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Firm productivity and agglomeration economies: evidence from Egyptian data

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  • Karim Badr
  • Reham Rizk
  • Chahir Zaki
Abstract
This paper attempts to shed the light on the nexus between firms’ productivity and economies of agglomeration in Egypt. Using a large dataset of firms in 342 firms’ four-digit activities in 27 regions (62,108 firms), we introduce three measures of agglomeration which are urbanization or firm diversification measured by the number of firms by governorate, localization and specialization measured by the average productivity by governorate and sector (generating externalities and knowledge spillovers) and finally competition measured by the number of firm operating in the same governorate and the same sector. We find strong evidence for the existence of agglomeration in Egypt after controlling for firm age, location, economic activity and legal status. In the Egyptian context, productivity spillovers gained from agglomeration measures outweighed the negative effects of competition implied by congestion. The latter is chiefly due to the lack of good infrastructure. When regressions are run by firm size, location and activity, our main findings show first that micro and small firms are more likely to benefit from localization and diversification compared to medium and large firms. Service firms benefit more from high level of diversification while manufacturing firms gain more benefits from knowledge spillovers and specialization in Egypt.

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  • Karim Badr & Reham Rizk & Chahir Zaki, 2019. "Firm productivity and agglomeration economies: evidence from Egyptian data," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(51), pages 5528-5544, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:applec:v:51:y:2019:i:51:p:5528-5544
    DOI: 10.1080/00036846.2019.1613506
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    4. Huaxi Yuan & Longhui Zou & Xiangyong Luo & Yidai Feng, 2022. "How Does Manufacturing Agglomeration Affect Green Development? A Spatial and Nonlinear Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-23, August.
    5. Peng, Dan & Li, Rongrong & Shen, Chenrong & Wong, Zoey, 2022. "Industrial agglomeration, urban characteristics, and economic growth quality: The case of knowledge-intensive business services," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 18-28.
    6. Cheng, Zhonghua & Jin, Wei, 2022. "Agglomeration economy and the growth of green total-factor productivity in Chinese Industry," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    7. Mingzhi Zhang & Xiangyu Zhou & Chao Chen & Jianxu Liu & Jiaxi Li & Fuying Huan & Bowen Wang, 2023. "Enterprise Spatial Agglomeration and Economic Growth in Northeast China: Policy Implications for Uneven to Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-17, July.
    8. Xiaohu Li & Xigang Zhu & Jianshu Li & Chao Gu, 2021. "Influence of Different Industrial Agglomeration Modes on Eco-Efficiency in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(24), pages 1-23, December.
    9. Ayadi, Rym & Giovannetti, Giorgia & Marvasi, Enrico & Zaki, Chahir, 2024. "Trade networks and the productivity of MENA firms in global value chains," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 10-23.
    10. Mohamed Amara, 2023. "Agglomeration and firm performance in times of economic turmoil: Evidence from Tunisian firm‐level data," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(2), pages 446-481, June.
    11. Kenichi Kashiwagi & Erina Iwasaki, 2020. "Effect of agglomeration on technical efficiency of small and medium‐sized garment firms in Egypt," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 32(1), pages 14-26, March.
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