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Sectoral and geographical specificities in the spatial structure of economic activities

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  • Bottazzi, Giulio
  • Dosi, Giovanni
  • Fagiolo, Giorgio
  • Secchi, Angelo

Abstract

This work explores the spatial distribution of productive activities in the Italian manufacturing industry. We propose an econometric model which tries to disentangle location-specific from sectoral drivers in the dynamic process of spatial agglomeration. The basic idea is that the former typically apply "horizontally" (i.e. across all industrial sectors), while the latter unfold in the form of non-decreasing dynamic returns to the current stock of installed business units. Three different specifications of the model are tested against Italian data on the location of manufacturing activities, studying the distribution of the number of firms and employees. Our results suggest that different locations exert different structural influences on the distribution of both variables. Moreover, a significant horizontal power of "urbanization", which makes some locations, especially metropolitan areas, more attractive irrespectively of the sector, does emerge. However, after controlling for the latter, one is still left with very significant sector-specific forms of dynamic increasing returns to agglomeration, which vary a lot across different manufacturing activities and which plausibly have to do with sectoral-specific and localized forms of knowledge accumulation and spin-offs.

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  • Bottazzi, Giulio & Dosi, Giovanni & Fagiolo, Giorgio & Secchi, Angelo, 2008. "Sectoral and geographical specificities in the spatial structure of economic activities," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 189-202, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:streco:v:19:y:2008:i:3:p:189-202
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    1. Matthias Duschl & Thomas Brenner, 2013. "Characteristics of regional industry-specific employment growth rates' distributions," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 92(2), pages 249-270, June.
    2. Thomas Brenner, 2006. "The Regional Industry-size Distribution - An Analysis of all Types of Industries in Germany," Papers on Economics and Evolution 2005-16, Philipps University Marburg, Department of Geography.
    3. Giulio Bottazzi & Ugo M. Gragnolati & Fabio Vanni, 2017. "Non-linear externalities in firm localization," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(8), pages 1138-1150, August.
    4. Giulio Bottazzi & Pietro Dindo, 2010. "An Evolutionary Model of Firms’ Location with Technological Externalities," Chapters, in: Ron Boschma & Ron Martin (ed.), The Handbook of Evolutionary Economic Geography, chapter 24, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    5. E. Scalas & U. Garibaldi & S. Donadio, 2007. "Statistical equilibrium in simple exchange games I," The European Physical Journal B: Condensed Matter and Complex Systems, Springer;EDP Sciences, vol. 60(2), pages 271-272, November.
    6. Alessandro Taberna & Tatiana Filatova & Andrea Roventini & Francesco Lamperti, 2021. "Coping with increasing tides: technological change, agglomeration dynamics and climate hazards in an agent-based evolutionary model," LEM Papers Series 2021/44, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    7. Giulio Bottazzi & Giovanni Dosi & Giorgio Fagiolo & Angelo Secchi, 2007. "Modeling industrial evolution in geographical space," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 7(5), pages 651-672, September.
    8. Matteo Barigozzi & Lucia Alessi & Marco Capasso & Giorgio Fagiolo, 2008. "The Distribution of Consumption-Expenditure Budget Shares. Evidence from Italian Households," LEM Papers Series 2008/18, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    9. T. Brenner, 2006. "A Stochastic Theory of Geographic Concentration and the Empirical Evidence in Germany," Papers on Economics and Evolution 2005-23, Philipps University Marburg, Department of Geography.
    10. Barigozzi, Matteo & Alessi, Lucia & Capasso, Marco & Fagiolo, Giorgio, 2012. "The distribution of household consumption-expenditure budget shares," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 69-91.
    11. TIAN, Xiaoli & KOU, Gang & ZHANG, Weike, 2020. "Geographic distance, venture capital and technological performance: Evidence from Chinese enterprises," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    12. Giulio Bottazzi & Pietro Dindo, 2013. "Globalizing Knowledge: How Technological Openness Affects Output, Spatial Inequality, And Welfare Levels," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(4), pages 631-655, October.
    13. Matthias Duschl & Thomas Brenner, 2011. "Characteristics of Regional Industry-specific Employment Growth – Empirical Evidence for Germany," Working Papers on Innovation and Space 2011-07, Philipps University Marburg, Department of Geography.
    14. Taberna, Alessandro & Filatova, Tatiana & Roventini, Andrea & Lamperti, Francesco, 2022. "Coping with increasing tides: Evolving agglomeration dynamics and technological change under exacerbating hazards," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 202(C).
    15. Giovanni Dosi & Anna Snaidero, 2024. "The nature and the strength of agglomeration drivers and their technological specificities," LEM Papers Series 2024/07, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    16. Vinko Mustra & Blanka Skrabic & Pasko Burnac, 2011. "Spatial determinants of sectors wage inequaities: Analysis for the region of Croatia," ERSA conference papers ersa10p573, European Regional Science Association.
    17. Ron Boschma & Ron Martin (ed.), 2010. "The Handbook of Evolutionary Economic Geography," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 12864.

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