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This paper studies how the previous experience among workers relates to the labor productivity of the creative industries in Sweden. Effective knowledge transfers are dependent on the cognitive distance among employees. Using longitudinal matched employer-employee data, I measure the portfolio of the skills within a workplace through (i) the workers' previous occupation, and (ii) the industry they have been working in previously. Estimates show that diversity of occupational experience is positive for labor productivity, but the diversity of industry experience is not. When distinguishing between related and unrelated diversity, the relatedness of occupational experience is positive for labor productivity, while unrelated occupational experience instead shows negative relationship with productivity. These results point towards the importance of occupational skills that workers bring with them to a new employment, for labor productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge externalities affect high and low growth firms differently. This paper develops two theoretical arguments. The knowledge equilibrium argument postulates that knowledge externalities weaken high growth firms for the benefit of low growth firms until performance differences vanish. The knowledge competition argument proposes that high growth firms are better positioned to identify, attract, and integrate knowledge, thereby expanding the performance gap between high and low growth firms. Based on 188,936 observations of 32,736 Swedish firms from 2004 to 2011, it is analysed whether knowledge externalities enable high growth firms to surge ahead or low growth firms to catch up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By means of a unique longitudinal database with information on all industrial plants and employees in the Swedish economy, this article analyzes how geographic proximity influences the impact of spillovers and knowledge flows on the growth in productivity of plants. Concerning the effects of spillovers, it shows that the density of economic activities contributes mainly to the performance of plants within a short distance and that the composition of economic activities is more influential farther away. Regarding the influence of the local industrial setup, proximity increases the need to be located near different, but related, industries, whereas increased distance implies a greater effect of intraindustry spillovers. The analyses also demonstrate that knowledge flows via the mobility of skilled labor are primarily a subregional phenomenon. Only inflows of skills that are related to the existing knowledge base of plants and come from fewer than 50 kilometers away have a positive effect on the performance of plants. Concerning outflows of skills, the results indicate that it is less harmful for a dispatching plant if a former employee remains within the local economy rather than leaves it for a job in another part of the national economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]