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Regional Unemployment and Productivity in Europe and the US

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  • Roberto Basile
  • Luca De Benedictis

Abstract

The existence and persistence of large spatial disparities in un-employment within national economies is a central issue in regional economics. Previous empirical analyses have largely disregarded the role of fundamentals. On the contrary in this paper we explore the link between labour productivity, international trade and regional un-employment differentials. We base our empirical analysis on the predictions of a simple General Oligopolistic Equilibrium effciency-wage trade model. Using semi parametric regression methods, controlling for industry-mix and labour force participation, we give evidence of a non linear negative relationship between labour productivity and regional unemployment, in the cases of European regions. Instead, no significant relationships between these variables have been found for the United States. Keywords: Productivity, Regional Unemployment, Oligopoly, Non parametrics. JEL Classification: C14, D50, F12, F16, J41, L13, R10.

Suggested Citation

  • Roberto Basile & Luca De Benedictis, 2004. "Regional Unemployment and Productivity in Europe and the US," ERSA conference papers ersa04p38, European Regional Science Association.
    • Handle: RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa04p38
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Sarantis LOLOS & Evangelia PAPAPETROU, 2012. "Unemployment disparities and persistence Assessing the evidence from Greek regions, 1981-2008," Regional and Sectoral Economic Studies, Euro-American Association of Economic Development, vol. 12(1), pages 69-90.
    2. Elvira Vieira & Isabel Neira & Em�lia Vázquez, 2011. "Productivity And Innovation Economy: Comparative Analysis Of European Nuts Ii, 1995--2004," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(9), pages 1269-1286, March.
    3. Thomas B. King, 2005. "Labor productivity and job-market flows: trends, cycles, and correlations," Supervisory Policy Analysis Working Papers 2005-04, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
    4. Roberto Bande & Melchor Fernandez & Victor Montuenga, 2007. "Regional Disparities in the Unemployment Rate: The Role of the Wage-setting Mechanism in Spain, 1987-92," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(2), pages 235-251.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    productivity; regional unemployment; oligopoly; non parametrics. jel classification: c14; d50; f12; f16; j41; l13; r10.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C14 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Semiparametric and Nonparametric Methods: General
    • D50 - Microeconomics - - General Equilibrium and Disequilibrium - - - General
    • F12 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Models of Trade with Imperfect Competition and Scale Economies; Fragmentation
    • F16 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Labor Market Interactions
    • J41 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Labor Contracts
    • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets
    • R10 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - General

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