Regional Variation of Firm Size and Growth: The Portuguese Case

This paper analyses the patterns of firm growth of manufacturing firms across Portuguese regions. In particular, we compare firm size and growth in order to investigate 1) whether region‐specific characteristics, interpreted as generating localization economies, exert any influence on firm growth and size, and 2) whether there is evidence of persistence in firm growth across regions. Using an extensive dataset of Portuguese manufacturing firms and applying parametric and semi‐parametric approaches, we found that, in eleven of the eighteen analyzed regions, firm growth is related to firm size and therefore firms have no equal probabilities of attaining a particular growth rate within any given period. Moreover, the results uncovered that firms experience serial correlation in their growth patterns in all regions and region‐specific characteristics, such as industrial diversity, entrepreneurship potential, and workforce qualities, engender differences in the way firms grow. Thus, this paper adds to the literature by showing how geographic location matters to firm size and growth.     

Agglomeration Economies and Employment Growth: New Evidence from the Information Technology Sector in Italy

This paper uses local labour market area (LLMA) data to investigate the dynamics of employment in the information technology (IT) sector in Italy between 2001 and 2005. The aim is to test if agglomeration forces might significantly affect local IT employment growth. The OLS results are broadly consistent with those of earlier studies. In particular, IT employment growth is enhanced by industrial diversity (Jacobs externalities) and by plant size (economies of scale). At the same time, LLMAs with higher IT concentrations are associated with lower employment growth rates. As a robustness check, quantile regression analysis is performed. This additional set of results reveals that the role of agglomeration forces is different across IT growth levels.     

Productivity Change in Manufacturing Regions: A Multifactor/Shift-Share Approach

ABSTRACT The traditional shift-share model measures the combined effects of output growth and productivity change on employment. A region with above average employment growth either has a favorable industry mix or enjoys a competitive advantage over other regions. To separate the effects of output and productivity, the shift-share model is extended to decompose the effects of changes in output and productivity on employment. This paper modifies the Rigby-Anderson extension by separating the contribution of labor and capital to productivity growth in the analysis of regional economic performance, and investigates twenty (two-digit SIC) manufacturing sectors in twelve states (six snowbelt, six sunbelt states) to assess whether observed changes in employment were due to changes in output or to productivity.     

An Analysis of Urban Size and Territorial Location Effects on Employment Probabilities: The Spanish Case

The probability of being employed varies depending on several factors. Many of these are related to personal characteristics such as educational level, age, gender, or number and age of children. Nevertheless, other factors may be relevant, in particular the geographical environment. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the relevance of urban size and the position of each territory (in terms of its distance from large metropolises) for the probability of being employed in the Spanish economy. Following the set of economic regions suggested by Polése, Shearmur and Rubiera (2007 ), we try to explain the spatial patterns of employment distribution. Our results show some relevant differences between these alternative economic areas. We find that municipalities with similar sizes and located at a similar distance from a metropolis but belonging to different Autonomous Communities or provinces share similar employability patterns.     

Space,Time, and Local Employment Growth: An Application of Spatial Regression Analysis

ABSTRACT Local and regional employment growth is generally studied either by searching for local qualitative explanatory factors such as governance, synergy between firms, and milieu effects, or by searching for general growth factors using statistical techniques. The body of work that relies on this approach has tended, in keeping with economics’ nomothetic tradition, to assume that local and regional growth factors are constant over space. The focus of this paper is on exploring the spatial stationarity of employment growth factors in Canada, but it also seeks to clarify some of the broad principles behind spatial regression techniques in order to provide a point of entry and a conceptual framework for empirical researchers. To do so, we apply a recently developed technique, Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR), and we explore the method's advantages and limits for answering our research question. We find evidence that growth factors differ across Canada, but we also conclude that the GWR technique, given the number and shape of regions available for our analysis and given certain limitations that are currently inherent to the method, can only provide tentative and exploratory results.     

