The Productivity Advantages of Large Cities: Distinguishing Agglomeration From Firm Selection

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Combes, Pierre-Philippe; Duranton, Gilles; Gobillon, Laurent; Puga, Diego; Roux, Sebastien
• 署名单位: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS); Aix-Marseille Universite; University of Pennsylvania; Centre for Economic Policy Research - UK; IZA Institute Labor Economics; Institut Polytechnique de Paris; ENSAE Paris
• 刊物名称: ECONOMETRICA
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0012-9682
• DOI: 10.3982/ECTA8442
• 发表日期: 2012
• 页码: 2543-2594
• 关键词: trade liberalization; industry; QUALITY; DYNAMICS; IMPACT; wages; EXIT

摘要

Firms are more productive, on average, in larger cities. Two main explanations have been offered: firm selection (larger cities toughen competition, allowing only the most productive to survive) and agglomeration economies (larger cities promote interactions that increase productivity), possibly reinforced by localized natural advantage. To distinguish between them, we nest a generalized version of a tractable firm selection model and a standard model of agglomeration. Stronger selection in larger cities left-truncates the productivity distribution, whereas stronger agglomeration right-shifts and dilates the distribution. Using this prediction, French establishment-level data, and a new quantile approach, we show that firm selection cannot explain spatial productivity differences. This result holds across sectors, city size thresholds, establishment samples, and area definitions.