Economic complexity and productivity polarization: Evidence from Italian provinces

Basile Roberto () and Cicerone Gloria ()
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Basile Roberto: Department of Industrial and Information Engineering and Economics, 90345 University of L’Aquila, L’Aquila, Italy
Cicerone Gloria: 476635 Gran Sasso Science Institute (GSSI) of L’Aquila, L’Aquila, Italy

German Economic Review, 2022, vol. 23, issue 4, 567-594

Abstract: In this paper, we analyze the role of economic complexity as a driver of regional labor productivity growth in Italy. The Economic Complexity Index (ECI) measures the multiplicity of knowledge embedded in an economy’s productive structure and can be interpreted as an indicator of “qualified diversity”. We assess the impact of ECI on the distribution dynamics of labor productivity by combining growth regression analysis with conditional density estimates. Counterfactual analysis results suggest that ECI plays a key role in the observed tendency to polarization of regional labor productivity. We also provide evidence of a long-run relationship between labor productivity and ECI by using a panel cointegration analysis.

Keywords: Regional labor productivity; Economic complexity; Distribution dynamics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: R11 R12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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DOI: 10.1515/ger-2021-0070

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