Spatial Localization in Manufacturing: A Cross-Country Analysis

Stefania Vitali, Mauro Napoletano and Giorgio Fagiolo ()

No 906, Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) from Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography

Abstract: This paper employs a homogenous firms' database to investigate industry localiza- tion in European countries. More specifically, we compare, across industries and countries, the predictions of two of the most popular localization indices, i.e., the Ellison and Glaeser index (Ellison and Glaeser, 1997) and the Duranton and Over- man index (Duranton and Overman, 2005). We find that, independently from the index used, localization is a pervasive phenomenon in all countries studied, but the degree of localization is very uneven across industries in each country. Furthermore, we find that the two indices significantly diverge in predicting the intensity of the forces generating localization within each industry. Finally, we perform a cross- sectoral analysis of localized industries. We show that, in all countries, localized sectors are mainly "traditional" sectors (like jewelery, wine, and textiles) and sec- tors where scale economies are important. However, once one controls for countries' industrial structures science-based sectors turn out to be the most localized ones.

Keywords: Industry Localization; Manufacturing Industries; Localization Indices; Spatial Concentration; Spatial correlation; Cross-country studies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: R12 R3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 37 pages
Date: 2009-06, Revised 2009-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-geo, nep-int and nep-ure
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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http://econ.geo.uu.nl/peeg/peeg0906.pdf Version June 2009 (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Spatial Localization in Manufacturing: A Cross-Country Analysis (2013)
Working Paper: Spatial Localization in Manufacturing: A Cross-Country Analysis (2009)
Working Paper: Spatial Localization in Manufacturing: A Cross-Country Analysis (2009)
Working Paper: Spatial Localization in Manufacturing: A Cross-Country Analysis (2009)
Working Paper: Spatial Localization in Manufacturing: A Cross-Country Analysis (2009)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:egu:wpaper:0906

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