Empirica – Journal of European Economics

Sponsored by the Austrian Economic Association and the Austrian Institute of Economic Research

Empirica publishes empirical and theoretical work on all economic aspects of European Integration. The topics may range from all challenges concerning the deepening of the European Union (Single Market, Lisbon Agenda, EMU) to enlargement and the external relations of the EU (globalisation).

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Stephan Brunow, Luise Pestel, Mark Partridge
Exports of firms and diversity: an empirical assessment for Germany
in: Peter Huber, Dieter Pennerstorfer, Digitalization, Urban Sprawl and Regional Economics – Selected Papers of the 10th WIFO Regional Economics Workshop at the Austrian Institute of Economic Research, Vienna, 25-26 September 2017
Empirica, 2019, 46(1), S.151-175, http://www.springer.com/10663
The international trade literature highlights the importance of firm productivity and economies of scale on the firm's international export success. In the context of agglomeration economies, firms enjoy productivity gains when they are located close to related firms and they gain from knowledge spill-overs and other positive externalities. They may also benefit from a potentially large supply of diverse workers that possess distinct knowledge and problem-solving skills. In such environments, firms may be more prone to export. In this paper, we employ a comprehensive German data set that combines survey and administrative data. We ask whether German firms (i.e., establishments) export more as a result of localisation and urbanisation externalities, and labour market pooling associated with workforce diversity, while controlling for a variety of establishment characteristics. Using a fractional response model, we provide evidence that manufacturers and smaller establishments benefit more from externalities and especially from knowledge spill-overs. There is less evidence supporting the benefit of workforce diversity; however, that factor may be associated with between-establishment variation.
JEL-Codes:D22 F14 J24 M14 R12
Keywords:Export behaviour, Firms, Agglomeration economies, Cultural workforce diversity
Forschungsbereich:Regionalökonomie und räumliche Analyse
Sprache:Englisch

Managing Editor

Univ.-Prof. MMag. Dr. Harald Oberhofer

Funktion: Ökonom (Senior Economist), Editor-in-Chief Empirica
Forschungsgruppe: Industrie-, Innovations- und internationale Ökonomie