The contribution of knowledge-intensive firms to employment growth: a Granger causality approach for German regions

ABSTRACTAcademic discussions have frequently examined the interrelation between regional employment growth and firm locations. Two growth patterns emerge: employment growth induced through new firm locations or vice versa, where firms locate in areas experiencing employment supply growth. The specif...

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Main Authors: Mathias Heidinger, Michaela Fuchs, Alain Thierstein
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2024-12-01
Series:Regional Studies, Regional Science
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/21681376.2024.2312186
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author Mathias Heidinger
Michaela Fuchs
Alain Thierstein
author_facet Mathias Heidinger
Michaela Fuchs
Alain Thierstein
author_sort Mathias Heidinger
collection DOAJ
description ABSTRACTAcademic discussions have frequently examined the interrelation between regional employment growth and firm locations. Two growth patterns emerge: employment growth induced through new firm locations or vice versa, where firms locate in areas experiencing employment supply growth. The specific causal relationship responsible for regional employment growth in Germany remains uncertain. In the German context, however, more research is needed to identify contributors to employment growth, as most existing studies rely on highly aggregated data or focus on specific case studies. This paper aims to approach this subject by using a uniquely matched dataset of firm locations and the individual employment of 480 multi-locational firms in the knowledge economy and comparing it to total employment in Germany. We assume that a change in knowledge-intensive firms’ employment may affect regional employment growth. The study uses longitudinal historical employment data at the functional urban area (FUA) level from 1999 to 2019, aggregated to knowledge-intensive high-tech and advanced producer services (APS) sectors. The analysis employs aggregated and individual Granger causality tests, evaluating the relationship between employment in knowledge-intensive sectors and overall employment change. Results are spatialised using GIS to provide evidence of where the Granger causalities occur at the FUA level in Germany. Findings indicate that, in general, knowledge-intensive employment growth Granger causes total employment growth in a few economically more active FUAs. In contrast, for a greater number of FUAs, total employment Granger causes knowledge-intensive employment.
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spelling doaj.art-a7e0ed168fbd445f849209dd76d92ab32024-02-14T11:59:41ZengTaylor & Francis GroupRegional Studies, Regional Science2168-13762024-12-0111110312110.1080/21681376.2024.2312186The contribution of knowledge-intensive firms to employment growth: a Granger causality approach for German regionsMathias Heidinger0Michaela Fuchs1Alain Thierstein2Department of Architecture, Technical University of Munich, Munich, GermanyInstitute for Employment Research (IAB) Saxony-Anhalt-Thuringia, Halle (Saale), GermanyDepartment of Architecture, Technical University of Munich, Munich, GermanyABSTRACTAcademic discussions have frequently examined the interrelation between regional employment growth and firm locations. Two growth patterns emerge: employment growth induced through new firm locations or vice versa, where firms locate in areas experiencing employment supply growth. The specific causal relationship responsible for regional employment growth in Germany remains uncertain. In the German context, however, more research is needed to identify contributors to employment growth, as most existing studies rely on highly aggregated data or focus on specific case studies. This paper aims to approach this subject by using a uniquely matched dataset of firm locations and the individual employment of 480 multi-locational firms in the knowledge economy and comparing it to total employment in Germany. We assume that a change in knowledge-intensive firms’ employment may affect regional employment growth. The study uses longitudinal historical employment data at the functional urban area (FUA) level from 1999 to 2019, aggregated to knowledge-intensive high-tech and advanced producer services (APS) sectors. The analysis employs aggregated and individual Granger causality tests, evaluating the relationship between employment in knowledge-intensive sectors and overall employment change. Results are spatialised using GIS to provide evidence of where the Granger causalities occur at the FUA level in Germany. Findings indicate that, in general, knowledge-intensive employment growth Granger causes total employment growth in a few economically more active FUAs. In contrast, for a greater number of FUAs, total employment Granger causes knowledge-intensive employment.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/21681376.2024.2312186Knowledge economyGranger causalityemployment growthfunctional urban regionsGermanyfirm locations
spellingShingle Mathias Heidinger
Michaela Fuchs
Alain Thierstein
The contribution of knowledge-intensive firms to employment growth: a Granger causality approach for German regions
Regional Studies, Regional Science
Knowledge economy
Granger causality
employment growth
functional urban regions
Germany
firm locations
title The contribution of knowledge-intensive firms to employment growth: a Granger causality approach for German regions
title_full The contribution of knowledge-intensive firms to employment growth: a Granger causality approach for German regions
title_fullStr The contribution of knowledge-intensive firms to employment growth: a Granger causality approach for German regions
title_full_unstemmed The contribution of knowledge-intensive firms to employment growth: a Granger causality approach for German regions
title_short The contribution of knowledge-intensive firms to employment growth: a Granger causality approach for German regions
title_sort contribution of knowledge intensive firms to employment growth a granger causality approach for german regions
topic Knowledge economy
Granger causality
employment growth
functional urban regions
Germany
firm locations
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/21681376.2024.2312186
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