Determinants of net trade flows in the OECD: new evidende with special emphasis on the case of the former communist members

This study explores - by estimating an econometric panel data model – the capacity of some of the hypotheses formulated in the recent dynamic models of trade and economic growth to explain the bilateral trade of OECD countries. In this respect, special emphasis is placed on the former communist members in order to assess whether their case differs from that of the OECD on the whole. Amongst other findings, our study suggests that the larger a country’s endowment of capital, both tangible and intangible (human and technological capital), in relation to that of its trade partners, the better the export/import ratio of its bilateral trade. It also shows that direct investment enhances the export/import ratio with the host country. The results obtained for the former communist countries reflect only a few minor differences in relation to the others.trade flows, Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs)

An Assessment of Real Convergence of Less Developed EU Members: Lessons for the CEEC Candidates

The main purpose of this study is to provide an assessment of the different experiences of convergence of the four less developed EU members (Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Greece) after joining the EU and their main determining factors. Here special emphasis is placed on the assessment of their respective capital stocks, both physical and intangible, given their essential influence on growth and, consequently, on economic welfare. In addition, it aims to draw conclusions for these experiences that may help in the elaboration of suitable strategies of accession for the CEEC candidates..

The evolution and convergence of the government expenditure composition in the OECD countries: an analysis of the functional distribution

This paper explores the existence of convergence in the structure of government expenditure by functions in the OECD countries for the period 1970-1998 and the prospects of this process persisting in the future. The results obtained first through the similarity index and afterwards using the usual convergence indicators, adapted to the analysis of the breakdown of public expenditure, point to the existence of a distribution approximation. Nevertheless, we have found that the majority of expenditures were near to the steady-state, which differs across countries. This suggests that there are some individual factors that impede convergence to a single structure in the long run.

"The Role of International Technological Spillovers in the Economic Growth of the OECD Countries "

This paper explores the role of imports as a mechanism of transmission of international technological spillovers and the significance of these for the growth and economic convergence of the OECD countries. For this purpose a growth model is estimated that includes amongst its determinants a measure of the stock of technological knowledge. The results reveal first that international technological spillovers transmitted through imports have had a favourable influence on the economic growth of the OECD countries, Secondly, they suggest that the capacity of countries to take advantage of those spillovers depend on their own human and R&D capital endowments..

Spatial productivity spillovers across Spanish municipalities

Whilst a great deal of e¤ort has been dedicated to identification of agglomeration effects on labour productivity, the measurement of spatial productivity spillovers is a question that has been addressed only occasionally along the New Economic Geography literature. We estimate agglomeration effects, nonetheless conditioned to the possible existence of spatial productivity spillovers across Spanish municipalities in year 2001. To this respect, we find that agglomeration effects are in the same order of magnitude than thoseencountered when measured in the standard way. Further, these agglomeration efects coexist with very strong spatial productivity spillovers in a close neighbourhood of 10 km. Finally, these spatial e¤ects are shown to quickly diminish as distance increases.IV estimation, elevation, spatial externalities, productivity, neighbourhood, Spain

Determinants of bilateral foreing direct investment flows in the OECD, with a closer look at the former coummunist countries

The main purpose of this paper is to study the determinants of bilateral foreign direct investment (hereafter FDI) flows in OECD countries. Special emphasis is placed on the new Central and Eastern European members (Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland) in order to assess whether they differ from those of the OECD on the whole. Our theoretical framework is based on the OLI paradigm (ownership, location, internalization) developed in Dunning (1974, 1980 and 1993). The panel data estimation takes into account the ideas suggested in Zhang and Markusen (1997). According to our findings the variables that can best explain the bilateral FDI flows within the OECD are: on the one hand, the technological superiority of the investor vis-à-vis the host and, on the other, the relative abundance of physical capital, the endowments of human capital, transport infrastructure, and the size of the host countries, which clearly act as a factor of attraction for FDI.foreing direct investment, Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs)

