Local Agglomerations and Trade: an Empirical Investigation

This paper proposes an empirical investigation of a few outcomes of economic geography models. First, we intend to assess the role of the home market effect and of the level of transport costs on the outgoing trade flows. For this purpose we refer to a regional context looking at a chosen sample of European regions. In the second part, we focus on the analysis of the trade flows of a sample for Italian industrial districts. In addition, in this last part, attention is drawn to state the benefits that the common sharing of services provide to the firms that belong to a district, above all in terms of their international competitiveness.Agglomerations; Industrial Districts; Home Market; Transport Costs; Trade Flows

Labor Productivity in Spain: 1977-2002

This study examines the evolution of labor productivity across Spanish regions during the period from 1977 to 2002. By applying the kernel technique, we estimate the effects of the Transition process on labor productivity and its main sources. We find that Spanish regions experienced a major convergence process in labor productivity and in human capital in the 1977-1993 period. We also pinpoint the existence of a transition co-movement between labor productivity and human capital. Conversely, the dynamics of investment in physical capital seem unrelated to the transition dynamics of labor productivity. The lack of co-evolution can be addressed as one of the causes of the current slowdown in productivity. Classification-JEL: J24, N34, N940, O18, O52, R10Labor productivity, employment, human capital, physical capital, Spanish regions.

Memory in Contracts: The experience of the EBRD (1991-2003)

The objective of this paper is to identify the role of memory in repeated contracts with moral hazard in financial intermediation. We use an original dataset from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to test a basic model with repeated moral hazard. To capture the role of memory, we need to control for the adverse selection effect. We propose a simple empirical method to achieve it. Our results unambiguously isolate the effect of memory in the bank's lending decisions.

Investment decision and the spatial dimension : Evidence from firm level data

This paper proposes to investigate the effect of spillovers on location decision of firms. We develop an analysis merging the geographer toolbox with the standard econometric techniques. For a chosen sample of sectors, through the spatial data analysis, we test the existence of positive spatial autocorrelation for R&D investments that lead R&D expenditure to cluster. Moreover, we succeed in detecting how far the local environment may influence the firm decisions in R&D investments. Data confirm tha tthe proximity to other firms investing in R&D may produce positive externalities. Finally, the diversity vs. specialization debate is tackled.Local clustering;R@D investment;spatial autocorrelation

Evidence on the Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment: The Case of Three European Regions

This study aims at analyzing the determinants of FDI (foreign direct investment) inflows for a group of European regions. The originality of this approach lies in the use of disaggregated regional data. First, we develop a qualitative description of our database and discuss the importance of the macroeconomic determinants in attracting FDI. Then, we provide an econometric exercise to identify the potential determinants of FDI. In spite of choosing regions presenting economic similarities, we show that regional FDI inflows rely on a combination of factors that differs from one region to another.Foreign Direct Investment, Productivity, Regions

Spillovers and growth in a local interaction model

In this paper we aim at studying to what extent spillovers between firms may foster economic growth. The attention is addressed to the spillovers connected with the R&D activity that improves the quality of the goods firms supply. Our model develops a growth theory framework and we assume that firms spread around a circle. Our study assesses that spillovers between neighbors affect the probability of successful research for each of them. In particular, spillovers are the forces fuelling growth when, on the whole, firms turn out to be net receivers with respect to their neighbors.Firm agglomerations, Local Spillovers, Economic Growth

Labor productivity in Europe: Evidence from a sample of regions

The present paper aims at analyzing the sources of productivity in Europe to account for its recent underperformance and identify potential geographic idiosyncracies. We study the productivity performance and its sources in a sample of ten European regions belonging to four countries (France, Germany, Italy and Spain). Exploiting the increasing availability of disaggregated data at regional level in Europe, we propose both a descriptive statistics and an econometric analysis of productivity sources since 1995. Our main finding is that the sources of labor productivity are rather heterogeneous across our sample but may be associated with regional or national idiosyncracies.Labor productivity, productivity determinants, European regions

Labor productivity in Europe: Evidence from a sample of regions

The present paper aims at analyzing the sources of labor productivity in Europe at regional level. We study the productivity performance in a sample of twenty European regions belonging to four countries (France, Germany, Italy and Spain). Exploiting the increasing availability of disaggregated data at regional level, we propose both a descriptive statistics and an econometric analysis of productivity sources since 1995. Our main finding is that the levels and sources of labor productivity are rather heterogeneous across the sample. This heterogeneity is found to be associated with disparities both across sectors and regions.Labor productivity, productivity determinants, European regions.

The optimal behaviour of firms facing stochastic costs

This paper aims at assessing the optimal behavior of a firm facing stochastic costs of production. In an imperfectly competitive setting, we evaluate to what extent a firm may decide to locate part of its production in other markets different from which it is actually settled. This decision is taken in a stochastic environment. Portfolio theory is used to derive the optimal solution for the intertemporal profit maximization problem. In such a framework, splitting production between different locations may be optimal when a firm is able to charge different prices in the different local markets.Firm behaviour, Portfolio theory, Risk aversion, Uncertainty.

Memory in Contracts: The Experience of the EBRD (1991-2003)

The objective of this paper is to identify the role of memory in repeated contracts with moral hazard in financial intermediation. We use the database we have built containing the contracts signed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development EBRD between 1991 and 2003. Our framework is a standard setting of repeated moral hazard. After having controlled for the adverse selection component, we are able to prove that client reputation is the discrimination device according to which the bank fixes the amount of credit for the established clients. Our results unambiguously isolate the effect of memory in the bank's lending decisions.Financial Contracts, Incentives, Investment, Memory, Moral Hazard.