Spatial Structure and Productivity in Italian NUTS-3 Regions

This work is an investigation of how spatial structure affects labour productivity in Italian provinces. The analysis draws on agglomeration theories, and analyzes whether agglomeration benefits are dependent on the way activities are spatially organized within regions. Urban spatial structures have declined in terms of size, dispersion and polycentricity. Using instrumental variables and spatial econometric techniques, we assess the effects of spatial structure for the 103 Italian NUTS-3 regions. The findings include negative impacts of both polycentricity and dispersion and a positive impact of size.