Productivity and the Density of Economic Activity

39 Pages Posted: 10 Jul 2007 Last revised: 16 Oct 2022

See all articles by Antonio Ciccone

Antonio Ciccone

Universitat Pompeu Fabra - Faculty of Economic and Business Sciences; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

Robert E. Hall

Hoover Institution and Department of Economics, Stanford University; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Date Written: April 1993

Abstract

Two different models - one based on local geographical externalities and the other on the variety of only locally available intermediate services - are shown to give rise to a simple, estimable relation between employment density and productivity. Using data on gross state output for the U.S., we find that agglomeration more than offsets congestion effects in denser areas. While our estimate of the elasticity of productivity with respect to density is small, it explains more than 50% of the observed state productivity differences, given the large differences in density.

Suggested Citation

Ciccone, Antonio and Hall, Robert E., Productivity and the Density of Economic Activity (April 1993). NBER Working Paper No. w4313, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=478729

Antonio Ciccone (Contact Author)

Universitat Pompeu Fabra - Faculty of Economic and Business Sciences ( email )

Ramon Trias Fargas 25-27
Barcelona, 08005
Spain
+34 93 542 1669 (Phone)
+34 93 542 1746 (Fax)

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

London
United Kingdom

Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Robert E. Hall

Hoover Institution and Department of Economics, Stanford University ( email )

Stanford, CA 94305-6010
United States
650-723-2215 (Phone)

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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Cambridge, MA 02138
United States
650-723-2215 (Phone)

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