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Productivity spillovers through labor flows: The effect of productivity gap, foreign-owned firms, and skill-relatedness

Author

Listed:
  • Zsolt Csafordi

    (Institute of Economics, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies, Hungarian Academy of Sciences)

  • Laszlo Lorincz

    (Institute of Economics, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies, Hungarian Academy of Sciences)

  • Balazs Lengyel

    (Institute of Economics, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies, Hungarian Academy of Sciences and International Business School, Budapest)

  • Karoly Miklos Kiss

    (Institute of Economics, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies, Hungarian Academy of Sciences and University of Pannonia, Faculty of Business and Economics)

Abstract

What puts productivity spillovers into effect through worker mobility across firms? Productivity difference between the sending and receiving firms have been found to drive these spillovers; while an alternative explanation suggests that labor flows from foreign-owned companies provide productivity gains for the firm. We argue here that skill-relatedness across firms also matters because industry-specific skills are important for organizational learning and production. Hungarian employee-employer linked panel data from 2003-2011 imply that productivity gap rules out the effect of foreign spillovers. Furthermore, we find that flows from skill-related industries outperform the effect of flows from unrelated industries.

Suggested Citation

  • Zsolt Csafordi & Laszlo Lorincz & Balazs Lengyel & Karoly Miklos Kiss, 2016. "Productivity spillovers through labor flows: The effect of productivity gap, foreign-owned firms, and skill-relatedness," CERS-IE WORKING PAPERS 1610, Institute of Economics, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies.
    • Handle: RePEc:has:discpr:1610
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Zoltán Elekes & Balázs Lengyel, 2016. "Related trade linkages, foreign firms, and employment growth in less developed regions," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 1620, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Aug 2016.
    2. Zoltán Elekes & Ron Boschma & Balázs Lengyel, 2018. "Foreign-owned firms as agents of structural change in regions: the case of Hungary 2000-2009," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 1812, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Mar 2018.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    skill-relatedness network; firm productivity; knowledge spillover; labor mobility; productivity gap; foreign ownership;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J60 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - General
    • M51 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Firm Employment Decisions; Promotions

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