In this paper we explore in depth the effect of process innovations on total factor productivity growth for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), taking into account the potential endogeneity problem that may be caused by self selection into these activities. First, we analyse whether the ex-ante...

We investigate the effects of an immigration shock, which is still on course, in the productive structure of Spanish regions in a Heckscher-Ohlin framework. Immigration alters relative factor endowment composition across Spanish regions. The persistence of rigidities in the regional labour...

This paper studies the interactions between wages in the public sector, the traded private sector and the closed sector in ten EU Transition Countries during the period 2000-2010. The theoretical literature on wage spillovers, as well as the Balassa-Samuelson hypothesis, suggest that the...

Participation of immigrants in Spanish labour market increased from less than 3 percent in 1996 to more than 13 percent in 2005. We use the factor proportion model of production to examine the impact of such a large labour supply shock on the industrial structure of Spanish regions. The results...

There is a continuous commitment of policy makers in the UK to supporting innovation in small and medium firms. For these policy initiatives to be successful, an understanding of the factors driving innovation activities is required. In this study, we focus on the role that Information and...

A monetary union raises new economic questions about the interpretation and the implications of high current account de?cits for the economic performance of its members in the medium term. Recent literature has argued that conventional measures of external sustainability are misleading because...

The Heckscher-Ohlin-Vanek (HOV) model in its strict form has been strongly rejected by the data. Relaxing some assumptions of the standard HOV model is key to find improvements in its performance. We apply Davis and Weinstein (2001) methodology to analyse the validity of the HOV model using...

To estimate correctly the effect of variable trade costs on firms' exports, the gravity equation should control for the number of firms that participate in foreign markets. Due to the absence of these data, previous studies control for this omitted variable using econometric strategies that may...

The recent increase in R&D oshoring have raised fears that knowledge and competitive- ness in advanced countries may be at risk of `hollowing out'. At the same time, economic research has stressed that this process is also likely to allow some reverse technology transfer and foster growth at...

Over the last 15 years, the evolution of labor costs has been very diverse across EMU countries. Since wages have important second-round effects on prices and competitiveness, and EMU countries do not have the tool of the nominal exchange rate to correct for such imbalances, understanding the...