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作者

Grigorios Spanos

来源

来源 JOURNAL OF URBAN ECONOMICS,Vol.112,P.152-168

语言

英文

关键字

Firm organization;Heterogeneous firms;Market size;Density;Regional disparities;Wages;Firm productivity;D22;L11;L22;L23;J24;R12

作者单位

Aix-Marseille University, CNRS, EHESS, Centrale Marseille, AMSE, France;Department of History, Economics and Society, School of Social Sciences (SDS), University of Geneva, 40 Boulevard du Pont-d'Arve, Geneva, 1211 Switzerland.;Aix-Marseille University, CNRS, EHESS, Centrale Marseille, AMSE, France;Department of History, Economics and Society, School of Social Sciences (SDS), University of Geneva, 40 Boulevard du Pont-d'Arve, Geneva, 1211 Switzerland.

摘要

This paper provides a new mechanism to explain variation in firm productivity across locations: variation in the internal organization of labor into hierarchical layers, which are associated with different responsibilities within the firm. To guide my analysis, I develop a theoretical model that yields two implications. First, firms in larger markets organize into a greater number of layers. Second, because they have more layers, firms in larger markets are more productive. I then use administrative data to examine the model’s implications across French employment areas and non-tradeable service industries that satisfy the model’s assumptions: Clothing and Shoe Retail, Traditional Restaurants, and Hair and Beauty Salons. The findings are consistent with the model. I also observe that 8.8% to 22.4% of the log productivity gains from denser areas arise from differences in the organization of firms. A separate analysis shows that results are similar across firms operating in the manufacturing sector.