Le rôle des marchés locaux du travail dans la concentration spatiale des activités économiques

This study first summarises the forces that affect positively and negatively the spatial concentration of economic activity, and the bell curve that links general transaction costs to regional disparities. The specific role played by local labour markets is then detailed. While spatial concentration enables a larger division of labour, it also provides mechanisms of mutual insurance through which workers and firms gain through agglomerating. Concentration also improves the labour market matching process, both in terms of quality and frequency. Next, we show that the pooling of labour between firms can play a central role in the creation and diffusion of knowledge. This effect is shown to be stronger the denser the local labour market, even though firms may implement strategies to limit the extent of labour poaching. Finally, the empirical section of the paper illustrates the strong disparities, in terms of size and quality of the labour force, that exist in between the local labour markets in France. This is shown to constitute the main source of productivity gains in the areas where activity is concentrated. JEL classification: C21, R10, R12, R23.