Accessibility navigation


Marshallian agglomeration, labour pooling and skills matching

Corradini, C. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1980-7993, Morris, D. and Vanino, E. (2025) Marshallian agglomeration, labour pooling and skills matching. Cambridge Journal of Economics. ISSN 1464-3545 (In Press)

[thumbnail of R&R Agglomeration and skills matching - full paper - accepted.pdf] Text - Accepted Version
· Restricted to Repository staff only

835kB

It is advisable to refer to the publisher's version if you intend to cite from this work. See Guidance on citing.

Abstract/Summary

Better skills matching has long been proposed as one of the key advantages of agglomeration economies. Yet, support for this improved matching has remained largely founded upon indirect proxies for skills such as wages and education. This paper contributes to the literature by offering novel empirical evidence on the relationship between specific measures of localised skills deficiencies and agglomeration economies, in the form of industrial density. Developing an instrumental variable approach and controlling for unobserved heterogeneity and other region-industry idiosyncratic effects across a panel dataset for the period 2009-2019 in England and Wales, our analysis reveals a positive effect of agglomeration economies in reducing both skills gaps within the employed workforce and skills shortages in the labour market external to the firm. We consider these findings in the context of persistent regional imbalances and the importance of strengthening skills provision within current regional industrial strategies.

Item Type:Article
Refereed:Yes
Divisions:Henley Business School > Real Estate and Planning
ID Code:120867
Publisher:Oxford University Press

University Staff: Request a correction | Centaur Editors: Update this record

Page navigation