Marco Vivarelli

• PhD.
• Head of Department at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore

Artificial intelligence (AI) is emerging as a transformative innovation with the potential to drive significant economic growth and productivity gains. This study examines whether AI is initiating a technological revolution, signifying a new technological paradigm, using the perspective of evolutionary neo-Schumpeterian economics. Using a global da...

Plain English Summary Challenging Gibrat's Law, this study reveals that small Italian firms initially outpace larger ones in growth, but selection evens the field over time; this evidence calls for smarter and targeted policies. Indeed, our analysis challenges the widely accepted result that small firms grow faster than their larger counterparts, t...

Based on an analysis of companies developing artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, this study offers fresh evidence on the role of innovation as one of the drivers of employment growth. GMM-SYS estimates on a worldwide longitudinal dataset covering 4,184 firms that patented inventions involving AI technologies between 2000 and 2016 show a posi...

Artificial intelligence (AI) is emerging as a transformative innovation with the potential to drive significant economic growth and productivity gains. This study examines whether AI is initiating a technological revolution, signifying a new technological paradigm, using the perspective of evolutionary neo-Schumpeterian economics. Using a global da...

This paper is a critical review of the empirical literature resulting from recent years of debate and analysis regarding technology and employment and the future of work as threatened by technology, outlining both lessons learned and challenges ahead. We distinguish three waves of studies and relate their heterogeneous findings to the choice of tec...

This article represents one of the first attempts at building a direct measure of occupational exposure to robotic labour‐saving technologies. After identifying robotic and labour‐saving robotic patents, the underlying 4‐digit CPC (Cooperative Patent Classification) code definitions, together with O*NET (Occupational Information Network) task descr...

This paper deals with the complex relationship between innovation and the labor market, analyzing the impact of new technological advancements on overall employment, skills, and wages. After a critical review of the extant literature and the available empirical studies, novel evidence is presented on the distribution of labor-saving automation [nam...

Plain English Summary COVID-19 has imposed restrictions on labor mobility and this turns out to be relevant for productivity and economic growth. Business visits (BVs) are a proper proxy (unique information is taken from the US National Business Travel Association) to measure short-term mobility. Sectoral data in 14 countries over the period 1998–2...

In this work we investigate the possible job-creation impact of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, focusing on the supply side, where the development of these technologies can be conceived as product innovations in upstream sectors. The empirical analysis is based on a worldwide longitudinal sample (obtained by merging the EPO PATSTAT and B...

Using the entire population of USPTO patent applications published between 2002 and 2019, and leveraging on both patent classification and semantic analysis, this paper aims to map the current knowledge base centred on robotics and AI technologies. These technologies are investigated both as a whole and distinguishing core and related innovations,...

This paper investigates the presence of explicit labour-saving heuristics within robotic patents. It analyses innovative actors engaged in robotic technology and their economic environment (identity, location, industry), and identifies the technological fields more exposed to labour-saving innovations. It exploits advanced natural language processi...

While the extant innovation literature has provided extensive evidence of the so-called “demand-pull” effect, the possible diverse impact of demand evolution on product vs process innovation activities has not been yet investigated. This paper develops a formal model predicting a larger inducing impact of past sales in fostering product rather than...

This paper addresses, both theoretically and empirically, the sectoral patterns of job creation and job destruction in order to distinguish the alternative effects of embodied vs disembodied technological change operating into a two-sector economy. Disembodied technological change turns out to positively affect employment dynamics in the “upstream”...

This edited volume provides a comprehensive overview of the major debates on the role of structural change in economic development. The book begins by recounting the intellectual history of the notion of structural change, providing a critical overview of the arguments that link structural change to growth and development, before outlining the main...

We review the theoretical underpinnings and the empirical findings of the literature that investigates the effects of innovation on firm survival and firm productivity, which constitute the two main channels through which innovation drives growth. We aim to contribute to the ongoing debate along three paths. First, we discuss the extent to which th...

The aim of this paper is to investigate the growth dynamics of young small firms (in contrast with larger and older incumbents) in a developing country context, using a unique and comprehensive dataset of non-agricultural Tunisian companies. Our results suggest that significant differences between young and mature firms can be found as far as the d...

