We analyse business performance by using a unique data set of the universe of Italian local business units. We investigate the pattern of both productivity and profitability by adopting a decomposition technique to document spatial variation across urban and non-urban areas. Aggregate evidence indicates that an urban–non-urban productivity divide exists, but this premium vanishes with respect to profitability. Plant-level estimations using a hierarchical linear model show that area attractiveness positively affects productivity, whereas diseconomies of agglomeration negatively affect profitability. Coping with agglomeration costs is a priority for regional policies to transfer the productivity gains in urban areas into new investment and growth opportunities.
Bartoloni, E., Baussola, M. L., Productivity and earnings at the firm-plant level: the case of Lombardy’s urban and non-urban agglomerations, <<SPATIAL ECONOMIC ANALYSIS>>, 2020; (1): 1-22. [doi:10.1080/17421772.2020.1854480] [http://hdl.handle.net/10807/168471]
Productivity and earnings at the firm-plant level: the case of Lombardy’s urban and non-urban agglomerations
Baussola, Maurizio Luigi
2020
Abstract
We analyse business performance by using a unique data set of the universe of Italian local business units. We investigate the pattern of both productivity and profitability by adopting a decomposition technique to document spatial variation across urban and non-urban areas. Aggregate evidence indicates that an urban–non-urban productivity divide exists, but this premium vanishes with respect to profitability. Plant-level estimations using a hierarchical linear model show that area attractiveness positively affects productivity, whereas diseconomies of agglomeration negatively affect profitability. Coping with agglomeration costs is a priority for regional policies to transfer the productivity gains in urban areas into new investment and growth opportunities.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.