Essays on regional labour markets

Ioramashvili, Carolin (2021) Essays on regional labour markets. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

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Abstract

The thesis empirically studies drivers and determinants of incomes at the regional level in the United Kingdom. It draws on literatures in labour and macro economics, and examines these through a regional lens. The thesis contains three self-contained chapters. Chapter 2 studies the effect of labour mobility on local earnings in Great Britain in the context of large regional earnings differences. Using a panel of employee records, I estimate the effect of internal in- and out-migration on the earnings of employees who do not move. Over the course of three years, the effect of in-migration on earnings growth is positive, with no adverse effect from out-migration. These effects are larger in urban areas, consistent with agglomeration effects as the underlying mechanism. Chapter 3 considers the effect of growing industry concentration within the UK on regional earnings. Using detailed firm-level data, I show that the share of output produced by dominant firms has increased since 2002. While firms with market power pay higher wages, the labour share, the share of total value added earned by workers is lower. This is consistent with a rent-sharing model, whereby dominant firms charge mark-ups that are only partially shared with workers. In chapter 4, I study technological invention as a driver of employment growth for different skill groups in NUTS1 and NUTS2 regions in Germany, France and the UK. Invention, proxied by patenting, has a positive effect on graduate employment. Both graduate employment and patenting have positive effects on mid-skilled and non-graduate employment, but these effects tend to be temporary, with no persistent increase in employment. Looking at the three countries individually, the results are suggestive of significant differences that can be rationalised with reference to differences in labour market institutions and innovation systems.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Additional Information:	© 2021 Carolin Ioramashvili
Library of Congress subject classification:	H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor
Sets:	Departments > Geography and Environment
Supervisor:	Iammarino, Simona and Storper, Michael
URI:	http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/4305

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