Uncovering urban advantages: evidence from Australian firm-level data *

Antonio Andrés Bellofatto, Begoña Domínguez*, Elyse C. Dwyer

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This paper quantifies the productivity advantages of urban firms in Australia. Following Combes et al. (Econometrica 2012, 80, 2543), we decompose the source of urban advantages into agglomeration and selection effects using the most exhaustive data source on Australian businesses: the Business Longitudinal Analysis Data Environment (BLADE). We find that urban advantages increase the productivity of the average firm by nearly 6 per cent, and that most of such advantages are attributed to agglomeration effects rather than selection. Urban advantages differ substantially across sectors and by firm age. In particular, they are larger in services than in manufacturing and relatively benefit mature firms. We also perform a state-level analysis, which largely confirms our main findings at the country level.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)13-34
Number of pages22
JournalEconomic Record
Volume99
Issue numberS1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2023

Bibliographical note

© 2023 The Authors. Economic Record published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Economic Society of Australia. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Uncovering urban advantages: evidence from Australian firm-level data *'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this