Raffaele Paci & Stefano Usai, 2013. "Productivity Growth In The Old And New Europe: The Role Of Agglomeration Externalities," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(3), pages 418-442, August.
    12. Duranton, Gilles & Puga, Diego, 2014. "The Growth of Cities," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 5, pages 781-853, Elsevier.
    13. Martin, Philippe & Mayer, Thierry & Mayneris, Florian, 2011. "Spatial concentration and plant-level productivity in France," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(2), pages 182-195, March.
    14. Daniele Mantegazzi & Philip McCann & Viktor Venhorst, 2020. "The impact of language borders on the spatial decay of agglomeration and competition spillovers," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(3), pages 558-577, June.
    15. Delgado, Mercedes & Porter, Michael E. & Stern, Scott, 2014. "Clusters, convergence, and economic performance," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(10), pages 1785-1799.
    16. Niebuhr, Annekatrin, 2016. "Benefits of dense labour markets - Evidence from transitions to employment in Germany," VfS Annual Conference 2016 (Augsburg): Demographic Change 145715, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    17. Jan Kluge & Robert Lehmann, 2013. "Marshall or Jacobs? New insights from an interaction model," Review of Regional Research: Jahrbuch für Regionalwissenschaft, Springer;Gesellschaft für Regionalforschung (GfR), vol. 33(2), pages 107-133, October.
    18. Orea, Luis & Álvarez, Inmaculada C., 2019. "Spatial Production Economics," Efficiency Series Papers 2019/06, University of Oviedo, Department of Economics, Oviedo Efficiency Group (OEG).
    19. Oliver Farhauer & Alexandra Kröll, 2012. "Diversified specialisation—going one step beyond regional economics’ specialisation-diversification concept," Review of Regional Research: Jahrbuch für Regionalwissenschaft, Springer;Gesellschaft für Regionalforschung (GfR), vol. 32(1), pages 63-84, March.
    20. Mohamed Amara & Khaled Thabet, 2019. "Firm and regional factors of productivity: a multilevel analysis of Tunisian manufacturing," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 63(1), pages 25-51, August.
    21. Matthias Firgo & Peter Mayerhofer, 2015. "Wissens-Spillovers und regionale Entwicklung - welche strukturpolitische Ausrichtung optimiert des Wachstum?," Working Paper Reihe der AK Wien - Materialien zu Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft 144, Kammer für Arbeiter und Angestellte für Wien, Abteilung Wirtschaftswissenschaft und Statistik.
    22. Duschl, Matthias & Schimke, Antje & Brenner, Thomas & Luxen, Dennis, 2011. "Firm growth and the spatial impact of geolocated external factors: Empirical evidence for German manufacturing firms," Working Paper Series in Economics 36, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Department of Economics and Management.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:rgscpp:v:12:y:2020:i:2:p:319-348. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=1757-7802 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.