The aim of the present paper is to shed light on the determinants of geographical mobility and location choices of skilled individuals across the European regions. The most talented workers, e.g. inventors, move for a number of reasons, contributing in this manner to the geographical diffusion...

This work intends to analyse the influence that several aspects internal to the firm have on the firms? innovative output. Although the theoretical model is based in the literature on innovation, it pays special attention on the impact of ownership structure, as stated by the theory of the...

This paper investigates on the presence of innovation and production clusters in Europe. The analysis is based on an original statistical databank set up by CRENoS on regional patenting at the European Patent Office spanning from 1978 to 1997 and classified by ISIC sectors (3 digit) and on the...

Despite the general idea among economists that public capital is a necessary but not sufficient condition for regional economic development, there is not consensus on the quantification of its effect. It is our belief that the variety of results on infrastructure impact in the economic...

This paper, based on the ideas of Jovanovic’s theory (1982), analyses the impact of the main strategies determining the competitive behaviour of firms on their survival rate. We consider those strategies related both to product and price differentiation. Among the former ones, one may think of...

This paper explores the spatial distribution of innovative activity and the role of technological spillovers in the process of knowledge creation across 138 regions of 17 countries in Europe (the 15 members of the European Union plus Switzerland and Norway). The analysis is based on an original...

Productivity has been considered a key element for firms and economies to be more competitive. Several studies on productivity at a microeconomic level have found notable heterogeneity between firms. More concretely, differences in Total Factor Productivity (TFP) between large and small firms...

Theoretical contributions to the literature have stressed the role of human capital in promoting economic growth. However, the empirical exercises have provided mixed evidence on the real effect of such type of capital. Most of the evidence has been obtained by estimating growth equations or...

In spatial econometrics, the typical alternative of spatial autocorrelation is expressed in the form of a spatial autorregressive process. While the bulk of the literature is devoted to specification tests and estimation methods for these models, alternatives have been suggested as well. In this...