ESRI Seminar: "Factor Reallocation in Europe"

Speaker: Professor Eric Bartelsman, Tinbergen Institute, Netherlands

Venue: ESRI, Whitaker Square, Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, Dublin 2

Please note that this seminar will take place at 1pm on Friday 7 October.Sandwiches available beforehand.

Factor Reallocation in Europe paper uses cross-country micro-aggregated data on firm dynamics and productivity from the ECB CompNet project to provide empirical evidence on factor reallocation in the EU. The analysis finds that reallocation is towards more productive firms although the magnitude varies across countries. The paper provides evidence that cross-country differences in cleansing are related to labor market and product market institutions. In contrast to evidence from the US, the paper finds that reallocation rates are not declining noticeably over time. Similar to the US, productivity enhancing reallocation operates counter-cyclically. During the great recession, reallocation did not increase. The sharp drop in exports and tightness in credit markets are seen to provide a partial explanation for this lack of a silver lining.

Professor Eric Bartelsman 

Eric Bartelsman is professor of economics and General Director at Tinbergen Institute. He holds a BS from MIT and a PhD from Columbia University. Prior to his appointment at VU in 2000, he served as economist at the Federal Reserve Board in Washington DC, as advisor to CPB Netherlands, and as Head of Economic Research at the Ministry of Economic Affairs in the Netherlands. In 2007 and 2008 he was a member of the Netherlands Council of Economic Advisors (REA), in 2012-13 he was non-resident Fellow of DG ECFin and presently he is Research Visitor at the ECB. His teaching ranges from first-year lectures to PhD seminars. His research interests are in the area of productivity growth, both from a micro and macro vantage point, and have led to publications in top journals. Bartelsman is a fellow of the Tinbergen Institute and IZA Bonn.