Human capital effects on labour productivity in EU regions

Abstract

Recent years have seen a wealth of articles on spatial effects in empirical growth specifications. Endogenous growth models, together with the arguments of the new economic geography, have led to spatial dependence being identified with the existence of externalities which cross regional borders. This article continues in this line of research and offers new empirical evidence on the contribution of human capital and agglomeration economies to the differences in productivity in European Union regions. The article uses the spatial Durbin model with different weight matrices to explain the relation between human capital variables and labour productivity, with the advantage that it allows the effects of spatial externalities associated to human capital and agglomeration economies to be quantified.