In this essay Marco Vivarelli, a longtime collaborator with David, discusses David’s impact on his career as well as on the field of entrepreneurship research in total. Touching on David’s influence in economic and social science research, Vivarelli posits that David has been a key figure in the advancement of entrepreneurial research and think. Th...

In this work, we test the employment impact of distinct types of innovative investments using a representative sample of Spanish manufacturing firms over the period 2002–2013. Our GMM-SYS estimates generate various results, which are partially in contrast with the extant literature. Indeed, estimations carried out on the entire sample do not provid...

This article explores the employment impact of innovation activity, taking into account both R&D expenditures and embodied technological change (ETC). We use a novel panel data set covering 265 innovative Italian firms over the period 1998-2010. The main outcome from the proposed fixed-effect estimations is a labor-friendly nature of total innovati...

We investigate whether labor mobility can be a distinct source of growth by studying the productivity impact of business visits (BVs), vis-à-vis that of other well-known drivers of productivity enhancement. Our analysis uses an unbalanced panel—covering on average 16 sectors per year in ten countries during the period 1998–2011—which combines uniqu...

Using data on the US and EU top R&D spenders from 2004 until 2012, this paper investigates the sources of the US/EU productivity gap. We find robust evidence that US firms have a higher capacity to translate R&D into productivity gains (especially in the high-tech macro sector), and this contributes to explaining the higher productivity of US firms...

This paper explores the possible job creation effect of innovation activity. We analyze a unique panel dataset covering almost 20,000 patenting firms from Europe over the period 2003–2012. The main outcome from the proposed GMM-SYS estimations is the labor-friendly nature of innovation, which we measure in terms of forward-citation weighted patents...

Using a unique firm-level database comprising the top European R&D investors over the period 2002–2013 and running LSDVC estimates, this study finds a significant labor-friendly impact of R&D expenditures. However, this positive employment effect appears limited in magnitude and entirely due to the medium- and high-tech sectors, while no effect can...

The aim of this paper is twofold. On the one hand, the economic insights on the employment impact of technological change are discussed covering both classical theories and updated theoretical and empirical analyses. On the other hand, an empirical test is provided; in particular, longitudinal data—covering manufacturing and service sectors over th...

This paper investigates the implications that complementary assets needed for the formation of start-ups have on the innovative efforts of incumbent firms. In particular, we highlight a strategic incentive effect by which the innovative efforts of incumbents are decreasing in the availability of the complementary assets needed for the creation of a...

This paper investigates the reasons why entry per se is not necessarily good and the evidence showing that innovative start-ups survive longer than their non-innovative counterparts. In this framework, our own empirical analysis shows that greater survival is achieved when start-ups engage successfully in both product innovation and process innovat...

This paper studies the interlinked relationship between globalization and technological upgrading in affecting employment and wages of skilled and unskilled workers in a middle income developing country. It exploits a unique longitudinal firm-level database that covers all manufacturing firms in Turkey over the 1992–2001 period. Turkey is taken as...

There is a dearth of research on the impact of technological change over employment in least developed countries (LDCs) embarking on globalization and consequent international technological transfer. Using a panel of 1,940 Ethiopian firms over the period 1996–2004 and deploying GMM-SYS estimates, this paper aims to establish the role played by trad...

This paper explores the possible job creation effect of innovation activity. We analyze a unique panel dataset covering almost 20,000 patenting firms from Europe over the period 2003-2012. The main outcome from the proposed GMM-SYS estimations is the labour-friendly nature of innovation, which we measure in terms of forward-citation weighted patent...

In this article, the theoretical and empirical literature on the employment impact of technological change is critically discussed, the relative explanatory power of the competing theories is compared and the macro-, sectoral, and microevidence on the issue is detailed.

This paper builds upon Pellegrino et al. (Struct Chang Econ Dyn 23:329–340, 2012) further analysing the determinants of product innovation in Italian young innovative companies (YICs) by looking at in-house and external R&D and at the acquisition of external technology in its embodied and disembodied components. A Tobit approach is applied to study...

