About the speaker: 

Nathaniel Baum-Snow is a Professor of Economic Analysis and Policy. He has research interests in urban and realestate economics, labor economics and economic geography. His research includes investigations of reasons for changes in the spatial organization of economic activity in U.S. and Chinese cities, reasons for which workers earn more and have more dispersed wages in larger cities, and the consequences of transportation infrastructure investments on urban growth and welfare. He is a co-editor of the Journal of Urban Economics.

Abstract: 

This paper presents evidence of revenue and productivity spillovers across firms at fine spatial scales. For groups offirms within 75 meter radius areas, estimates indicate an average elasticity of firm revenue to the mean of peer firm revenue of 0.018. The elasticity with respect to aggregate peer revenue is at most an additional 0.003 percent. Impacts are very local, fully decaying within 250 meters, and are greater forhigher quality firms. Tests for mediation through input-output and occupational similarity relationships yield stronger evidence for the occupational similarity channel. Theory indicates that TFP spillovers are if anything greater than these revenue spillover estimates.