The European Map of Job Flows

The European Map of Job Flows (EMJF) is a term used to denote a dataset of meso- and macro-level variables describing different aspect of labour mobility within national labour markets in Europe. In this paper, EMJF is centred on the notion of job “flows”, namely the changes in the level of employment at different breakdowns and levels of aggregation. EMJF is very rich in information content due to the wide variety of possible breakdown of the data and in this sense it is a “map” mostly in the virtual sense, namely, that it is not possible to visualise in the form of geographic maps all the wealth of available information. In terms of its value as a research product and tool, EMJF is mostly an intermediate product in the sense that it is a convenient means to organise the relevant information, which could subsequently be used for different analytical and research purposes. It provides both for cross-sections/snapshots of job flows at different point in time but also it allows their assessment and analysis over longer periods of time. In this sense, EMJF can be widely used for various types of labour-market analysis and research. EMJF’s visual components can also be a convenient tool for policy makers dealing with labour market policies at different level (regional, national or supra-national) in the decision-making process. Here we present a Compilation of a EMJF on the basis of firm-level data In this sense the job flows are built up on the basis of firm-level data for individual countries, following a common methodology. We adopt an approach of establishing such a EMJF on the basis of the AMADEUS dataset developed by the consultancy Bureau van Dijk. The dataset in its most extended version contains balance sheet data and ownership data for almost 14 million firms from 43 different European countries (September 2009 update). For many EU countries the dataset has in principle access to the entire universe of firms which have to report a balance sheet. In terms of countries, the geographic coverage of AMADEUS encompasses information for all the 27 members of the European Union (albeit with different qualities in terms of national coverage) as well as other 16 European countries that complete the geographical and political definition of the continent. Another interesting feature of the database is given by the detailed definition of a firm's location, with data available on the region (NUTS2) and the city in which the firm operates. This project deliverable presents the main results from the final stage of MICRO-DYN work on the EMJF. It discusses the approach to building the EMJF on the basis of AMADEUS data and illustrates the analytical potential of the EMJF as a research tool with a range of Europe-wide analytical exercises. Probably the most important outcome of this research effort is the demonstrated capability to perform meta-analysis at the European level of important labour market characteristics on the basis of firm-level data.job flows, europe, labor market, microdata

The efect on firms' Productivity of accessibility. The Spanish manufacturung sector

This paper evaluates the impact of accessibility on the productivity of Spanish manufacturing firms. We suggest the use of accessibility indicators to workers and commodities, integrating transport, land use, and individual components in their measurement, and computing real distances or travelling times using the Spanish full road network. The estimation is carried out in two steps. In the first one we estimate almost a hundred production functions using a panel of 155,937 firms along the 1999-2009 period from SABI database, applying Levinsohn and Petrin technique. From these estimations we derive the Total Factor Productivity function for year 2009, which is then explained in the second estimation step as a function of the accessibility indicators and additional control variables. Results evidence the crucial role of the accessibility to commodities, and a lesser but significant effect of workers’ accessibility on firms’ productivity

Spatial productivity spillovers across Spanish municipalities

Whilst a great deal of e¤ort has been dedicated to identification of agglomeration effects on labour productivity, the measurement of spatial productivity spillovers is a question that has been addressed only occasionally along the New Economic Geography literature. We estimate agglomeration effects, nonetheless conditioned to the possible existence of spatial productivity spillovers across Spanish municipalities in year 2001. To this respect, we find that agglomeration effects are in the same order of magnitude than thoseencountered when measured in the standard way. Further, these agglomeration efects coexist with very strong spatial productivity spillovers in a close neighbourhood of 10 km. Finally, these spatial e¤ects are shown to quickly diminish as distance increases

A different look at aglomeration effects in Spain

This paper explores the relationship between productivity and labour density at the municipality level for the Spanish economy and year 2001. Previous results on the mentioned relationship are confirrmed. Whilst agglomeration e¤ects at NUTs-3 level were important along the 1960s and 1970s, they seem to have disappeared along the second half of the 1980s. We show that agglomeration e¤ects are still present, nonetheless when analysed at a higher degree of geographical disaggregation. Recent amendments in regional governance and the creation of Comunidades Autónomas implying a higher degree of political and economic decentralization along the 1980s may have resulted in this change in agglomeration patterns. Endogeneity problems associated to estimation of productivity elasticities with respect to labour densities are taken into account by means of instrumental variable (IV) regressions. To this respect, elevation turns out to be a valid and attractive instrument for the agglomeration variable. Also we test if proximity to labour dense areas may also have a positive efect on the productivity level of a given municipality. The results show that agglomeration forces mainly operate within NUTs-3 regions the oldest administrative regional division of Spain