We explore how firms respond to downstream product shocks. We find that affected firms increase R&D and make additional safety-related investments in their existing assets-in-place. These investments vary with firm capabilities and across shock severity. Competitors appear to vicariously learn...

We use US county level data (3,058 observations) from 1970 to 1998 to explore the relationship between economic growth and the extent of government employment at three levels: federal, state and local. We find that increases in federal, state and local government employments are all negatively...