In this paper we investigate the relationship between productivity growth and firm dynamics using firm-level data between 1992 and 2006. Theories emphasising firm-level heterogeneity show that industry-level productivity may not only increase as a consequence of increasing within-firm...

This paper presents the specificities of Hungarian foreign trading firms from different perspectives, like concentration, efficiency and sectoral structure. Hungarian trade is highly concentrated similarly to other countries. Trading firms are more efficient than their non-trading peers,...

The theory of geographical markets is based on the notion that economic activity is not evenly spread and regional inequalities have an impact on the decisions of economic agents. Retail gasoline markets are almost perfect examples of geographical markets. The gasoline sold by the stations is a...

This paper proposes studying export frequency of firms. While extensive margins of products and destination define the scope of firm's export, export shipment frequency is determined by sale method choice and cost structure of the trade technology. Exporters optimize the frequency of...

Our paper, relying on product and industry level data, analyses factors behind divergences in aggregate export price changes in four Central European countries, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia. We focus on exports to Germany, their largest trading partner and observe the period...

This study analyses properties of fast growing small and medium sized firms, known as gazelles. Using balance sheet information for the 2000-2008 period, we show that a small fraction of companies is responsible for a large share of new jobs created in the business sector. For instance, the top...

Enhancing competitiveness is a popular target in economic policy making - not only at the national, but at the regional level as well despite neither generally accepted definition nor any strong agreement on how to measure it. In this chapter we discuss the conceptual underpinnings of why it is...

This paper proposes a simple method measuring spatial robustness of estimated coefficients and considers the role of administrative districts and regions' size. The procedure, dubbed "Grid and Shake", offers a solution for a practical empirical issue, when one compares a variables of interest...

This paper reviews a set of issues related to the concept and measurement of regional competitiveness. First, the concept of growth and competitiveness is argued to be different at regional level from the national level. In particular, the relationship between agglomeration and performance, the...

This paper show evidence that firms choose from a much larger set of internationalization modes than usually assumed in the international trade literature and that this choice is governed by similar selection processes than the one proposed by Helpman, Melitz, Yeaple (2004 AER). We rely on a...