The aim of this paper is to provide an updated survey of the “state of the art” in entrepreneurial studies with a particular focus on developing countries (DCs). In particular, the concept of “entrepreneurship” is critically discussed, followed by a discussion of the institutional, macroeconomic, and microeconomic conditions that affect the entry o...

This article is intended to provide an updated discussion on a series of issues that the relevant literature suggests to be crucial in dealing with the challenges a middle income country may encounter in its attempts to further catch up to a higher income status. In particular, the conventional economic wisdom—ranging from the Lewis-Kuznets model t...

This paper explores the possible job creation effect of innovation activity. We analyze a unique panel dataset covering almost 20,000 patenting firms from Europe over the period 2003-2012. The main outcome from the proposed GMM-SYS estimations is the labour-friendly nature of innovation, which we measure in terms of forward-citation weighted patent...

I discuss the theoretical and empirical literature on the quantitative and qualitative employment impact of technological change. I also compare the relative explanatory power of competing economic theories, while detailing the macro, sectoral, and micro evidence on the issue with reference to advanced and developing economies. The main purpose of...

The impact of public funding on innovative productivity is estimated using a sample of Italian firm-level data (CIS3). A bivariate endogenous switching model is developed in order to free the analysis of the sources of sample selection and firm heterogeneity, the possible simultaneity between subsidy allocation and the qualitative composition of th...

Our aim is to investigate the relationship between a firm's R&D expenditures and its productivity, looking at sectoral peculiarities. We use a unique longitudinal database consisting of 1809 US and European manufacturing and service firms over the period 1990–2008. Our main findings can be summarised as follows. Consistently with previous literatur...

This paper discusses the relationship between a company’s investment in innovation and its success in introducing new product and/or process innovations. In doing so, this analysis departs from the standard approach which puts forward a homogenous R&D-based knowledge production function by introducing different types of innovation investments (R&D...

This article shows how in-house R&D may play a role in affecting innovative output beyond its direct impact and its indirect effect through absorptive capacity, generating additional synergies that amplify the impacts of innovative inputs other than R&D itself.

After discussing theory regarding the consequences of technological change on employment, our aim is to test the possible job creation effect of business R and D expenditures, using a unique longitudinal database covering 677 European firms (1990-2008). The main outcome from the dynamic LSDVC (Least Squared Dummy Variable Corrected) estimate is the...

The aim of this study is to provide a microeconomic investigation of the concept of entrepreneurship; in particular, the following issues will be discussed: (i) the alternative ways of looking at entrepreneurship, distinguishing “creative destruction” from simple “turbulence”; (ii) the different microeconomic determinants of new firm formation, dis...

In this paper the theoretical literature on the quantitative and qualitative employment impact of technological change is critically discussed and the relative explanatory power of the competing economic theories assessed.

This paper investigates, both theoretically and empirically, the implications that complementary assets needed for the formation of start-ups – proxied by the ease of access to financial resources – have on the innovative efforts of incumbent firms. In particular, we develop a theoretical model, highlighting a strategic incentive effect by which th...

This paper explores the causes of skill-based employment differentials within the Turkish manufacturing sector over the period 1980-2001. Turkey is taken as an example of a developing economy that, in that period, had been technologically advancing and becoming increasingly integrated with the world market. The empirical analysis is performed at fi...

This chapter focuses on the relationship between firms’ technological competencies and capabilities and different forms of cooperation for innovation by combining the analysis of both micro and meso levels, i.e. the level of the firm and of the geographical region. Our findings, based on the Fourth UK Community Innovation Survey (CIS), provide new...

This chapter focuses on the relationship between firms’ technological competencies and capabilities and different forms of cooperation for innovation by combining the analysis of both micro and meso levels, i.e. the level of the firm and of the geographical region. Our findings, based on the Fourth UK Community Innovation Survey (CIS), provide new...

IAMMARINO S., PIVA M., VIVARELLI M. and VON TUNZELMANN N. Technological capabilities and patterns of innovative cooperation of firms in the UK regions, Regional Studies. This paper focuses on the relationship between firms' technological capabilities and different forms of cooperation for innovation, paying specific attention to the role of regiona...

