Adam Smith Business School

Dr Juan Ignacio Vizcaino, University of Nottingham

"Divergent Transformation Paths: An Anatomy of the Baumol Cost Disease"
Thursday, 2 May. 3 p.m
Room 383 Adam Smith Business School PGT Building

Abstract

In this paper, we propose an explanation for secular stagnation linked to the structural transformation process in post-industrial economies. We merge several data sources on sectoral production and innovation activities to document that while production workers move out of manufacturing and into non-research-intensive services, researchers move out of manufacturing and into research-intensive services, exhibiting divergent paths. To shed light on the mechanisms driving the sectoral reallocation of productive and innovative activities, we build a general equilibrium model of structural transformation and directed technical change where the sectoral allocation of productive and innovative resources is determined endogenously. The model predicts that in the long run traditional structural transformation forces will keep on increasing the size of the non-research-intensive services sector, which will eventually operate as an incentive to attract research and development activities towards it, partially reverting the structural-change-driven productivity slowdown originally documented by Baumol.

Bio

I am an Assistant Professor in the School of Economics at the University of Nottingham. In my research, I develop cutting-edge theoretical frameworks disciplined by micro and aggregate data to study Macroeconomic issues. My main areas of interest are growth, development, structural change, and human capital. I received my Ph.D. in Economics from Washington University in St. Louis in 2020.

---

For further information, please contact business-school-research@glasgow.ac.uk

We foster a positive and productive environment for seminars through our Code of conduct.

First published: 5 March 2024