The Role of Spatial Agglomeration in a Structural Model of Innovation, Productivity and Export: A Firm-Level Analysis
24 Pages Posted: 8 Sep 2009
Date Written: September 7, 2009
Abstract
Using a large sample of Italian manufacturing firms, in this paper we estimate a structural model of research, innovation, productivity and export performance augmented to take account for the role played by spatial agglomeration externalities. This model, which is an ‘augmented’ version of Crepon, Duguet and Mairesse (1998) model, comprises four main equations. The first identifies the factors underlying the intensity of Research and Development (R&D) investments; the second links R&D capital to innovation output; the third focuses on Total Factor Productivity (TFP) as determined by innovation; the fourth relates TFP to export performance. Our estimates show the significant role played by local externalities in these processes. In particular, related variety and urbanization positively affect the creation of new ideas through R&D, while specialization impacts on TFP to complement innovation output. Finally, urbanization economies support TFP in driving firms’ export performance.
Keywords: export, innovation, productivity, R&D, spatial agglomeration, related variety
JEL Classification: D24, F23, O18, O31, R12
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?
Recommended Papers
-
Exports and Productivity: A Survey of the Evidence from Firm Level Data
-
Market Entry Costs, Producer Heterogeneity, and Export Dynamics
By Sanghamitra Das, Mark J. Roberts, ...
-
Firm Heterogeneity, Exporting and Foreign Direct Investment: A Survey
By Richard Kneller and David Greenaway
-
Participation in Export Markets and Productivity Performance in Canadian Manufacturing
By John R. Baldwin and Wulong Gu
-
Export Entry and Exit by German Firms
By Andrew B. Bernard and Joachim Wagner
-
Export Behavior and Productivity Growth: Evidence from Italian Manufacturing Firms