Agglomeration and social return to R&D: Evidence from French plant productivity changes

This paper investigates the effect of inter-firm and intra-firm spillovers on the productivity of firms, using French data. The Luenberger Productivity Indicator (LPI) is used to estimate the productivity and to break it down into several components (e.g. efficiency, biased technical progress, scales effects, etc.). Using this approach, negative productivity changes are found due to the unfavourable economic situation over 2000-2002. Diverse forms of intra- and inter-firm externalities are then investigated through a Maximum Likelihood Random Effect (MLRE) model. Spillover effects due to spatial agglomeration - influencing Total Factor Productivity (TFP) and its correspondent components, technological and efficiency changes, are found.