Agglomeration Economies and Labour Misallocation in Cote d’Ivoire

BAH, Mamadou Mouminy (2021): Agglomeration Economies and Labour Misallocation in Cote d’Ivoire.

Abstract

This paper analyses the effects of agglomeration economies on firm labour misallocation, using the Ivorian firm data from 2013-2016. After measuring the degree of firm labour misallocation in the first step, we assess the level of labour misallocation in denser regions in the second step. The results show on the one hand that the average labour misallocation (labour gap) at the firm level is 2,825,887 FCFA ($5,137.97 ) over the period 2013-2016 and this gap has significantly decreased over years. On the other hand, firms located in denser regions exhibit lower labour misallocation. In terms of the magnitude, both localisation and urbanisation economies are large and statistically significant. A 10% increase in the degree of localisation in a region reduces the labour misallocation by 7.41% on average, while a 10% increase in the degree of urbanisation alters the labour misallocation by 4.26%. These findings confirm that labour misallocation has a geographical dimension, in addition to the firm characteristics. A sound policy needs to accounts for the spatial distribution of firms and the creation of active poles of development in major Ivorian regions.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Localisation, Urbanisation, Misallocation, Total factor productivity, firm-level data
• Subjects: D - Microeconomics > D2 - Production and Organizations > D24 - Production ; Cost ; Capital ; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity ; Capacity; L - Industrial Organization > L2 - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior > L25 - Firm Performance: Size, Diversification, and Scope; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O4 - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity; R - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics > R3 - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location

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