Labor diversity and firm productivity Parrotta, Pierpaolo; Pozzoli, Dario; Pytlikova, Mariola
European economic review,
02/2014, Letnik:
66, Številka:
February
Journal Article
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Using a matched employer–employee data-set, we analyze how workforce diversity associates with the productivity of firms in Denmark, following two main econometric routes. In the first one, we ...estimate a standard Cobb–Douglas function, calculate the implied total factor productivity and relate the latter to diversity statistics in a second stage. This reduced-form approach allows us to identify which types of labor heterogeneity appear to descriptively matter. In the second approach, we move toward a richer production function specification, which takes different types of labor as inputs and that allows for flexible substitution patterns, and possible quality differences between types. Both methods show that workforce diversity in ethnicity is negatively associated with firm productivity. The evidence regarding diversity in education is mixed.
•We find that ethnic diversity is significantly and negatively correlated with firm productivity.•Conversely demographic diversity seems not to matter.•The evidence regarding diversity in education is mixed.
This article examines the importance of language in international migration from multiple angles by studying the role of linguistic proximity, widely spoken languages, linguistic enclaves and ...language-based immigration policy requirements. To this aim we collect a unique data set on immigration flows and stocks in 30 OECD destinations from all world countries over the period 1980–2010 and construct a set of linguistic proximity measures. Migration rates increase with linguistic proximity and with English at destination. Softer linguistic requirements for naturalisation and larger linguistic communities at destination encourage more migrants to move. Linguistic proximity matters less when local linguistic networks are larger.
While there is considerable interest in understanding the climate–migration relationship, particularly in the context of concerns about global climatic change, little is known about its underlying ...mechanisms. In the paper, we combine a rich panel data on annual bilateral international migration flows with an extensive data on climate variability across the countries to investigate in-depth the climate–migration link. We find a positive and statistically significant relationship between temperature and international outmigration only in the most agriculture-dependent countries, consistent with the widely documented adverse impact of temperature on agricultural productivity. Further, the temperature–migration relationship is nonlinear and resembles the nonlinear temperature–yield relationship. In addition, migration flows to current major destinations are especially temperature-sensitive. Policies to address issues related to climate-induced international migration would be more efficient if focused on the agriculture-dependent countries and especially people in those countries whose livelihoods depend on agriculture.
•We examine the relationship between climate variability and international migration.•We use an annual bilateral international migration data set for 1980–2010.•Temperature induces international outmigration only from agricultural countries.•Migration flows to current major destinations are especially temperature-sensitive.
In this paper, we investigate the nexus between firm labor diversity and innovation by using data on patent applications filed by firms at the European Patent Office and a linked employer-employee ...database from Denmark. Exploiting the information retrieved from these comprehensive data sets and implementing proper instrumental variable strategies, we estimate the contribution of workers' diversity in cultural background, education and demographic characteristics to valuable firm's innovation activity. Specifically, we find evidence supporting the hypothesis that ethnic diversity may facilitate firms' patenting activity in several ways by (a) increasing the propensity to (apply for a) patent, (b) increasing the overall number of patent applications, and (c) by enlarging the breadth of patenting technological fields, conditional on patenting. Several robustness checks corroborate the main findings.
This study contributes to the literature on destination-country consequences of international migration, with investigations on the effects of immigration from new EU member states and Eastern ...Partnership countries on the economies of old EU member states during the years 1995–2010. Using a rich international migration dataset and an empirical model accounting for the endogeneity of migration flows, we find positive and significant effects of post-enlargement migration flows from new EU member states on old member states’ GDP, GDP per capita, and employment rate, and a negative effect on output per worker. We also find small, but statistically significant negative effects of migration from Eastern Partnership countries on receiving countries’ GDP, GDP per capita, employment rate, and capital stock, but a positive significant effect on capital-to-labor ratio. These results mark an economic success of the EU’s eastern enlargements and free movement of workers in an enlarged EU.
In this paper, we investigate the nexus between firm labor diversity and innovation by using data on patent applications filed by firms at the European Patent Office and a linked employer-employee ...database from Denmark. Exploiting the information retrieved from these comprehensive data sets and implementing proper instrumental variable strategies, we estimate the contribution of workers' diversity in cultural background, education and demographic characteristics to valuable firm's innovation activity. Specifically, we find evidence supporting the hypothesis that ethnic diversity may facilitate firms' patenting activity in several ways by (a) increasing the propensity to (apply for a) patent, (b) increasing the overall number of patent applications, and (c) by enlarging the breadth of patenting technological fields, conditional on patenting. Several robustness checks corroborate the main findings.
We investigate whether anti-immigrant attitudes affect migrant inflows in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. Using longitudinal exhaustive data, we find that ...natives' hostility, particularly natives' propensity to discriminate on the labor market, reduces immigration. This effect is comparable to more conventional migration factors. We obtain robust results when we, for example, capture hostility with far-right parties' popularity instead and control for tighter immigration policies or multilateral resistance to migration. We find a stronger effect for EU-to-EU migrants, migrants from developed countries and linguistically close countries. Our results raise a challenge for policy makers when the demand for foreign workers and anti-immigrant sentiment are present.
This paper presents empirical evidence on immigration flows into the OECD countries during the period 1990–2000. Our results indicate that network effects are strong, but vary between different ...groups of welfare states and between countries according to the type of immigration policy being applied. Network effects seem to be less important in the Nordic countries which also seem to attract immigrants from the lowest income level source countries. We do not find clear evidence that selection effects measured by migration flows being sensitive to differences in public social expenditures have had a major influence on the observed migration patterns until now. This may partly be explained by restrictive migration policies which may have dampened the potential selection effects.
This article investigates the relationship between migrants' destination choices and the formal labor market access afforded by multiple potential host countries in the context of the EU's eastward ...enlargement. We use an index of labor market access laws combined with data on migration from new EU member states into the existing states of the EU and EFTA from 2004 through 2010 to test whether (1) migrants are attracted to destinations that give them greater formal labor market access, (2) migration flows to any given destination are influenced by the labor market policies of competing destinations, and (3) the influence of labor market laws on migrant flows is mediated by social networks, language ability, and educational level. Our data support the first two propositions and partly support the third: Migration between origin/destination pairs was positively associated with the loosening of destination labor market restrictions, while negatively associated with the loosening of competing destinations' labor market restrictions. In addition, the influence of destination labor market access appears to be weaker for destinations in which migrants have larger existing co-national networks, and for migrants from countries with languages that are more similar to the destination language, although we do not discern a clear mediating effect of education level. Our models also include variables for a set of economic indicators, social welfare spending, geographic distance, and historical relationships, and the estimated coefficients on these variables are largely in line with theoretical predictions. By combining rich EU data with a unique approach to evaluating competing legal regimes, the analysis helps us better understand how law shapes migration in a multi-destination world.
We investigate whether anti-immigrant attitudes affect migrant inflows inOrganisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. Usinglongitudinal exhaustive data, we find that ...natives’ hostility, particularlynatives’ propensity to discriminate on the labor market, reduces immigration.This effect is comparable to more conventional migration factors. We obtainrobust results when we, for example, capture hostility with far-right parties’popularity instead and control for tighter immigration policies or multilateralresistance to migration. We find a stronger effect for EU-to-EU migrants,migrants from developed countries and linguistically close countries. Ourresults raise a challenge for policy makers when the demand for foreign workersand anti-immigrant sentiment are present.
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