Outsourcing and Firm Productivity in a Specific Local Production System: Evidence from Reggio Emilia (Italy)

This paper investigates the impact of outsourcing on the labor productivity of firms in a specific local production system. A number of hypotheses about the location‐specific effects of outsourcing are put forward and tested on a sample of firms in the province of Reggio Emilia (within the Emilia‐Romagna region, in North‐East Italy). The relationship between outsourcing and productivity turns out positive only if considering the externalization of high value‐added activities. On the contrary, it is negative in the case of low value‐added activities. This occurs to a greater extent for firms in mature industrial districts, whose socio‐economic conditions however do not arrive to magnify the productivity premium of externalizing high value‐added ones. The technological innovativeness of the firms instead helps with that, pointing to a developmental use of outsourcing in the area.     

现代化温室番茄采收期生长发育变化规律分析

为探索现代化温室中番茄采收期生长发育变化规律,以北京小汤山现代化日光温室为试验点,番茄品种‘普罗旺斯’为供试材料,对温室环境条件数据进行采集,并结合采收期的番茄植株和果实性状进行测定分析。结果表明：温室日平均温度较室外变化小,3—5月在20℃左右,6月为25℃左右,日平均相对湿度在70%左右,而辐射量变化较大,多数在150~270 μmol/(m²·s)。番茄株高每周平均增长量从采收中期到拉秧逐渐减少,坐花坐果节位数每周平均的增长量也有所下降,果实坐果后经过8周能成熟采收,果实横纵径增长量下降明显,每周采收的果实单果重先增加再有所降低,最大平均单果重是 125.2 g,而每周产量逐渐增加达到峰值每周0.74 kg/m²后大幅度下降。南向株高增量和坐花坐果节位增长量均略大于北向。     

Gibrat's Law in the “Third Italy”: Firm Growth in the Veneto Region

According to Gibrat's Law of Proportionate Effect, the growth rate of a given firm is independent of its size at the beginning of the period examined. While earlier studies tended to confirm the Law, more recent research generally rejects it. The aim of this paper is to test whether Gibrat's Law is confirmed, for the 1995–2005 period, for a large sample of firms active in the Veneto region of Italy. Controlling for firm age and size, findings show that the Law is not confirmed in the early stages of a firm's life cycle, with younger firms growing faster than established ones, whereas it cannot be rejected once a given threshold in terms of age is reached. These findings are consistent with the life cycle theory of the firm and with the hypothesis that fast growing small and medium‐sized enterprises may have played a role in the evolution and the structural transformation of local systems in the “Third Italy” during the 1990s and early 2000s.     

A Spatial Analysis of the R&D‐Productivity Nexus at Firm Level

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the effect of research and development (R&D) on productivity by taking into account productivity spillovers. To this end, by using a sample of Italian manufacturing firms over the period 2004–2006 provided by the Xth UniCredit‐Capitalia survey (2008), we have analyzed the role of R&D in firm productivity by using a spatial autoregressive model. In so doing, we have allowed the productivity of each firm to be affected by the productivity of nearby firms. Results show that R&D significantly affects Italian firm productivity and that productivity spillovers across firms matter. Moreover, productivity is found to be positively affected by intrasectoral R&D spillovers, while intersectoral R&D spillovers do not have a significant effect.     

Global Markets and the Role of Geographical Proximity in Mexico's Employment Growth

In the context of greater economic integration with global markets and structural economic reforms, this paper analyses regional and sectoral employment growth dynamics in Mexican states between 2004 and 2014. The methodology is based on spatial shift‐share analysis that explicitly considers interregional interactions in employment while assessing potential spillover effects arising from spatial interactions among states and industrial sectors. The results suggest a competitive effect from some industries—such as those related to science and specialized suppliers, intensive scale industries and dominated providers—which led to the formation of industrial corridors of neighboring states that connect the central region with the northeast region of the country. It was also found that proximity to states such as Nuevo Leon, Queretaro, Guanajuato, San Luis Potosi, and Puebla has positively influenced neighboring states in terms of employment growth rates. The results also support the argument of some sort of de‐concentration of economic activity in the capital, Mexico City, toward neighboring states.     

