This article revisits the question of the role of knowledge externalities in firm productivity.It also addresses the overlooked issue of a plausible nonlinear effect and differences among industries. Using a panel of Portuguese manufacturing firms, it finds that regional knowledge spillovers differ substantially across industries and they are nonlinear, which is critical issue to promoting more assertive regional policies.

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No presente artigo, começamos por analisar a produtividade do trabalho a um nível sectorial e agregado, das regiões NUTS III de Portugal Continental, na década de 90. Posteriormente testamos as hipótese de convergência regional, seguindo alguns dos trabalhos empíricos de referência. Os nossos resultados mostram que houve uma convergência regional da produtividade do trabalho a um nível agregado, mas a um nível mais desagregado há sectores e ramos em que tal não se verificou. Por esta razão, pensamos que os resultados podem ser explicados pela alteração da estrutura regional de emprego, causada pela mobilidade de emprego entre os ramos. Estimámos os efeitos da alteração da estrutura regional de emprego e concluímos que a mobilidade de emprego foi favorável à convergência regional da produtividade.

This article analyzes spatial autocorrelations and the formation of clusters of exports, based on research and development (R&D) intensity in Portugal. The central idea is that exports show relative interdependence and spillover effects among nearby regions and a direct relationship with R&D expenditures. It adopts the new taxonomy of the OECD, separating exports by manufacturing and non-manufacturing activities by technological intensity. Methodologically, it applied exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA), using global Moran’s index and LISA. The results showed the presence of positive spatial autocorrelation of exports and the formation of a cluster of the high–high type for the Área Metropolitana do Porto and Região de Aveiro. There is also a positive spatial autocorrelation for exports associated with R&D expenditures as well as the formation of a regional cluster with high–high pattern for the Região de Aveiro. This outcome can be explained, in part, by nationally and internationally recognized universities and research centers surrounding the region, favoring knowledge spillovers across the regions.

The paper analyses the role of knowledge externalities in firms' employment and workers' wages. We test whether agglomeration economies and regional knowledge base exert a greater impact on wage growth than on employment growth, using spatial panel econometric techniques to control for unobserved spatial effects. Using a spatial panel for six Portuguese manufacturing industries, we found that regional knowledge spillovers, contrary to the theoretical assumptions, have a greater impact on employment in firms than on workers' wages. This analysis might enhance important policy debates about the effects of regional policies on employment and wages. K E Y W O R D Sagglomeration economies, employment and wages, manufacturing industries, regional knowledge spillovers, spatial panel econometrics