Geographical determinants of the creation of manufacturing firms: The regions of Spain

The complexity of the mechanisms determining the entry and exit of firms increases when geographical differences in production structure, human capital and unemployment are considered. Inter-reginal variations in the rate of the new firms start-ups within each industrial activity persist through long periods of time, a circumstance that indicates that there are non-conjunctural determinants to the capacity of regions to create new industrial projects. This study is concerned with establishing the influence o geographical variables on the setting up of new manufacturing establishments. The manufacturing industries (NACE R-25) in the Spanish regions (NUTS-2) have been taken as the units of analysis for the period 1980-1992.spanish regions, industrial dynamics, geographical determinants, firm start-ups

Innovation and productivity in manufacturing and service firms in Catalonia: a regional approach

This article analyses the determinants of research and development (R&D) and the role of innovation on labour productivity in Catalan firms. Our empirical analysis found a considerable heterogeneity in firm performances between the manufacturing and service industries and between low- and high-tech industries. The frontiers that separate manufacturing and service industries are increasingly blurred. In Catalonia high-tech knowledge-intensive services (KIS) play a strategic role in promoting innovation in both manufacturing and service industries, and driving growth throughout the regional economy. Empirical results show new firms created during the period 2002-2004 that have a greater R&D intensity than incumbent firms (54.1% in high-tech manufacturing industries and 68.8% in high-tech KIS). Small and young firms in the high-tech KIS sector are very prone to carrying out R&D and they invest more in innovation projects. R&D expenditures, output innovation, investment in physical capital, market share and export have positive effects on labour productivity in both the manufacturing and service sectors. Firm size, on the other hand, has a positive effect on productivity in manufacturing industries but not in services.innovation, R&D, productivity, knowledge-intensive services,

High-Growth Firms in European Countries: the Role of Innovation

This paper analyses the role that R&D and innovation has on the likelihood of a firm becoming a High-Growth Firm (HGF). The microdata is from the Community Innovation Survey provided by Eurostat, it covers the period 2008–2010, and we classify the EU countries into three clusters: Core countries, Mediterranean countries, and New EU Members. Our results show that there are large differences between each cluster. Technological innovations promote the likelihood of Core countries becoming an HGF, non-technological innovations are a key determinant for Mediterranean countries, and in New EU members the drivers are more related to firm characteristics and international trade