金昌市城市化与就业结构演变的计量分析

基于金昌市1981-2015年的经济统计数据,通过OLS回归模型、Granger因果检验、脉冲响应函数等方法定量与定性分析金昌市的城市化水平与就业结构的关系,结果表明：1)城市化进程与三次产业就业结构的演变具有阶段性：初步发展阶段、波动探索阶段、快速发展阶段;2)金昌市的城市化水平与第三产业就业结构呈现正向的脉冲关系,与第二产业就业为负向脉冲关系,与第一产业就业为负向脉冲关系;3)金昌市的城市化水平处于快速发展阶段,就业结构以二、三产业为主。     

宁波地区抛秧晚稻生长前期主要杂草及生态位分析

为明确晚稻生长前期田间主要杂草群落组成及其生态位,预测除草剂作用下农田杂草群落的演变。采用对角线五点取样法对宁波晚稻田杂草群落开展调查。结果表明本地区晚稻田主要杂草种类有稗(Echinochloa crusgalli)、千金子(Leptochloa chinensis)、耳叶水苋(Ammannia arenaria)、异型莎草(Cyperus difformis)、矮慈姑(Sagittaria pygmaea)、李氏禾(Leersia hexandra Swartz)。计算这些杂草的生态位宽度和生态位重叠值,结果表明稗和千金子的时间、水平生态位宽度均在0.90以上,且二者时间和水平生态位重叠值最大(0.9088、0.8261),说明稗和千金子为晚稻生长前期杂草群落中的优势种群。耳叶水苋时间生态位宽度最低(0.4955),但与稗和千金子水平生态位重叠值较高,分别为0.7201和0.6990。说明耳叶水苋出草较迟,但有着较强竞争优势,忽视对耳叶水苋的防治,将使其成为水稻生长后期杂草群落的优势种群。     

不同受体胚胎移植荷斯坦奶牛体尺体重指标生长比较及相关性分析

通过对酒泉地区不同受体胚胎移植荷斯坦奶牛生长指标的研究,探讨胚胎移植荷斯坦奶牛对酒泉地区生态条件的适应性。采用生长指标比较和相关性分析,对甘肃酒泉地区土杂、西杂和黑白花三种受体牛所产45头胚胎移植荷斯坦奶牛0日龄、6月龄、12月龄阶段的体尺体重指标进行了研究。结果发现：三种受体胚胎移植牛体尺体重随日龄的增加而增加,0—12月龄体重增长快速,体高、胸围增长较快,管围生长较慢。三阶段体尺体重彼此之间的相关系数均在0.90以上,各相关数之间有高度统计意义(P=0.000＜0.01)。体尺体重彼此呈显著正相关,线性程度非常好。胚胎移植荷斯坦奶牛对酒泉地区的生态气候条件具有较强的适应性。     

城中村青年的就业状况分析

现代社会的主要特征之一是职业化,因此若测试城中村融入城市以及村民市民化的程度,则首先应当关注村民的职业化。以太原市城中村为例,以部分城中村青年作为调查研究样本,对其就业现状进行初步分析,认为工作的不稳定性、相对集中以及与现实差距较大的就业期望是这类群体就业的基本特点。     

