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Economies of Scale in European Manufacturing Revisited

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  • Ulltveit-Moe, Karen Helene
  • Steen, Frode
  • Henriksen, Espen

Abstract

We test for internal and external economies of scale in European manufacturing, employing a more disaggregated data set than has been used in earlier analyses. We aim to separate externalities from common business cycle effects. Fifteen European manufacturing industries in Germany, France, the UK and Italy are analysed. We focus on economies of scale at three levels: the national industry, the national industrial cluster and the transnational industry. Our results suggest that external economies of scale arising from inter-industry external effects and cross-country effects are less prevalent than increasing returns at the level of the industry and firm. Our results underscore the importance of the level of disaggregation in studies of internal and external economies of scale and argue that the external effects are highly country and industry specific.

Suggested Citation

  • Ulltveit-Moe, Karen Helene & Steen, Frode & Henriksen, Espen, 2001. "Economies of Scale in European Manufacturing Revisited," CEPR Discussion Papers 2896, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:2896
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    1. Basu, Susanto & Fernald, John G., 1995. "Are apparent productive spillovers a figment of specification error?," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 165-188, August.
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    Cited by:

    1. Konstantin Kucheryavyy & Gary Lyn & Andrés Rodríguez-Clare, 2023. "Grounded by Gravity: A Well-Behaved Trade Model with Industry-Level Economies of Scale," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 15(2), pages 372-412, April.
    2. Gene M. Grossman & Esteban Rossi-Hansberg, 2010. "External Economies and International Trade Redux," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 125(2), pages 829-858.
    3. Helena Marques, 2008. "Trade And Factor Flows In A Diverse Eu: What Lessons For The Eastern Enlargement(S)?," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(2), pages 364-408, April.
    4. Stefan Gruber & Anna Soci, 2010. "Agglomeration, Agriculture, and the Perspective of the Periphery," Spatial Economic Analysis, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(1), pages 43-72.
    5. Takashi Ohno, 2006. "On the Effects of Wage Pressure on the Unemployment Rate and Capital Share," German Economic Review, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 7, pages 389-401, November.
    6. Harald Badinger & Fritz Breuss, 2006. "Country Size and the Gains from Trade Bloc Enlargement: an Empirical Assessment for the European Community," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(4), pages 615-631, September.
    7. Helena Marques, 2008. "Asymmetries in Heterogeneous Integrated Areas: Evidence from Intra-EU Sectoral Trade," Working Papers 2008.2, International Network for Economic Research - INFER.
    8. Takashi Ohno, 2006. "On the Effects of Wage Pressure on the Unemployment Rate and Capital Share," German Economic Review, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 7(4), pages 389-401, November.
    9. N. Domeque Claver & C. Fillat Castej & F. Sanz Gracia, 2012. "External economies as a mechanism of agglomeration in EU manufacturing," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(34), pages 4421-4438, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Internal and external economies of scale; New economic geography; Clusters;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C33 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models
    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • O47 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Empirical Studies of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence
    • R12 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity; Interregional Trade (economic geography)

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