Worker Mobility and Productivity Spillovers

Ohlsbom Roope

Abstract

Using linked employer-employee data from Finland, we examine the mobility of workers between establishments as a source of productivity-affecting knowledge spillovers. We find evidence that hiring workers from more productive establishments leads to higher productivity in the following year. For an average establishment, this productivity increase amounts to 0.45 percent in our most conservative estimate. The observed productivity gains hold for a variety of specifications, and changes in the receiving establishments’ human capital stock are ruled out as an explanation.

Publication info

Research group
Growth, international trade and competition
Series
ETLA Working Papers 95
Date
05.08.2022
Keywords
Worker mobility, Spillovers, Productivity, Human capital
ISSN
2323-2420, 2323-2439 (Pdf)
JEL
D22, D62, J21, J24, J62, L25
Pages
24
Language
English