四川盆地玉米生育期气候资源及生产潜力的变化特征

基于四川盆地1961－2010年104个气象台站的气象资料和1981－2010年17个农气观测站的玉米生育期资料,利用农业生态区划模型(aez)计算了玉米生育期内生产潜力,并分析了农业气候资源及生产潜力的空间分布特征。结果表明：1961－2010年,四川盆地玉米生育期内平均≥10℃积温在盆地西部和南部呈增加的趋势,而在其他地区呈减小趋势,气候倾向率为-9.5~18.7℃·d·(10a)-1;平均日照时数在所有站点均呈现减少趋势,气候倾向率在-48.3～-4.3h·(10a)-1;平均降水量除川东北外均呈现下降的趋势,气候倾向率为-47.9～29.3mm·(10a)-1。近50年来,光合生产潜力和光温生产潜力均呈减少趋势,气候倾向率分别为-708～-64 kg·hm-2·(10a)-1和-404～-32kg·hm-2·(10a)-1;气候生产潜力在大部分站点呈减少的趋势,气候倾向率在-408～34kg·hm-2·(10a)-1。研究可对未来应对气候变化及玉米生产宏观决策提供重要的理论依据。     

2009-2011年气候异常对河北冬小麦生育影响分析

为了分析气候变暖背景下,异常低温天气对冬小麦生育的影响,根据2009-2011年河北省小麦主产区气温、积温、降水、日照和发育期等观测资料,应用数理统计方法,系统分析低温天气过程对冬小麦生育的影响。结果表明,2010年度冬小麦受到冬前低温、冬季冷冬和春季持续低温的影响,河北省冬小麦冬前停止生长提前17天,返青、拔节和成熟分别推迟10天、8天和7天。2011年度冬小麦受到冬季低温和春季气温忽高忽低的影响,返青、拔节和成熟分别推迟7天、6天和4天。在气候变暖背景下,冬小麦生育期内出现的阶段性低温天气,使积温偏少,冬小麦生育期明显推迟。     

2种线椒的种子萌发和幼苗生长对NaCl的耐受性分析

通过研究不同浓度NaCl胁迫对线椒王和超级集结王2种线椒的种子萌发和幼苗生长的影响,探讨2种线椒的的耐盐碱能力.在NaCl处理情况下,测定线椒种子的发芽率、发芽势、发芽指数、活力指数和幼苗的根长、株高和鲜重.结果表明,低浓度NaCl对2种线椒种子的发芽和幼苗生长有促进作用,高浓度则有抑制作用.线椒王的发芽率、发芽势、发芽指数在150 mmol/L NaCl处理下最高,而活力指数在100 mmoUL NaCl处理下最高.超级集结王的发芽指标都在50 mmol/L NaCl处理下最高.2种线椒幼苗在低NaCl浓度时(≤100 mmol/L)生长状态都较好,进一步提高盐浓度到150 mmol/L时,对线椒王生长几乎没有影响,而超级集结王的生长状态明显变差.说明线椒王对盐胁迫的耐受性比超级集结王强.     

Economic Stability and Economic Growth in Rural Communities: Dimensions Relevant to Local Employment Creation Strategy

Approaches for analyzing employment stability with aggregated data for SICs in large regions or major metropolitan areas are misleading indicators of the impact of manufacturing growth in rural areas. Performance of moderate-sized individual establishments seriously impact total employment variation in small-employment-sized rural communities, requiring analysis of the determinants of employment stability of these establishments. Aggregate SIC performance and most conventional criteria for judging probable stability appear to provide very limited predictability for individual firm performance. However, manufacturing development appears generally to have desirable effects on community-wide employment stability.     

Geographical Distribution of Unemployment: An Analysis of Provincial Differences in Italy

ABSTRACT Unemployment rates appear to vary widely at a subregional (e.g., local or provincial) level. Using spatial econometric models for spatial autocorrelation, this paper focuses attention on the spatial structure of regional unemployment disparities of Italian provinces. On the basis of findings from the economic literature and of the available socio‐economic data, various model specifications, including different explanatory variables, are tested to investigate the geographical distribution of unemployment in the 103 provinces of Italy for the years 1998 and 2003. The results suggest that there is a clear explanation of unemployment differentials in terms of spatial equilibrium and disequilibrium factors and a significant degree of spatial dependence among labour markets at the provincial level in Italy. Provinces marked by high unemployment, as well as those characterised by low unemployment, tend to be spatially clustered, demonstrating the presence of unemployment “persistency” in space and time regimes.