Productivity and earnings at the firm-plant level: the case of Lombardy’s urban and non-urban agglomerations

We analyse business performance by using a unique data set of the universe of Italian local business units. We investigate the pattern of both productivity and profitability by adopting a decomposition technique to document spatial variation across urban and non-urban areas. Aggregate evidence indicates that an urban–non-urban productivity divide exists, but this premium vanishes with respect to profitability. Plant-level estimations using a hierarchical linear model show that area attractiveness positively affects productivity, whereas diseconomies of agglomeration negatively affect profitability. Coping with agglomeration costs is a priority for regional policies to transfer the productivity gains in urban areas into new investment and growth opportunities.