Italian firms' geographical location in high-tech industries : a robust analysis

Abstract

Recent debates in economic-statistical research concern the relationship between firms' performance and their capabilities to develop new technologies and products. Several studies argue that economic performance and geographical proximity strongly affect firms' level of technology. The aim of the paper is twofold. Firstly, we propose to generalize this approach and to develop a model to identify the relationship between the firms' technology level and some firms' characteristics. Secondly, we use an outlier detection method to identify units that affect the analysis results and the estimates stability. This analysis is implemented using a generalized regression model with a diagnostic robust approach based on forward search. The method we use reveals how the fitted regression model depends on individual observations and the results show how the firms' technology level is influenced by their geographical proximity.