The aim of this study is to provide a microeconomic investigation of the concept of entrepreneurship; in particular, it discusses the following issues: 1) the alternative ways of looking at entrepreneurship, distinguishing "creative destruction" from simple "turbulence"; 2) the different microeconomic determinants of new firm formation, distinguish...

The job creation effect of business R&D is tested applying the dynamic LSDVC estimator to a longitudinal database covering 677 European companies over the period 1990–2008. Job creation is detected in services and high-tech manufacturing, but not in traditional sectors.

In this study we use a unique database covering 25 manufacturing and service sectors for 16 European countries over the period 1996-2005, for a total of 2,295 observations, and apply GMM-SYS panel estimations of a demand-for-labour equation augmented with technology. We find that R&D expenditures have a job-creating effect, in accordance with the p...

I discuss the theoretical and empirical literature on the quantitative and qualitative employment impact of technological change. I also compare the relative explanatory power of competing economic theories, while detailing the macro, sectoral, and micro evidence on the issue with reference to advanced and developing economies. The main purpose of...

The purpose of this paper is to provide a contribution to the identification of the role of entrepreneurship in economic growth by mapping out: 1) alternative ways of looking at entrepreneurship, distinguishing 'creative destruction' from simple 'turbulence'; 2) the different microeconomic determinants of new firm formation, distinguishing 'progres...

This paper examines the determinants of young innovative companies’ (YICs) R&D activities taking into account the autoregressive nature of innovation. Using a large longitudinal dataset comprising Spanish manufacturing firms over the period 1990-2008, we find that previous R&D experience is a fundamental determinant for mature and young firms, albe...

Brazil was characterized by a rapid process of trade liberalization in the 1990s, resulting in a dramatic increase in the volumes of exports and imports since the year 2000. Over the same period, the relative demand for skilled labour has increased substantially. To investigate whether these two simultaneous phenomena are linked is the purpose of t...

This paper examines the determinants of young innovative companies' (YICs) R&D activities taking into account the autoregressive nature of innovation. Using a large longitudinal dataset comprising Spanish manufacturing firms over the period 1990-2008, we find that previous R&D experience is a fundamental determinant for mature and young firms, albe...

According to Gibrat’s Law of Proportionate Effect, the growth rate of a given firm is independent of its size at the beginning of the examined period. This paper investigates whether Gibrat’s Law holds for new entrants in a given industry: that is for new small firms in the early stage of their life cycle. The main finding is that in some (but not...

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between a firm's R&D expenditures considered as an investment in knowledge, and its productivity, looking at sectoral peculiarities which may emerge; to this end, we use a large unique longitudinal database consisting of 1,809 US and European manufacturing and service firms over the perio...

After discussing theory regarding the consequences of technological change on employment and surveying previous microeconometric literature, our aim with this paper is to test the possible job creation effect of business R&D expenditures, using a unique longitudinal database covering 677 European manufacturing and service firms over the period 1990...

Building on a standard policy evaluation literature mainly aimed at estimating the additional effect of subsidies on either firms' innovative expenditures or innovative outputs only, this paper tries to move one step further, combining the two (input and output) dimensions of innovation into a unique efficiency perspective. To this aim, the impact...

The globalization of R&D activities has continued its growth path as companies are increasingly trying to capture knowledge and market opportunities internationally. The rapid evolution of national economies and the ways to conduct knowledge-intensive businesses has led researchers and analysts to pursue a deeper understanding of the globalization...

The literature has pointed to different causes to explain the productivity gap between Europe and United States in the last decades. This paper tests the hypothesis that the lower European productivity performance in comparison with the US can be explained not only by a lower level of corporate R&D investment, but also by a lower capacity to transl...

This paper discusses the occurrence of skill-enhancing technology import, namely, the relationship between imports of embodied technology and widening skill-based employment differentials in low- and middle-income countries. Generalized method of moments (GMM) techniques are applied to an original panel dataset comprising 28 manufacturing sectors f...