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(Un-)Related Variety and Employment Growth at the Sub-Regional Level

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  • Matthias Firgo
  • Peter Mayerhofer

Abstract

Empirical results on the link between growth and diversity in (un-)related industries proved to be highly dependent on the specific regional and temporal context. Making use of highly disaggregated employment data at the sub-regional level, we find that higher employment growth in Austria is mainly linked to unrelated variety. However, in-depth analyses by sectors and regional regimes illustrate substantial heterogeneity in the results, mainly driven by the service sector and by a large number of relatively small regions. Thus, our results argue against structural policy conclusions based on assessments across all economic sectors or different types of regions.

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  • Matthias Firgo & Peter Mayerhofer, 2016. "(Un-)Related Variety and Employment Growth at the Sub-Regional Level," WIFO Working Papers 511, WIFO.
    • Handle: RePEc:wfo:wpaper:y:2016:i:511
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    related variety; specialisation; knowledge spillovers; employment growth; structural policy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D62 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Externalities
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes
    • R58 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis - - - Regional Development Planning and Policy

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