This paper evaluates the implications for employment, productivity and wages of allowing for more flexibility in weekly hours worked introduced in the recent Spanish labour market reform (the 2012 reform). A crucial aspect of the model will be the extent to which firms will be able to choose the...

This paper analyzes the relationship between exporters, spin-outs and firm performance. A large body of research has shown that exporters perform better than non-exporters. But are also firms spawn out from exporters better than other new firms in terms of survival, productivity and growth?...

While most countries welcome (and some even subsidise) high-skilled immigrants, there is very limited evidence of their importance for domestic firms. To guide our empirical analysis, we first set up a simple theoretical model to show how foreign experts may impact on the productivity and wages...

I analyze the effects of sub-city level density of economic activity on worker productivity. Using a geocoded dataset on employment and wages in the city areas of Sweden, the analysis is based on squares representing “neighborhoods” (0.0625 km2), “districts” (1 km2), and...

Multinational firms (MNFs) have been shown to have a set of defining characteristics. Compared to domestic firms, they have a larger fraction of skilled workers, higher R&D to sales ratios and established networks to knowledge sources in several different countries. As illustrated by the...

Research on human capital generally focuses on the regional level, and neglects the relative effects of its distribution between center cities and surrounding suburbs. This research examines the effects of this intra-metropolitan distribution on economic performance. The findings indicate that...

Using a unique longitudinal representative survey of both manufacturing and nonmanufacturing businesses in the United States during the 1990’s, I examine the incidence and intensity of organizational innovation and the factors associated with investments in organizational innovation. Past...

While there is a general consensus on the importance of human capital to regional development, debate has emerged around two key issues. The first involves the efficacy of educational versus occupational measures (i.e. the creative class) of human capital, while the second revolves around the...